GIFT  OF 


APT'IC. 


THE 


mr-^ooli  of  |ujri 


^^^  '    "T" 

OR,    THE 

AXNUiL  OF  AGRICULTURAL  PROGRESS  AND 

DISCOVERT, 

For  1855  and  1856. 

EXHIBITING    THE 

MOST  IMPORTANT  DISCOVERIES  AND  IMPROVEMENTS 


IX 

AGRICULTURAL    MKCHANICS,   AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY,   AGRICULTURAL 

AM)   HORTICULTURAL  BOTANY,  AGRICL  I.H  UAL  AND  ECONOMIC 

GEOLOGY,  AGRICULTl  RAL  ZOOLOGY,   METEOROLOGY,  &c. 

TOGETHER   WITH 

STATISTICS    OF  AMERICAN'  GROWTH    AND    PRODUCTION  —  A   LIST   OP    RECENT    AGRICULTURAL 
I'UlSLU'ATMNS-rLASSmF.n  TABLES  OF   AMKKH'AN   AGRICULTURAL   P13 
1854-55  — A  CATALOGUE  OP    PRUIT8  ADAPTED  TO  THE  DIFFERENT 
SECTIONS  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES,  Ac. 

WITH  A  COMPREHENSIVE  REVIEW,  BY  THE  EDITOR,  OF  THE  PROGRESS  OF  AMERICAN  AND 

FOREIGN  AGRICULTURE;  FOR  THE  YEAR  \S55. 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH   NUMEROUS   ENGRAVINGS. 


BY 


DAVID  A.  WELLS,  A.M. 


OP  THE  BOSTON  SOCIETY  OF  NATURAL   HISTORY,  FORMERLY  CHEMIST  TO  THE  OHIO  STATE  BOARD  OP  AGRICULTURE ; 
MEMBER  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY,   PENNSYLVANIA  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY, 
EDITOR  OF  THB  ANNUAL  OF  SCIENTIFIC  DISCOVERY,  FAMILIAR  SCIENCE, 
KNOWLEDGE  IS  POWER,  ETC.  ETC. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

CHILDS  &  PETERSON,  124  ARCH  ST. 
1856. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1855,  by 

GUILDS  &  PETERSON, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


" 


STEREOTYPED   BY  l^  J00M80Jf  *.  99.  f  . 

PHILADFtPMIM  •/   ."    '      '    •'     * 
PRINTED  BY  DEACON*  & 


PREFACE. 


THE  object  contemplated  in  the  publication  of  the  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE 
is  to  aid  the  progress  and  development  of  that  science  upon  which  the  prosperity  of 
our  country  so  eminently  depends.  In  its  preparation,  the  editor  has  carefully  ex- 
amined every  important  agricultural  or  scientific  publication  which  has  appeared  in 
the  United  States  during  the  years  1854-55,  together  with  very  many  of  the  jour- 
nals and  publications  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Germany.  He  has  not,  how- 
ever, confined  himself  to  the  mere  examination  of  agricultural  journals  and  reports, 
but  has  taken  advantage  of  every  opportunity  and  resource  which  could  furnish 
any  thing  of  interest  or  value. 

The  subjects  embraced  within  the  limits  of  a  work,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
record  the  progress  of  agriculture  in  all  its  departments  for  a  single  year,  are  neces- 
sarily varied  and  extensive;  since  no  branch  of  science  or  applied  industry  is  de- 
pendent to  a  greater  degree  for  its  advancement  upon  assistance  imparted  from 
beyond  its  legitimate  boundaries,  than  agriculture.  Hence  the  operations  of  the 
mechanic,  the  chemist,  the -naturalist,  the  engineer,  and  statician,  are  all  allied 
more  or  less  intimately  with  those  of  the  farmer.  It  is  not  claimed  that  we  have 
collected  all  that  is  new,  or  that  all  we  have  published  is  the  result  of  the  operations 
of  a  single  year,  but  we  do  claim  to  have  noticed  all  the  recent  improvements 
pertaining  to  agriculture  which  have  seemed  to  us  of  sufficient  importance,  or  of 
which  we  have  been  able,  after  diligent  effort,  to  obtain  reliable  and  intelligible 
accounts.  Every  invention  pertaining  to  agriculture  patented  in  the  United  States 
during  the  year  ending  July,  1855,  has  been  enumerated.  All  have  not,  however, 
been  described,  for  the  reason  that  no  distinct  descriptions  of  them  have  been 
published,  and  repeated  applications  addressed  to  the  inventors  themselves  have 
failed  of  responses.  Some  of  the  topics  treated  of  may  also  seem  old  and  familiar, 
but  a  careful  examination  in  such  cases  will  show  that  they  have  found  place  in 
the  record  in  virtue  of  presenting  old  facts  in  a  new  light  or  application,  or  because 
they  contain,  in  addition  to  what  was  before  familiar,  new  facts  and  suggestions. 
Novelty  in  arrangement  and  condensation  may  often  render  an  old  subject  as  inte- 
resting as  a  statement  of  novelties  in  fact.  It  has  also  been  the  aim  of  the  editor 
to  transfer  to  the  pages  of  the  Year-Book  such  reliable  and  standard  articles  on 
different  agricultural  topics  as  have  appeared,  from  time  to  time,  during  the  past 
year,  in  the  leading  journals  of  Europe  or  the  United  States.  By  pursuing  this 
course,  the  Year-Book  will  be  rendered  eminently  valuable,  not  only  for  the  present 
but  for  the  future,  and  a  complete  series  of  the  volumes  for  successive  years  will 
thus  form  a  most  perfect  and  unique  encyclopedia  of  every  department  of  agri- 
cultural science. 

The  Year-Book  of  Agriculture  will  hereafter  be  issued  early  in  September  of 
each  year,  and  no  labor  or  expense  on  the  part  of  both  the  editor  and  publishers 

260274 


4  PREFACE. 

will  be  spared  to  make  it  what  it  is  designed  to  be — a  complete  and  substantial 
summary  of  agricultural  progress. 

To  the  many  friends  who  have  aided  us  in  the  preparation  of  the  present 
volume  we  would  return  our  sincere  thanks  j  our  acknowledgments,  however,  are 
especially  due,  for  favors  rendered,  to  the  Editors  of  the  Scientific  American  and 
Philadelphia  Horticulturist ;  to  Mr.  Nicol,  Superintendent  of  the  Model  Farm  of 
the  Union  Agricultural  Society  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina;  to  Prof.  B.  L.  C. 
Wailes,  Geologist  of  Mississippi ;  G.  E.  Waring,  Esq.,  of  New  York ;  and  C.  L. 
Flint,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Agriculture. 

In  the  publication  of  the  Year-Book  of  Agriculture  one  important  fact  is  clearly 
and  unmistakeably  demonstrated — namely,  that  there  is  a  constant  progress  and  im- 
provement in  every  department  of  theoretical  and  applied  agriculture ;  that  many 
strong  hands  and  practical  and  comprehensive  minds  are  enlisted  in  the  work  of 
experiment  and  investigation,  giving  us  the  right  to  expect  from  the  future  many 
great  and  valuable  results. 

PHILADELPHIA,  October,  1855. 


COMMUNICATIONS  for  the  Editor  should  be  addressed  "  Year-Book  of  Agricul- 
ture ;"  Care  of  Childs  &  Peterson,  or  David  A.  Wells  &  Co.,  124  Arch  Street, 
Philadelphia. 

We  would  also  take  this  opportunity  to  say,  that  while  under  no  circumstances 
will  the  pages  of  the  Year-Book  of  Agriculture  be  open  to  the  publication  of  articles 
having  any  thing  of  the  character  of  advertisements,  the  editor  will  be  always 
ready  to  give  place  to  a  description  of  every  new  and  useful  improvement  pertain- 
ing to  agriculture,  and  also  for  engravings,  if  necessary. 


gub 


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til 

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on 
ho 

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he 
ho 

da 

ral 
lis 
an 
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at 
his 
to 
Uh 
Ir. 
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m- 

in 
am 

s's 
icr 
bis 


Mr.  Downing  may  well  be  styled  a  national  benefactor.     If,  as  the  poet  tells  us, 
"  A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever," 

what  gratitude  is  due  to  that  man  who  causes  the  land  to  smile  with  gardens,  and  ornaments 
every  roadside  with  homesteads  of  architectural  symmetry  !  This  is  a  tempting  subject,  but 
our  limits  forbid  indulgence.  The  works  of  this  gifted  artist,  which  we  are  now  about  to 


A  BIOGRAPHICAL  NOTICE,  AND  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  WORKS, 


OF 


tototfo  J. 


ANDREW  JACKSON  DOWNING,  the  most  eminent  of  American  horticulturists  and  professors 
of  Rural  Architecture,  was  born  in  Newburgh,  upon  the  Hudson,  in  the  State  of  New  York, 
Oct.  30, 1815.  He  inherited  a  taste  for  horticulture  from  his  father,  who  about  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century  abandoned  the  occupation  of  a  wheelwright  for  the  more  congenial 
employments  connected  with  the  duties  of  a  nurseryman,  which  claimed  his  attention  until 
his  death  in  1822. 

Some  years  after  this  event  Andrew  was  placed  at  an  academy  in  Montgomery,  in  the  vici- 
nity of  Newburgh,  where  he  continued  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  sixteen.  He  had  ac- 
quired a  sufficient  taste  for  his  studies  to  earnestly  desire  opportunities  for  their  prosecution 
at  colle-e,  but,  as  the  execution  of  this  plan  did  not  comport  with  family  arrangements,  the 
youth  remained  at  home,  and  a^isted  his  brother  in  the  care  of  the  nursery. 

Much  of  his  leisure  time  was  occupied  in  rambles  through  the  surrounding  country,  which 
tended  t<>  -tren;.rthen  find  educate  that  ta-te  for  hot.-my  and  mineralogy  which  h«-  h.-id  evinced 
from  an  eurly  age.  lu  these  excursions  he  profited  by  the  instruct  ion*  of  his  companion,  the 
.  tie  Liderer,  the  Austrian  Con-ul-Cieneral,  a  summer  resident  of  the  neighborhood,  who 
•  •d  to  the  sciences  which  had  awakened  the  untaught  enthusi.-ism  of  young 
Downing.  When  wearied  with  wandering  among  the  hills  and  valleys  of  the  Hudson,  his 
hours  of  study  were  devoted  to  maturing  his  knowledge  of  landscape-gardening  and  rural 
architecture,  iu  which  branches  he  subsequently  attained  such  well-earned  distinction.  Hi.- 
first  essay  in  building  was  the  erection  of  a  house  upon  his  own  grounds,  in  the  Elizabethan 
which  successful  attempt  to  embody  his  conceptions  of  art  greatly  tended  to  extend 
that  reputation  which  his  known  talents  and  energy  had  already  gained  in  the  surrounding 
country  and  among  his  more  distant  acquaintances.  In  1*41  he  published  a  work,  which  at 
once  made  him  known  to  many  thousands  who  never  had  the  opportunity  of  listening  to  his 
oral  teachings  upon  his  favorite  pur-uits.  This  was  his  Treatise  on  Landscape-Gardening,  to 
which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  presently,  together  with  other  works  which  amply  sus- 
tained his  character  as  an  intelligent  and  attractive  writer.  In  1836  he  was  invited  by  Mr. 
Luther  Tucker,  of  Albany,  to  assume  the  duties  connected  with  the  editorship  of  The  Horti- 
culturist, just  established  in  that  city.  The  proposition  was  accepted,  and  the  journal  con- 
tinued under  Mr.  Downing's  charge  until  his  death. 

The  admirable  contributions  of  the  editor  have  since  been  collected,  and  were  published  in 
1853  in  a  handsome  octavo  volume,  edited,  with  a  Memoir  of  the  Author,  by  George  William 
Curtis,  and  including  a  Letter  to  Downing's  friends  by  Frederika  Bremer.  To  Mr.  Curtis's 
volume,  to  which  we  are  indebted  for  the  above  facts,  we  must  refer  the  reader  for  further 
particulars  connected  with  the  life  of  the  subject  of  our  notice.  The  fearful  manner  of  his 
death  is  well  known.  He  was  one  of  the  victims  on  the  melancholy  occasion  of  the  burning 
of  the  steamer  Henry  Clay,  on  the  Hudson,  July  28,  1852. 

Mr.  Downing  may  well  be  styled  a  national  benefactor.     If,  as  the  poet  tells  us, 

"  A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever," 

what  gratitude  is  due  to  that  man  who  causes  the  land  to  smile  with  gardens,  and  ornaments 
every  roadside  with  homesteads  of  architectural  symmetry !  This  is  a  tempting  subject,  but 
our  limits  forbid  indulgence.  The  works  of  this  gifted  artist,  which  we  are  now  about  to 


6  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

enumerate,  with  the  citation  of  some  opinions  upon  their  merits,  should  be  in  the  possession 
of  all  who  love  flowers,  and  can  appreciate  the  pleasures  connected  with  refined  taste. 

1.  A  Treatise  on  the  Theory  and  Practice  of  Landscape  Gardening,  adapted  to  North  Ame- 
rica, with  a  view  to  the  Improvement  of  Country  Residences.     With  Remarks  on  Rural  Archi- 
tecture, New  York,  1841,  8vo.     Sale  in  America  to  1863,  9000  copies. 

"  Mr.  Downing  has  here  produced  a  very  delightful  work,  and  has  convinced  us  that  sound 
criticism  and  refined  taste  are  not  confined  to  this  side  of  the  Atlantic." — London  Art  Union 
Journal. 

"A  masterly  work.  *  *  *  We  havw  quoted  largely  from  this  work,  because  in  so  doing 
we  think  we  shall  give  a  just  idea  of  the  greut  merit  of  the  author." — London,  editor  ofRepton's 
Landscape-  Gardening. 

"On  the  whole,  we  know  of  no  work  in  which  the  fundamental  principles  of  this  profession 
are  so  well  or  so  concisely  expressed.  *  *  *  No  English  landscape-gardener  has  written 
so  clearly  or  with  so  much  real  intensity." — Dr.  Lindley,  in  the  Gardeners'  Chronicle. 

"  The  standard  work  on  this  subject." — Silliman's  Journal. 

2.  Cottage  Residences,  1842,  8vo.     Sale  in  America  to  1853,  6250  copies. 
"It  cannot  fail  to  be  of  great  service." — London. 

"We  stretch  our  arm  across  the  'big  water'  to  tender  our  Yankee  coadjutor  an  English 
shake  and  a  cordial  recognition." — An  English  Horticultural  Critic. 

3.  The  Fruits  and  Fruit-Trees  of  America,  1845,  8vo.     Sale  in  America  to  1853,  15,000 
copies. 

"  Downing's  Fruits  and  Fruit-Trees  of  America  deserves  to  be  more  generally  known  in 
Europe." — Triibncr's  Bibliographical  Guide  to  American  Literature,  Lon.,  1855,  12mo. 

4.  Hints  to  Young  Architects,  by  George  Wightwick,  Architect;  with  additional  Notes  and 
Hints  to  Persons  about  building  in  this  country,  by  A.  J.  Downing,  1849,  8vo. 

5.  The  Architecture  of  Country-Houses ;  including  Designs  for  Colleges,  Farm-Houses,  and 
Villas,  1850,  8vo.     Sale  in  America  to  1853,  3500  copies. 

6.  Mrs.  London's  Gardening  for  Ladies ;  edited  by  A.  J.  Downing,  1852,  12mo. 

7.  Rural  Essays,  by  the  late  A.  J.  Downing,  edited  by  George  Wm.  Curtis,  with  a  Memoir 
of  the  Author ;  and  a  Letter  to  his  Friends,  by  Frederika  Bremer,  1853,  8vo.     This  work  con- 
tains, with  one  or  two  exceptions,  all  of  Mr.  Downing's  editorial  papers  in  the  Horticulturist. 

A  few  additional  testimonies  to  the  eminent  services  rendered  by  Downing  to  the  beautiful 
pursuits  in  which  he  found  such  enthusiastic  enjoyment  may  properly  conclude  this  notice  : 

"  Mr.  Wilder  says  that  a  gentleman  '  who  is  eminently  qualified  to  form  an  enlightened  judg- 
ment' declared  that  much  of  the  improvement  that  has  taken  place  in  this  country  during  the 
last  twelve  years,  in  rural  architecture  and  in  ornamental  gardening  and  planting,  may  be 
ascribed  to  him,  ^Downing.]  Another  gentleman,  speaking  of  suburban  cottages  in  the  W»«st, 
gays — « I  asked  the  origin  of  so  much  taste,  and  was  told  it  might  principally  be  traced  to 
Downing's  Cottage  Residences  and  the  Horticulturist.'  " — Memoir,  by  G.  W.  Curti.*. 

"  By  these  admirable  works,  [Fruits  and  Fruit-Trees  of  America,  and  Landscape-Garden- 
ing  and  Rural  Architecture,]  Mr.  Downing  has  done  much  to  promote  the  best  and  most  judi- 
cious selection  and  culture  of  fruit-trees.  It  is  one  of  the  most  common  and  earnest  long- 
ings of  the  toiling  residents  of  cities  to  be  able  one  day  to  return  to  a  snuggery  in  the 
country ;  and  these  admirable  works  will  both  minister  to  these  longings,  and  teach  how  to 
realize  them  satisfactorily." — President  King,  of  Columbia  College,  New  York. 

For  the  above  carefully-prepared  sketch  of  A.  J.  Downing,  we  are  indebted  to  S.  Austin 
Allibone,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  author  of  that  very  valuable  work,  the  "Critical  Dictionary 
of  English  Literature  and  British  and  American  Authors." — Ed.  Year-Book. 


COTTON  CATERPILLAR 


anfo  totromic  Jtotatnj; 


INCLUDING 

HORTICULTURE,  ARBORICULTURE,  THE   CULTURE    AND    PRESERVATION    OF   SEEDS    AND  FRUITS, 

THE    INTRODUCTION    AND    PREPARATION    OF    VEGETABLE    TEXTILE     FIBRES  ; 

OBSERVATIONS    ON    DISEASES    OF    PLANTS,    ETC. 


tivat«-.l   in   the   United  States. 


The  Cotton-Plant  and  its  Varieties  in  the  United  States. 

E  present  to  the  readers  of  the  Agricultural  Year-Book  for 
1855-6,  a  series  of  the  most  beautiful  and  accurate  engrav- 
ings ever  published,  illustrative  of  the  growth  and  di- 
of  the  great  staple  of  American  agricultural  industry — Cot- 
ton. These  engravings  (which  are  also  interesting  tn>m 
the  fact  that  they  are  specimens  of  the  new  und  beautiful 
•-s  of  Chronio- Lithography  )  were  designed  by  Trot'.  K. 
C.  L.  Wiiiles,  <ieologi«,t  of  the  State  of  Mississippi,  aiul  lirst 
published  during  the  past  year  by  the  authority  of  the  Legis- 
lature, in  thu  (.ieulogieal  Report  uf  Mississippi. 

Of  the  many  varieties  of  the  Cotton-plant  known  to 
naturalist^,  the  annual  herbaceous  kinds  are  alone  cul- 
The  average  height  of  the  plant,  in  land  of  medium  quality, 
is  abuut  live  feet ;  in  very  fertile  soil  it  attains  to  double  that  height,  while  in  an  exhausted 
and  sterile  soil  it  becomes  quite  a  dwarf.  Its  appearance  somewhat  resembles  that  of  the 
okra-phmt,  but  is  much  more  branched,  and  the  leaves  less  in  size  and  of  more  uniform 
shape.  The  branches  are  long  and  jointed,  occasionally  bifurcated,  and  bearing  at  each 
joint  a  boll  or  capsule  containing  the  wool  and  seed.  Kadi  boll  is  accompanied  by  a  broad 
indented  leaf,  springing  from  the  same  joint  of  the  branch  and  resting  upon  a  footstalk  three 
or  four  inches  in  length.  The  woody  fibre  of  ^he  plant  is  white,  spongy,  and  brittle,  but  is 
invested  with  a  thick  brown  epidermis,  which  is  very  pliable  and  tenacious.  The  root  is  tuber- 
ous, penetrating  deeply  into  the  subsoil,  and  is  thus  less  affected  by  drought  than  most 
other  plants.  The  blossom  is  cup-shaped,  two  or  three  inches  in  length,  never  very  widely 
expanded;  white  in  the  lirst  day  until  past  noon,  then  changing  gradually  to  a  red — closing 
slowly  for  the  next  day  or  two,  with  a  twist  at  the  extremity  over  the  germ  of  the  young  boll, 
by  which  it  is  speedily  detached  in  its  rapid  growth,  when  it  withers  and  is  cast  off,  leaving 
the  boll  invested  by  a  capacious,  tripartite,  dentate  calyx,  sufficiently  large  to  enclose  it  until 
half  grown. 

The  calyx  containing  the  germ  of  the  flower  is  of  a  triangular  shape,  and  is  technically  known 
as  the  square  or  form.  In  this  stage  of  growth  these  are  liable  to  be  disjointed  and  fall,  from 
the  long  prevalence  of  drought,  but  more  so  when  a  rainy  season  suddenly  succeeds,  occasion- 
ing a  second  growth  from  the  rapid  elaboration  of  sap,  which  in  its  circulation  seems  not  to 
enter  into  the  footstalk  as  freely  as  into  other  parts  of  the  plant. 

The  flower  of  the  Sea-Island  cotton  is  in  its  first  stages  of  a  bright  sulphur  color,  the  boll 
small,  trilobate,  and  more  elongated,  while  the  other  varieties  produce  bolls  of  a  larger  size, 
which  open  or  divide  into  four,  and  occasionally  into  five,  valves  or  cells.  The  cotton-plant 
commences  flowering  about  the  1st  of  June,  and  ceases  about  the  1st  of  November,  when  the 
olant  is  killed  by  the  frost.  The  bolls  are  egg-shaped,  rather  under  the  size  of  the  egg  of  the 

231 


234  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

that  was  drawn  out ;  and  as  care  was  taken  in  the  separation,  most  of  the  staple  was  unin- 
jured. It  is  not  pretended  that  every  filament  was  unbroken — in  fact,  the  delicate  taper  ends 
were  sometimes  wanting ;  but  no  one  was  neglected,  in  order  that  a  fair  representation  might 
be  made  of  the  available  length  before  ginning.  Of  course,  the  most  perfect  method  of  con- 
ducting that  operation  could  do  no  more  than  leave  the  cotton  of  the  same  length. 

"For  the  purpose  of  measurement,  the  filaments  were  gently  extended  upon  a  glass  plate 
slightly  greased  or  moistened,  and  the  finger  was  pressed  several  times  over  the'whole  length 
to  remove  the  curl.  The  measurement  was  made  by  dividers,  and  a  diagonal  scale  to  hun- 
dredths  of  an  inch.  The  specimens  examined  were  Georgia  Sea-Island,  three  parcels — and 
one  of  short  staple  '  top-cotton,'  or  late  cotton,  not  opened  at  the  time  of  frost. 

"  The  following  is  the  result  of  the  measurement  obtained : — 

"The  length  of  the  perfect  filaments  taken  from  the  same  boll  is  very  uniform.  The  ave- 
rage length  of  the  staple  of  mature  Sea-Island  cotton,  of  the  kinds  examined,  as  it  goes  to  the 
gin,  must  be  between  an  inch  and  a  half  and  an  inch  and  three-quarters.  In  extreme  cases, 
the  length  may  vary  four-tenths  of  an  inch  from  the  average ;  but  the  larger  proportion  is 
within  one-fourth  of  an  inch  ab»ve  or  below  the  average.  The  unripe  cotton  is  not  subject  to 
greater  variations  than  the  ripe. 

"  There  is  a  probability  that  the  fibre  taken  from  the  base  of  the  boll  is  the  shortest,  and  that 
from  the  middle  the  longest,  while  that  from  the  top  is  between  the  two  ;  the  variation,  how- 
ever, being  very  small. 

"As  far  as  can  be  seen  from  a  single  instance,  the  short  staple  seems  to  be  remarkable  for 
its  uniformity  in  length,  varying  from  1-27  inch,  to  1-05.  The  gentlemerf^who  forwarded 
the  specimen  supposed  from  its  immaturity  that  it  might  show  varied  lengths  of  fibre — 
in  reality  it  exceeds  all  the  other  specimens  in  equality.  A  slight  examination  of  these 
colons  under  the  microscope  shows  that  each  has  its  distinctive  character,  and  that  the  Sea- 
Island  may  differ  in  its  varieties  as  much  as  some  Sea-Island  differs  from  some  Upland. 

"  The  adaptation  of  the  different  kinds  of  staple  to  different  kinds  of  manufacture,  is  much 
more  intimately  connected  with  the  minute  characters  of  the  fibre  than  is  generally  known  ; 
for  instance,  the  peculiar  character  of  the  Sea-Island  does  not  depend  so  much  upon  its  greater 
length,  nor  upon  its  fineness,  as  upon  its  cord-like  or  '  spiral'  structure. 

"  Again :  the  flat  or  ribbon-like  varieties  differ  widely  from  each  other,  some  of  them  show- 
ing, even  in  their  flattened  parts,  an  approach  to  the  spiral  structure. 

"Such  peculiarities  can  only  be  described  and  made  available  after  the  examination  of  a 
large  number  of  specimens,  and  these  should  include  every  kind  of  cotton,  from  situations 
differing  as  much  as  possible  with  respect  to  soil  and  climate." 

The  Enemies  of  the  Cotton-Plant. 

THE  enemies  of  the  cotton-plant  are  chiefly  the  caterpillar  and  the  boll-worm. 

The  ravages  of  the  chenille,  or  cotton-caterpillar  (Depressario  Gossypioides)  have  been  long 
known  in  other  countries.  It  prevailed  destructively  in  South  America  and  the  West  Indies, 
having  been  described  previous  to  the  present  century,  and  is  probably  coeval  with  the  culti- 
vation of  the  cotton-plant.  In  1788  and  1794,  two-thirds  of  the  crop  in  one  of  the  Bahama 
Islands  were  destroyed  by  it.  The  remedy  first  resorted  to  was  the  burning  of  the  cotton- 
stalk  in  which  the  eggs  of  the  insect  were  supposed  to  be  deposited.  This  seems  to  have  been 
ineffectual ;  it  was  certainly  so  as  respects  the  insect  that  occasions  the  rot,  as,  during  the 
whole  period  of  its  prevalence  in  this  country,  the  burning  of  the  stalks  was  universal,  and 
no  diminution  of  the  disease  was  known  to  have  resulted  from  the  practice.  "  The  most  fea- 
sible remedy,"  says  Mr.  Wailes,  in  his  report  to  the  Legislature  of  Mississippi,  on  this  subject, 
"  is  one  I  proposed  more  than  ten  years  since ;  it  is  the  destruction  of  the  enemy  by  means 
of  torches  at  night,  immediately  after  the  perfect  imago  or  moth  emerges  from  its  puparium 
or  chrysalis  state,  and  flies  abroad,  it  being  very  well  known  that  fire-light  will  attract  insects 
of  this  class.  If  the  hands  on  a  plantation  were  each  provided  with  a  lighted  torch  of  pine 
wood,  dried  cane,  or  some  similar  material,  and  made  to  pass  through  the  fields  at  intervals 
of  five  or  ten  rows  apart,  shortly  after  twilight  had  closed,  myriads  of  moths  would  perish  in 


T    IN   COTTON 


A  REVIEW  BY  THE  EDITOR 


OF   THE 


aito  prospects  of  ^gri 


NEVER,  in  the  history  of  our  country,  has  Agriculture,  in  all  its  great  and  varied  depart- 
ments, presented  so  prosperous  and  promising  a  condition  as  at  the  close  of  the  year  1855. 
The  season  that  has  passed,  in  striking  contrast  with  that  which  immediately  preceded  it, 
has  proved  fruitful  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  and  the  careful  estimates  of  the  gathered 
crups  almost  exceed  belief:  Indian  corn,  ten  hundred  millions  of  bushels;  wheat,  from  one 
liun<he<l  and  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  millions;  oats,  four  hundred  millions;  rye  and 
;rr:iins,  one  hundred  millions  ;  and  cotton,  with  a  crop  undoubtedly  smaller  than  that  of 
some  former  years,  not  less  than  three  million  two  hundred  thousand  bales,  or,  estimating 
four  hundred  pounds  to  the  bale,  one  billion  two  hundred  and  eighty  millions  of  pounds. 

ith  this  increase  in  material  prosperity,  a  marked  progress  has  also  been  made  in  all  that 

1      ,ains  to  agriculture,  considered  as  a  science  and  an  art  —  in  the  improvement  and  perfec- 

•    Hi  of  tools,  implements,  and  processes  —  in  the  increase  and  improvement  of  agricultural 

•i-ature  —  in  the  introduction  and  propagation  of  new  and  valuable  animals  and  plants  —  in 

t:.-  increased  patronage  of  the  National  and  State  governments  —  and  in  the  more  widely  ex- 

teii'U-d  means  and  opportunities  for  elementary  agricultural  education. 

Nor  has  this  progress  and  improvement  been  confined  to  the  United  States.     In  Great 

i  in,  the  examples  and  teachings  of  Mechi,  Wilkins,  Lawes,  and  Gilbert,  the  late  Mr. 

Pusey,  Prof.  Way,  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  Prof.  Anderson,  of  the  Highland  Agri- 

cultural Society  of  Scotland,  and  many  other  practical,  far-seeing  men,  are  producing  most 

U'lu'ficial  results.     Their  efforts  are  also  indirectly  seconded  by  the  manufacturers,  as  in  the 

:   Mr.  Salt,  who  has  introduced  the  Alpaca  sheep  and  Angora  goats,  and  by  others  who 

utilize  the  refuse  of  their  vast  manufacturing  establishments  for  fertilizers;    or  by  their 

men,  as  in  the  case  of  Lord  Clarendon,  who,  while  Foreign  Secretary,  did  much,  in 

irtue  of  his  position,  to  facilitate  the  introduction  of  foreign  trees  and  fruit.     In  France, 

nder  the  direction  of  St.  Hilaire  and  the  patronage  of  government,  the  Society  for  the  In- 

u-tion  and  Acclimation  of  Useful  Foreign  Domestic  Animals  and  Plants,  are  active  and 

strenuous  in  their  efforts.     Under  the  direction  also  of  government,  aided  by  private  indivi- 

duals, the  streams  and  lakes  of  the  empire  are  becoming  rapidly  stocked  with  a  profusion  of 

fish,  propagated  by  artificial  means.     American  agricultural  implements  —  partially  through 

the  results  of  the  Great  Exhibition  of  Paris,  partially  through  an  increased  information  —  are 

finding  a  ready  market  in  France,  and  in  Vienna  a  warehouse  for  their  exclusive  sale  has 

been  established.     Lastly,  but  not  least,  it  must  be  recorded  that  Algeria,  best  known  to 

American  readers  by  its  former  piracy  and  white   slavery,  competed  honorably  with  the 

United  States  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  in  reaping  machines  ;  that  the  National  Agricultural 

Society  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  during  the  past  year,  has  issued  its  third  annual  report  and 

.;  warded  six  hundred  dollars  in  prizes,  and  that  Liberia  has  established  a  model  farm  and 

plant  ation. 

Let  us,  however,  examine  in  detail  some  of  the  varied  and  interesting  incidents  that  have 
been  recorded  during  the  years  1854-55  : 

As  regards  agricultural  education,  many  important  steps  and  prosperous  beginnings  have 
been  made  during  the  past  year  in  the  United  States.  In  Georgia,  through  the  munificence 
of  the  late  Dr.  William  Terrell,  the  University  of  that  State  has  been  endowed  with  $20,000 

7 


8  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Professorship  of  Agriculture,  and  the  trustees  have  elected 
to  the  chair  Dr.  Daniel  Lee,  former  editor  of  the  Genesee  Farmer  and  Southern  Cultivator. 

In  Massachusetts,  arrangements  have  been  made,  in  connection  with  Amherst  College,  for 
the  instruction,  in  agriculture  and  its  kindred  sciences,  of  young  men,  not  permanently 
members  of  the  college,  but  who  may  resort  to  it,  for  longer  of  shorter  periods,  at  pleasure, 
for  this  specific  purpose.  This  department  is  under  the  special  direction  of  the  well-known 
agriculturist,  Prof.  J.  N.  Nash,  editor  of  the  Valley  Farmer,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hitchcock, 
formerly  President  of  the  College.  The  plan  of  instruction  embraces  a  full  course  of  lec- 
tures on  the  natural  and  physical  sciences,  and  lectures  and  recitations  on  practical  agricul- 
ture and  the  application  of  science  to  rural  affairs. 

The  legislature  of  Michigan,  at  its  last  session,  passed  an  act  establishing  an  agricultural 
college  in  that  State.  This  act  provides  that  the  site  for  an  agricultural  college  shall  be 
purchased  within  ten  miles  of  the  capital  of  the  State,  of  not  less  than  five  hundred  acres, 
nor  to  exceed  one  thousand ;  that  twenty-two  sections  of  Salt  Spring  lands  shall  be  appro- 
priated for  the  purchase  of  the  land,  erection  of  buildings,  and  all  other  necessary  expenses 
to  be  incurred  in  the  establishment  and  successful  operation  of  said  college ;  that  the  purpose 
of  the  school  shall  be  to  improve  and  teach  the  science  and  practice  of  agriculture ;  and  that 
the  course  of  instruction  in  said  college  shall  include  the  following  branches  of  education — 
viz.,  natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  botany,  animal  and  vegetable  anatomy  and  physiology, 
geology,  mineralogy,  meteorology,  entomology,  veterinary  art,  mensuration,  levelling,  political 
economy,  book-keeping,  and  the  mechanic  arts  connected  with  agriculture.  The  tuition  is 
to  be  forever  free  to  pupils  within  the  State. 

During  the  summer  scholastic  term,  or  from  the  beginning  of  April  to  the  end  of  October, 
the  pupils  are  to  be  required  to  devote  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  four  hours  to 
manual  labor,  no  student  to  be  exempt  except  in  the  case  of  sickness  or  other  infirmity. 

The  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  at  the  last  session,  passed  an  act  incorporating  the 
"Boston  Veterinary  Institute,"  which  has  since  been  organized  in  the  city  of  Boston.  The 
object  of  the  institute  is  to  afford  ample  instruction  to  persons  desirous  of  qualifying  them- 
selves for  the  practice  of  veterinary  medicine  and  surgery.  The  plan  of  instruction  includes 
lectures  on  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  horse,  011  the  theory  and  practice  of  veterinary 
medicine  and  surgery,  and  on  cattle  pathology.  Students  will  also  be  allowed  to  attend  the 
lectures  on  chemistry  and  pathological  anatomy  in  the  medical  department  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, and  clinical  lectures  will  be  given  by  the  faculty.  The  officers  of  the  institute  con- 
sist of  the  following  gentlemen:  D.  D.  Slade,  M.D.,  President;  George  H.  Dodd,  Prof,  of 
Anatomy  and  Physiology ;  Charles  M.  Wood,  Prof,  of  Theory  and  Practice ;  Robert  Wood, 
Prof,  of  Cattle  Pathology.  D.  D.  Slade,  M.D.,  John  W.  Warren,  M.D.,  George  Bartlett, 
M.D.,  and  Charles  Gordon,  M.D.,  Board  of  Examiners. 

In  1852,  a  charter  for  an  agricultural  college  was  granted  by  the  legislature  of  New  York, 
chiefly  by  the  agency  of  the  late  Hon.  John  Delafield,  of  Fayette,  Seneca  county,  New  York. 
It  had  been  contemplated  to  build  the  college  on  Mr.  Delafield's  farm,  and  progress  had  been 
made  to  that  effect  by  the  procurement  of  some  thousands  of  dollars,  when  the  project  was 
interrupted  by  Mr.  D.'s  sudden  demise.  Recently,  the  trustees  of  the  institution  have  con- 
sented to  its  removal  to  the  town  of  Ovid  whenever  the  sum  of  $40,000,  required  by  their 
by-laws,  shall  have  been  secured  to  put  it  on  an  enduring  basis.  This  site  is  central,  beau- 
tiful, and  healthy — one  of  the  best,  it  is  believed,  that  the  State  affords,  and  the  people  here 
have  a  mind  to  the  work. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  1855,  a  meeting  of  persons  interested  was  held  in  the  town  of  Ovid, 
to  confer  together  on  the  subject,  and  to  assist  in  devising  plans  for  the  promotion  of  the 
institution.  Addresses  were  delivered  by  various  individuals,  and  resolutions  were  adopted 
in  favor  of  raising  the  sum  of  $200,000  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  work ;  of  this 
amount  the  town  of  Ovid  was  pledged  for  $10,000,  and  Seneca  county  for  $30,000. 

For  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  agricultural  department  of  the  academy  at  Westfield, 
Massachusetts,  Stephen  Harrison,  of  that  place,  bequeathed,  during  the  past  year,  $5000. 

In  1844,  an  agricultural  department  was  established  in  connection  with  the  college  at 
Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  a  successful  course  of  lectures  given  in  connection  with  other  instruction. 


PROGRESS  AND  PROSPECTS  OF   AGRICULTURE.  9 

At  the  last  session  of  the  Ohio  legislature,  an  institution,  bearing  the  name  of  the  "  Ohio 
Agricultural  College,"  was  incorporated  and  located  at  Cleveland.  In  order  to  unite  the 
energies  of  all  interested  in  agricultural  education,  it  has  since  been  determined  to  transfer 
the  agricultural  department  of  the  college  at  Oberlin  to  the  new  institution  at  Cleveland, 
which,  under  favorable  auspices,  will  commence  its  course  of  lectures  and  instruction  on 
the  1st  of  December,  1855.  The  following  board  of  officers  and  instructors  have  been  elected : 
Harvey  Rice,  Esq.,  President;  Professors, — J.  P.  Kirtland,  S.  St.  John,  N.  S.  Townshend,  J. 
Dascomb,  and  J.  H.  Fairchild.  The  education  course  which  has  been  proposed  embraces  the 
following  subjects : — 

1st.  Those  that  relate  to  the  land. — Geology,  mineralogy,  chemistry,  &c.  2d.  Those  that 
relate  to  plants. — Botany  and  vegetable  physiology,  field  crops,  orcharding,  gardening,  &c. 
3d.  What  relates  to  animals. — Comparative  anatomy  and  physiology,  natural  history  of  do- 
mestic animals,  veterinary  medicine,  insects,  &c.  4th.  What  relates  to  labor. — Rural  archi- 
tecture and  landscape  gardening,  draining,  use  and  construction  of  implements,  surveying, 
farm  book-keeping,  &c.  &c.  A  reading-room,  supplied  with  agricultural  papers  and  jour- 
nals, are  additional  facilities  oflFered  to  the  student.  The  price  of  tuition  for  the  entire 
course  is  $40. 

A  "Farmers'  High  School,"  incorporated  by  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  in  1855,  was 
organized  at  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  June  last.  The  trustees  are  empowered  to  make 
choice  of  a  suitable  location,  embracing  not  less  than  two  hundred  nor  more  than  two  thou- 
sand acres ;  and  also'to  choose  a  principal  and  other  officers  and  assistants  of  suitable  prac- 
tical and  scientific  attainments,  as  well  as  make  whatever  arrangements  the  nature  of  the 
institute  may  require.  The  State  Agricultural  Society  is  authorized  to  appropriate  any  sum 
not  exceeding  $10,000,  whenever  the  school  may  require  it,  and  also  to  make  annual  appro- 
priations according  to  the  extent  of  its  resources. 

The  Gardeners'  Educational  School,  established  some  years  ago  by  the  Belgian  government, 
and  located  at  Ghent,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  celebrated  horticulturist,  Van 
Houtte,  is  fulfilling  the  most  sanguine  expectations  which  have  been  formed  concerning  it. 
The  young  men,  admitted  between  the  age  of  fifteen  and  twenty,  receive  instruction,  board, 
and  lodging  in  the  establishment.  The  expense  is  600  francs  per  annum.  The  course  of 
lectures  and  instruction  lasts  three  years,  and  comprises  all  matters  which,  in  every  way,  an 
accomplished  gardener  ought  to  know.  The  professors  are  appointed  and  paid  by  the  Belgian 
government.  The  institution  is  equally  open  to  foreigners  as  well  as  citizens  of  Belgium, 
and,  although  but  recently  established,  has  already  pupils  from  many  different  nations.  The 
arrangements  of  the  school  comprise  spacious  lecture-rooms,  sitting-rooms,  and  dormitories 
for  the  pupils,  a  rich  garden,  museum,  library,  and  herbarium,  together  with  the  immense 
horticultural  establishment  of  Van  Houtte,  where  every  branch  of  the  business  is  carried  on 
on  a  great  scale— itself  the  best  practical  school  for  young  gardeners. 

The  Union  Agricultural  Society  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  whose  members  reside 
partially  in  Virginia  and  partly  in  North  Carolina,  have  recently  raised  the  sum  of  $20,000, 
and  established  a  model  and  experimental  farm,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  city  of 
Petersburg,  Virginia.  This  society  embraces  within  its  organization  the  border  counties  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  i.e.  what  is  called  the  south  side  of  Virginia,  (from  James 
River  south,)  and  all  that  portion  of  Carolina  which  finds  a  market  at  Petersburg.  The 
limits  of  the  farm  are  about  one  hundred  acres,  embracing  a  considerable  variety  of  soil,  a 
portion  of  which  has  been  slightly  improved  by  former  applications  of  marl  and  lime ;  but, 
as  a  whole,  its  present  condition  affords  an  ample  field  for  experiments  in  the  improvement 
of  worn-out  land,  by  the  judicious  application  of  manures,  deeper  and  more  perfect  tilth, 
subsoiling,  under-draining,  &c. 

Operations  were  commenced  upon  the  farm,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Nicol,  one 
of  the  editors  of  the  Southern  Farmer,  about  the  commencement  of  the  present  year.  During 
the  past  season,  the  suitable  buildings,  offices,  and  fences  have  been  erected,  the  farm  laid 
out,  trees  planted,  and  some  progress  made  in  the  course  of  practical  experimentation.  Thirty 
acres  were  seeded  with  various  kinds  of  oats,  and  treated  with  different  manures,  and  in  va- 
ried quantities ;  (the  results  will  be  found  in  the  present  volume,  department  of  Agricultural 


10  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Chemistry.)  Twenty-five  acres  were  planted  with  different  varieties  of  corn,  and  treated 
differently  with  various  manures.  The  same  course  has  also  been  followed  with  twenty  acres 
of  wheat. 

Thus  far,  the  greatest  success  has  attended  this  novel  enterprise,  which  may  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  important  steps  taken  for  the  advancement  of  American  agriculture  during 
the  past  year.  As  its  objects  are  by  no  means  local  or  sectional,  it  has  claims  upon  the 
interests  of  the  whole  country ;  and  American  agriculturists,  in  possession  of  cho\co  seeds, 
fruits,  &c.,  will  do  no  more  than  their  simple  duty  in  sending  specimens  to  the  superintend- 
ent, Mr.  Nicol. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  late  Commissioner  of  Patents,  Judge  Mason,  great  activity  has 
been  displayed  by  the  Agricultural  Department  of  the  Patent  Office.  A  large  number  of 
foreign  varieties  of  seeds  and  cuttings  have  been  imported  and  distributed,  and  an  agent  for 
the  collection  of  seeds  has  been  recently  sent  to  Europe.  In  addition,  also,  Mr.  Townsend 
Glover  has  been  employed  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the  habits  of  the  insects  injurious 
and  beneficial  to  crops,  and  illustrating  the  same  with  the  view  of  describing  them,  with  the 
remedies  for  their  diminution  or  destruction,  and  all  other  information  on  the  subject,  in  the 
agricultural  reports.  Mr.  Glover  has  been  engaged  during  the  year  past  in  watching  the 
operations  of  the  rice  and  cotton  insects  in  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  Alabama,  the  corn 
and  grain  insects  of  the  Middle  and  Northern  States,  and  the  insects  attacking  vines  and 
fruit-trees  in  general,  as  well  as  numerous  insects  beneficial  to  the  farmer. 

The  number  of  patents  issued  in  the  United  States  for  improvements  in  agricultural  ma- 
chines, implements,  and  processes  relating  to  agriculture,  during  the  year  ending  July,  1855, 
was  302 ;  of  this  number  there  were  issued  for  plows  and  cultivators,  40  patents ;  for  seed- 
planters,  45;  grain  and  grass  harvesters,  61;  straw-cutters,  19;  winnowers,  corn-shellers, 
and  threshers,  34. 

In  no  one  department  does  American  agriculture  appear  to  such  advantage  as  in  respect 
to  its  implements  and  machines  for  facilitating  or  economizing  labor.  Since  the  establishment 
of  the  Patent  Office,  up  to  1855,  there  have  been  granted  for  grain  and  grass  harvesters,  111 
patents ;  for  plows,  372 ;  for  straw-cutters,  153 ;  for  smut  machines,  140 ;  for  winnowers, 
163;  and  for  thrashing  machines,  378.  It  must  be  also  remembered  that,  for  every  patent 
granted,  at  least  two  applications  have  been  refused.  With  the  exception  of  stoves,  more 
patents  have  been  issued  for  agricultural  machines  and  implements  than  for  any  other  class 
of  inventions.  The  great  improvement  in  American  agricultural  implements  has,  however, 
been  comparatively  recent;  and  thirty  years  have  not  elapsed  since  "a  stalwart  man  could 
shoulder  and  carry  to  his  work  every  item  employed  to  aid  or  reduce  manual  labor,  except 
the  carts  and  an  unwieldy,  bungling  harrow." 

At  the  trial  of  agricultural  machines  exhibited  at  the  Great  Paris  Exhibition,  the  competi- 
tion for  reapers,  mowers,  and  thrashers  was,  in  reality,  confined  to  the  American  inventions, 
although  some  English  and  French  machines  were  on  the  ground.  The  results  of  the  French 
Exhibition,  in  common  with  that  of  the  great  English  one,  place  our  reaping  and  mowing 
machines,  by  general  acknowledgment,  far  in  advance  of  all  others.  The  advantages  of 
these  machines  during  the  past  season,  with  our  superabundant  crops,  have  been  very 
marked ;  and  they  are  to  be  found,  not  merely  in  the  saving  of  grain  and  the  cost  of  labor, 
but  in  the  fact  of  the  prompt  harvesting  of  every  field  as  it  successively  ripens,  without  hur- 
rying on  the  operation  before  the  grain  is  matured,  lest  unfavorable  weather  or  the  scantiness 
of  help,  should  oblige  the  postponement  of  the  cutting  till  much  of  the  grain  is  loosened 
from  the  ear  and  wasted  in  the  field. 

At  the  trial  of  thrashing  machines  at  the  Paris  Exhibition,  the  best  machine  exhibited,  was 
Pitt's  American  Thrasher.  In  the  competition  six  men  were  set  to  thrashing  with  flails  at 
the  same  moment  that  the  different  machines  commenced  operations,  and  the  following  were 
the  results  of  half  an  hour's  work : — 

Six  thrashers  with  flails 60  litres  of  wheat. 

Pitt's  American  Thrasher 740      "  " 

Clayton's  English  Thrasher 410      "  " 

Dunoir's  French  Thrasher 250     "  " 

Pinet's  Belgian  Thrasher 150     "  " 


PROGRESS  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  AGRICULTURE.          11 

In  regard  !•  Pitt's  machine,  the  Moniteur  says — 

"Pitt's  machine  has  therefore  gained  the  honors  of  the  day.  This  machine  literally  de- 
vours the  sheaves  of  wheat ;  the  eye  cannot  follow  the  work  which  is  effected  between  the 
entrance  of  the  sheaves  and  the  end  of  the  operation.  It  is  one  of  the  greatest  results  which 
it  is  possible  to  obtain.  The  impression  which  this  spectacle  produced  upon  the  Arab  chiefs 
was  profound." 

One  interesting  feature  attending  the  recent  great  improvement  in  the  construction  and 
operation  of  thrashers  and  winnowers  has  been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Allen,  of  the  American 
Agriculturist — that  since  the  introduction  of  these  machines  some  of  the  choicest  varieties 
of  wheat  have  been  extensively  cultivated,  which,  previously,  were  so  difficult  of  separation 
by  hand-thrashing,  as  to  be  excluded  from  the  best  wheat-growing  districts.  Machines  of 
this  character  are  now  in  existence,  which,  when  driven  by  a  single  horse,  are  capable  of  doing 
the  work  of  fifteen  men. 

Among  recent  novel  improvements  in  harvesters  patented,  are  machines  for  cutting  and 
collecting  corn-stalks,  harvesting  corn,  cutting  and  pulling  cotton  and  cotton-stalks. 

Numerous  trials  for  the  determination  of  the  value  of  the  various  patent  inventions  for 
reapers  and  mowers  have  been  made  in  various  parts  of  the  country  during  the  past  summer. 
The  results,  however,  from  the  want  of  any  fixed  rules,  have  exhibited  but  little  uniformity, 
and  are  of  slight  practical  value.  To  obviate  this  difficulty,  a  "  scale  of  points"  has  been 
prepared  by  Colonel  Johnson,  of  New  York,  Dr.  Elwyn,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  other  eminent 
agriculturists.  This  scale  will  be  found  in  full,  in  the  pages  of  the  Year-Book. 

The  trustees  of  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture  have  offered  a  high 
reward  for  the  best  mowing  machine  that  can  be  produced.  The  prize  is  $1000  to  the  maker 
or  exhibitor  of  the  best  mowing  machine,  to  be  awarded  in  1856. 

To  entitle  any  person  to  the  premium,  the  machine,  with  full  particulars  of  its  principles 
of  construction,  weight,  and  selling  price,  must  be  entered  for  competition  with  the  trustees 
on  or  before  the  first  day  of  June,  1866.  A  general  trial  will  be  had  of  all  the  competing 
machines,  due  notice  of  which  will  be  given,  together  with  all  needful  particulars,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  season  of  1856.  The  trustees,  in  awarding  the  one  thousand-dollar  pre- 
mium, will  not  confine  themselves  to  the  single  trial  which  will  be  afforded  to  competitors  to 
exhibit  the  powers  of  their  machines,  but  they  will  also  take  into  account  the  merits  of  each 
as  displayed  in  competing  for  this  year's  premium  and  in  its  ordinary  working,  both  for  this 
and  the  coming  year,  whenever  and  wherever  an  opportunity  is  afforded  of  seeing  it  in  opera- 
tion. All  communications  relative  to  the  subject  may  be  addressed  to  Thomas  Motley,  Jr., 
Jamaica  Plains,  or  R.  S.  Fay,  Boston,  Massachusetts. 

During  the  past  year  a  company  has  been  established  at  Newark,  Ohio,  for  the  purpose 
of  manufacturing,  principally,  portable  steam-engines,  to  be  used  for  various  agricultural 
purposes,  such  as  thrashing,  winnowing,  shelling,  and  grinding  corn,  &c.  These  portable 
engines,  in  time,  must  form  an  indispensable  appurtenance  of  every  large  and  well-regu- 
lated farm. 

The  whole  number  of  reaping  and  mowing  machines  estimated  to  have  been  sold  in  the 
United  States  during  the  past  season  is  upwards  of  fifteen  thousand,  possessing  a  value  of 
$2,000,000. 

The  following  conclusion  of  a  report  on  reaping  and  mowing  machines,  presented  by  one 
of  the  county  societies  of  Massachusetts,  contains  some  suggestions  relative  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  machinery  worthy  of  notice:  "Substitute,"  it  says,  "machinery  for  human  muscles 
as  far  as  possible.  Save  the  expenditure  of  exhausting  labor  and  hot  sweat  whenever  you 
can.  'In  the  doctrine  of  eternal  hard  work,  your  committee  do  not  b'elieve!'  It  has  come 
almost  to  this :  we  must  cultivate  our  fields  by  machinery,  or  not  at  all.  Help  is  scarce  and 
high,  and,  what  is  worse,  is  good  for  little  or  nothing  when  we  get  it.  Irish  help  is  next 
door  to  no  help  at  all.  The  chief  problem  is  not  how  much  they  cost,  but  how  much  they 
waxte  !  Hence,  if  we  must  have  them,  (and  who  has  any  other?)  let  us  have  as  little  as  we 
can.  As  fast  as  may  be,  let  us  introduce  horse-rakes,  and  corn-planters,  and  mowing  ma- 
chines to  our  farms,  or  hold  them  as  neighborhood  property.  Let  us  domesticate  among 
our  farming  tools  a  horse-power,  a  circular  saw,  a  thrashing  machine,  and  so  on ;  and  thus 


12  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

diminish  the  necessity  for  hand-help,  instead  of  importing  muscles  from  Irelauji  by  the  ship- 
load. If  Irishmen  will  come  and  demand  their  dollar  a  day  and  board,  and  codfish  on 
Fridays,  let  them  pass  along  to  those  who  can  afford  to  pay  them  and  put  up  with  their 
heedless  waste.  In  a  word,  let  us  do  what  almost  every  manufacturer  has  long  since  been 
obliged  to  do  to  make  his  business  profitable,  and  even  to  save  himself  from  being  crushed 
by  his  own  machinery ;  that  is,  avail  ourselves  of  all  the  helps  which  science  and  modern 
improvement  suggest  for  our  aid." 

The  State  Agricultural  Society  of  Illinois  have  recently  introduced  a  new  feature  into 
their  annual  exhibitions,  which  is  worthy  of  imitation.  This  is  the  exhibition  of  the  natural 
productions  of  the  State,  of  every  kind  and  variety,  derived  from  either  the  animal,  vege- 
table, or  mineral  kingdoms.  Such  annual  collections  must  obviously  tend  to  promote,  in  a 
very  great  degree,  the  study  and  the  taste  for  natural  history  and  the  diffusion  of  useful 
knowledge. 

The  third  annual  meeting  of  the  United  States  Agricultural  Society  was  held  in  Washing- 
ton, at  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  February  21,  1855.  Twenty-six  States  were  represented 
by  credited  delegates  from  State  and  county  societies,  and  there  was  also  a  large  number 
of  individual  members  of  the  Society  present.  The  Hon.  M.  P.  Wilder,  of  Massachusetts, 
President  of  the  Society,  on  taking  the  chair,  delivered  a  pertinent  address,  in  which  he  reca- 
pitulated the  operations  of  the  Society  during  the  past  year.  The  following  resolutions  were 
adopted  by  the  Society : — 

Whereas,  The  prosperity  of  a  country  is  in  proportion  to  the  improvement  of  its  agricul- 
ture ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  agriculture  should  be  the  first  interest  considered  in  legislating  for  the 
general  welfare,  and  that  such  legislation  should  be  had  as  will  foster  and  protect  this  interest, 
which  is  paramount  to  all  others. 

Resolved,  That  the  time  has  arrived  for  the  agriculturists  of  the  whole  country  to  meet  in 
convention,  and  determine  for  themselves  what  legislation  is  necessary  for  their  protection. 

Resolved,  That  such  a  convention,  to  be  composed  of  delegates  from  each  State  of  the 
Union,  be  earnestly  recommended  by  this  Society,  in  order  that  an  agricultural  platform  may 
be  established,  which  will  meet  the  views  of,  and  be  sustained  by,  the  whole  body  of  agri- 
culturists as  a  profession. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  ensuing  year :  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, President ;  W.  S.  King,  of  Boston,  Secretary ;  B.  B.  French,  Washington,  District 
of  Columbia,  Treasurer ;  Executive  Committee,  John  A.  King,  New  York,  C.  B.  Calvert,  Ma- 
ryland, A.  L.  Elwyn,  Pennsylvania,  J.  Wentworth,  Illinois,  B.  Perley  Poor,  Massachusetts, 
A.  Watts,  Ohio,  and  John  Jones,  Delaware. 

The  constitution  was  so  amended  as  to  have  the  payment  of  ten  dollars  constitute  life- 
membership,  and  to  change  the  time  for  holding  the  annual  meeting  to  the  second  Wednesday 
of  January. 

The  third  annual  exhibition  of  the  United  States  Agricultural  Society  was  held  at  Boston, 
October,  1855.  The  sum  of  $20,000  being  desired  for  the  payment  of  expenses  and  pre- 
miums, the  entire  amount  was  subscribed  in  one  hour,  through  the  efforts  of  the  president, 
Marshall  P.  Wilder.  $10,000  were  awarded  at  the  exhibition  for  premiums. 

The  great  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  for  1855,  was  held  at 
Carlisle,  in  July.  An  unusual  degree  of  interest  was  excited  in  respect  to  the  exhibition  of 
machines  intended  to  illustrate  the  application  of  steam  to  agricultural  purposes.  For  port- 
able steam-engines  adapted  to  farm-use,  eight  entries  were  made,  of  eight,  seven,  and  six- 
horse  power.  The  prices  ranged  from  $900  to  $1300;  the  cheapest  engine  of  eight-horse 
power  being  entered  at  a  cost  of  $900.  In  the  trials,  the  getting  up  of  steam  involved  a  con- 
sumption of  from  18  to  24  pounds  of  wood,  and  from  18 J  to  85  pounds  of  coal,  in  spaces 
varying  from  39  to  66  minutes.  The  quantity  of  coal  consumed  (per  pound)  per  horse,  per 
hour,  varied  from  3£  to  10  pounds.  The  prize  was  awarded  to  an  eight-horse  portable  en- 
gine, costing  $1250,  consuming,  in  getting  up  steam,  24  pounds  of  wood,  or  28  pounds  of 
coal,  in  66  minutes,  or  3T65ths  pounds  of  coal  per  horse-power,  per  hour,  when  in  full  operation. 

For  the  prize  of,  £200  offered  by  the  Society  for  the  best  steam-plow,  tractor,  or  cultivator, 


PROGRESS  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  AGRICULTURE.  13 

several  machines  were  entered.  The  most  remarkable  machine  of  this  kind  was  a  steam 
"horse"  or  "tractor,"  of  fourteen-horse  power,  exhibited  by  Mr.  Boydell.  In  this,  the  ma- 
chine forms  its  own  railway  as  it  goes  over  the  land,  thus  overcoming  one  great  difficulty  in 
the  way  of  steam  locomotion  upon  the  bare  earth.  s  It  ran  itself  from  the  show-yard,  over 
some  difficult  and  steep  road,  to  the  trial-field,  and  there  went  through  the  operations  of 
plowing,  scarifying,  and  harrowing,  with  very  fair  success.  Its  performances  seemed  to 
stagger  some  of  the  old  sticklers  for  things  as  they  are,  giving  a  pretty  broad  hint  that  steam 
was  insensibly  coming  closer  to  the  farmer.  This  invention,  with  some  others,  will  be  found 
described  in  another  department  of  this  volume. 

In  the  trial  of  power  chaff-cutters,  the  greatest  quantity  of  chaff  cut  by  one  machine  was 
1485  pounds  within  the  hour;  the  least,  600  pounds,  showing  a  considerable  variation.  The 
minimum  amount  of  power  required  for  cutting  11  pounds  of  chaff,  lifting  one  foot,  was 
1-267  pounds;  the  maximum,  2-868  pounds. 

In  the  trial  of  hand-power  chaff-cutters,  the  greatest  amount  of  chaff  cut  within  the  hour 
was  210  pounds ;  the  least,  90  pounds :  the  minimum  power  required  for  cutting  one  pound 
being  1-284  pounds;  the  maximum,  3-310  pounds. 

The  agricultural  department  of  the  Great  Exhibition  at  Paris  exhibited  little  of  interest  or 
novelty  to  American  visitors.  The  plows,  with  the  exception  of  the  English,  could  not  com- 
pare with  the  American  varieties,  either  in  design  or  workmanship.  The  chief  anxiety  of 
the  contrivers  would  seem  to  be,  says  Mr.  Greeley,  in  the  Tribune  correspondence,  "  that  each 
shall  be  thoroughly  guarded,  at  whatever  cost,  against  running  too  deep  into  the  ground, 
though  to  that  excess  they  manifest  not  the  slightest  inclination." 

'•  Many  of  the  harrows  exhibited  were  constructed  with  a  respect  for  the  truth  that  the 
pointed,  wedge-shaped  tooth  is  radically  vu-i«Mis,  tending  to  compact  the  soil  which  it  tries  to 
pulverize  and  loosen.  Harrow-teeth,  based  on  the  principle  of  the  plow  and  the  cultivator, 
cutting  easily,  lifting  and  turning  over  all  the  soil  that  they  disturb,  are  evidently  coming 

llioll." 

A  drain-tile,  of  somewhat  novel  construction,  was  exhibited.  The  novelty  consists  in  an 
independent  collar  or  broad  ring  (say  three  inches  wide)  which  loosely  covers  each  junction 
of  the  tile,  not  so  much  to  prevent  their  filling  up  with  earth  as  to  keep  one  from  sinking 
below  or  rising  above  the  other,  BO  as  to  stop  the  flow  of  water.  The  material  is,  of  course, 
that  of  the  tile. 

"It  is  unsafe,"  says  the  writer  above  quoted,  in  commenting  upon  the  agricultural  depart- 
ment of  this  exhibition,  "  to  condemn  what  you  do  not  fully  comprehend;  but  many  of  the 
European  contrivances  for  mowing,  reaping,  &c.  by  horse-power,  seem  absolutely  puerile 
compared  with  those  known  in  our  country.  So  the  machines  for  thrashing  and  cleaning 
grain  here  exhibited  seem  generally  such  as  we  have  for  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years  been 
superseding  by  better,  and  some  of  them  clumsily  made  and  in  bad  condition,  as  if  they  had 
been  brought  here  from  an  old  lumber-room,  without  cleaning." 

The  Floral  Fete  at  the  London  Crystal  Palace  in  June  last  was  probably  the  greatest 
heretofore  seen  in  Europe.  Five  thousand  dollars  were  distributed  in  prizes.  Of  course  all 
the  skilled  gardeners  of  the  kingdom  rallied  round  the  head  of  their  order,  Sir  Joseph  Paxton, 
each  vying  to  excel.  In  the  fruit  department,  owing  to  a  cold  spring,  there  was  a  disap- 
pointment. The  show  of  rhododendrons  was  most  magnificent. 

The  last  meeting  of  the  National  Pomological  Society  was  holden  at  Boston,  September  13, 
1854,  Hon.  Marshall  P.  Wilder  in  the  chair.  A  most  able  and  practical  address  was  delivered 
by  the  president  on  the  Raising  of  Fruits  from  the  Seed,  the  Arts  of  Cultivation,  and  the 
Preservation  and  Ripening  of  Fruits.  The  following  officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  una- 
nimously elected :  Marshall  P.  Wilder,  President;  one  vice-president  from  each  State;  H. 
W.  S.  Cleveland,  Secretary ;  Thos.  P.  James,  Treasurer.  The  Society  adjourned  to  meet  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  in  September,  1856. 

The  progress  made  from  year  to  year  in  the  cultivation  of  fruit  is  a  marked  feature  in 
American  agriculture  and  economic  industry.  It  is  stated  that  at  least  one  thousand  persons, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Rochester,  New  York,  alone,  are  employed  in  the  cultivation  of  fruit-trees, 
the  sales  of  the  products  of  whose  labor  amounted,  in  1854,  to  half  a  million  of  dollars. 


H  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

More  fruit-trees,  it  is  also  said,  are  raised  in  Monroe  county,  New  York,  than  in  all  the 
United  States  besides,  and  these  find  a  market  in  every  district  from  Maine  to  the  interior 
of  California.  Indeed,  throughout  the  whole  of  Western  New  York,  fruit  is  rapidly  becoming 
one  of  the  staple  productions.  Both  climate  and  soil  have  proved  highly  favorable  to  its 
cultivation.  Apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums,  quinces,  and  all  the  smaller  fruits  are  produced 
in  the  highest  perfection,  and,  if  we  except  peaches,  which  of  late  have  been  somewhat  un- 
certain, the  crops  very  seldom  fail.  Besides,  there  exists  the  most  ample  facilities  for  mar- 
keting that  could  possibly  be  desired.  One  reason  which  has  greatly  contributed  to  extend 
the  cultivation  of  fruit  in  Western  New  York  is,  that  the  wheat  crop — the  great  staple  of  this 
region — is  annually  diminishing  in  value  on  account  of  the  extensive  ravages  of  the  weevil. 
Hundreds  of  acres,  which  have  formerly  been  devoted  to  wheat-culture,  have,  during  the  past 
season,  in  the  Genesee  Valley,  been  planted  with  rye.  In  addition,  the  rivalry  and  greater 
productiveness  of  the  Western  States,  brought  into  close  proximity  by  the  increased  facilities 
for  intercommunication,  have  rendered  the  wheat  crop  of  Western  New  York  less  profitable 
than  in  former  years.  On  all  these  accounts,  therefore,  many  of  the  New  York  agriculturists 
have  latterly  given  their  attention,  with  great  profit  and  success,  to  fruit-growing ;  and  in  this 
respect  the  "  Genesee  country"  has  become  already  famous.  For  the  purpose  of  extending 
knowledge  and  promoting  the  production  of  fruit,  a  society  has  been  recently  organized, 
under  the  title  of  "The  Fruit-Growers'  Society  of  Western  New  York,"  which  announces  its 
object  to  be  "the  advancement  of  the  science  of  pomology  and  the  art  of  fruit-culture."  It 
embraces  the  twenty-three  western  counties  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  in  each  county 
there  is  appointed  a  committee  of  three  persons,  selected  from  among  the  most  intelligent, 
experienced,  and  zealous  cultivators  of  fruit.  These  twenty-three  county  committees  unitedly 
form  one  general  committee,  which  has  a  chairman,  who  will  receive  all  their  reports  and 
prepare  them  for  publication  at  the  end  of  the  year.  By  way  of  suggesting  a  course  of  in- 
quiry to  the  local  committees,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  the  work  of  making  up 
reports,  the  chairman  of  the  general  committee  has  issued  a  circular  in  which  the  more  im- 
portant subjects  for  inquiry  are  brought  forward  in  the  form  of  questions,  thus: 

1.  About  how  much  land,  in  your  county,  is  there  occupied  with  fruit-trees  ?  2.  About 
how  many  fruit-trees  are  there  under  cultivation  in  your  county,  exclusive  of  nurseries  ?  and 
how  many  of  these  are  apple,  pear,  peach,  plum,  cherry,  &c.  ?  3.  What  would  you  estimate 
the  annual  produce  of  fruit  to  be  in  your  county,  in  bushels  or  other  given  quantities  ?  and 
how  does  the  culture  of  fruits  compare  with  ordinary  field  crops,  as  to  profit?  4.  What 
quantity  of  fruits  are  sold  annually  from  your  county,  and  their  value  per  bushel,  barrel, 
&c.  ?  5.  How  many  nurseries  of  fruit-trees  are  there  in  your  county  ?  how  many  acres  of 
land  do  they  occupy  ?  and  about  how  many  trees  of  the  different  fruits  have  they  under 
cultivation  ? 

It  is  also  required,  or  recommended  in  the  Society's  by-laws,  that  each  county  committee 
shall  report,  as  often  as  once  a  month,  such  information  as  may  have  been  collected  during 
that  period.  These  monthly  reports  have  been  recommended  on  the  ground  that  when  the 
preparation  of  a  report  is  postponed  to  the  end  of  the  year,  it  is  either  done  hurriedly  and 
loosely,  or  it  is  not  done  at  all ;  whereas  a  few  notes  during  a  month  can  be  written  out  in  a 
few  minutes,  and,  being  fresh  in  the  memory,  will  be  much  more  likely  to  be  correct.  This 
plan  strikes  us  favorably,  and  is  at  least  worthy  a  trial.  One  thing  it  will  do  for  those 
who  put  it  in  practice,  and  that  is,  it  will  give  them,  what  is  of  great  value,  a  habit  of  ob- 
serving matters  of  interest  closely,  and  of  putting  on  record  useful  and  interesting  facts  con- 
cerning their  daily  affairs.  How  negligent  the  mass  of  mankind  are  in  this  respect ! 

In  addition  to  the  minute  practical  investigations  of  this  general  committee,  the  Society 
intends  to  hold  annual  or  semi-annual  meetings,  for  the  exhibition,  examination,  and  com- 
parison of  fruits ;  to  hear  reports,  and  discuss  such  matters  as  may  at  the  time  be  deemed 
of  most  importance.  These  meetings  are  to  be  held  alternately  in  all  the  large  towns,  lying 
at  accessible  points,  within  the  twenty-three  counties. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  this  Society,  M.  P.  Barry,  chairman  of  the  fruit  committees  in  the 
several  counties,  stated  it  as  his  opinion,  derived  from  the  returns  made  him,  that  there  are 
four  thousand  acres  of  nursery  embraced  within  the  twenty-three  counties  covered  by  the 


PROGRESS  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  AGRICULTURE.  15 

Society.  At  10,000  trees  per  acre,  this  would  give  40,000,000  trees ;  one-fourth  of  which, 
yearly,  would  be  10,000,000  trees  annually  set  oat. 

On  the  Pacific  slope  of  our  country,  considerable  attention  has  been  already  given  to  the 
subject  of  horticulture  and  fruit-growing.  A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Country  Gen- 
tleman states  that  the  fruit  crop  of  Oregon,  for  1854,  sold  for  $200,000.  One  grower,  whose 
oldest  trees  were  brought  across  the  Plains  in  a  wagon,  imbedded  in  soil,  about  ten  years 
since,  and  then  no  larger  than  pipestems,  sold  his  crop  in  San  Francisco  for  the  sum  of 
$20,000. 

"No  man,"  says  the  Horticulturist,  "  either  in  Europe  or  America,  who  has  any  knowledge 
of  the  fruit-growing  capacities  of  the  United  States,  entertains  the  slightest  doubt  but  that 
we  are  to  be  the  greatest  fruit-growing  and  fruit-consuming  people  in  the  world.  Even  now, 
in  the  very  morning  of  our  national  existence,  with  the  stumps  of  the  primeval  forests  yet 
standing  thick  around  us  in  the  oldest  States,  fruit-culture  has  acquired  such  an  importance 
as  it  never  has  attained  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  There,  the  few  grow  and  consume 
fruits ;  here,  the  million.  This  is  no  empty  boast — although  something  to  boast  of — but  a 
simple  truth.  In  this  country  there  are  few  tenants;  all,  or  nearly  all,  are  proprietors,  and 
have  all  the  encouragement  which  belongs  to  the  indisputable  ownership  of  the  soil.  Added 
to  this,  is  a  vast  territory,  fertile  soil,  and  a  climate  varied  in  such  a  manner  that  here  we 
can  succeed  with  one  class  of  fruits,  and  there  with  another.  Within  the  present  boundaries 
of  these  United  States,  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  fruits  cultivated  for  the  use  of  man  can  be 
grown  successfully  m  the  open  air" 

As  a  striking  illustration  of  the  rapid  extension  of  civilization  westward  in  the  United 
States,  and  of  the  great  attention  paid  to  horticulture,  even  its  most  elegant  departments,  in 
our  new  settlements,  we  copy  the  following  card  from  a  letter  received  by  us:  "Zf.  A.  Terry 
$  Co.,  Seedsmen  and  Florists,  Proprietors  of  Glenmary  Garden,  Dealers  in  Trees,  Vines,  Shrubs, 
Seeds,  Books,  £c.,  COUNCIL  BLUFFS,  IOWA."  This  place,  until  within  a  very  recent  period, 
was  the  extreme  military  post  of  the  United  States  on  our  Western  frontier.  It  is  nearly 
eleven  hundred  miles  distant  from  tide-water,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  west  of  the  capital 
of  Iowa,  which  last  place,  in  1839,  did  not  contain  a  single  inhabitant.  In  1845,  the  county 
of  which  Council  Bluffs  is  the  shire-town,  was  included  within  the  Indian  Territory.  The 
population  of  Council  Bluffs  at  the  present  time  is  nearly  ten  thousand. 

"One  of  the  most  gratifying  indications,  also,  of  the  permanent  prosperity  of  California,  is 
the  great  and  rapid  increase  of  her  agricultural  resources.  Two  years  ago,  she  was  known 
only  as  a  mining  country,  and  the  impression  was,  that,  but  for  her  mineral  resources,  the 
State  would  be  valueless.  This  idea  has  been  not  only  proved  erroneous,  but  the  fact  has 
been  fully  established  that  this  is  one,  or  can  be  made  one,  of  the  best  agricultural  States  in 
the  Union.  Nowhere  can  wheat,  oats,  barley,  and  most  kinds  of  vegetables  be  grown  with 
less  labor  and  expense  than  here.  The  soil  is  fertile  and  the  climate  unequalled." 

It  is  now  estimated  that  sufficient  wheat  will  be  grown  in  California  to  supply  the  entire 
demand  until  the  next  year's  crop. 

From  a  report  made  to  the  Liberian  government,  it  appears  that  agriculture  has  not  been 
neglected  in  this  growing  State.  A  model  farm  and  plantation,  some  time  since  established, 
is  progressing  favorably.  Coffee  grows  with  great  luxuriance,  as  well  as  the  different  varie- 
ties of  grapes  and  the  olive.  The  cinnamon-tree,  introduced  from  the  East  Indies,  is  also 
multiplying  rapidly. 

The  legislature  of  Tennessee,  at  its  last  session,  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  and 
present  a  gold  medal,  with  suitable  devices  and  inscriptions,  to  Mark  R.  Cockrell,  Esq.,  as  a 
testimonial  of  esteem  for  his  devotion  to  the  advancement  and  development  of  the  agricul- 
tural resources  of  that  State,  especially  the  wool-growing  interests. 

Upon  the  presentation  of  the  medal,  Mr.  Cockrell,  in  reply  to  the  remarks  of  the  commit- 
tee, said:  "At  the  World's  Fair  at  London,  in  1851,  the  premium  for  the  golden  fleece  was 
awarded  to  Tennessee.  Germany,  Spain,  Saxony,  and  Silicia  were  there ;  the  competition 
was  strong,  honorable,  and  fair.  Nature  gave  me  the  advantage  in  climate,  but  the  noble 
lords  and  wealthy  princes  of  Europe  did  not  know  it,  neither  did  my  own  countrymen  know 
it,  until  we  met  in  the  Crystal  Palace  of  London  before  a  million  of  spectators.  While  their 


16  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

flocks  were  housed  six  months  in  the  year,  to  shelter  them  from  the  snow  of  a  high  latitude, 
and  were  fed  from  the  granaries  and  stock-yards,  mine  were  roaming  over  the  green  pastures 
of  Tennessee,  warmed  by  the  genial  influence  of  a  Southern  sun — the  fleece  thus  softened 
and  rendered  oily  by  the  warmth  and  green  food,  producing  a  fine,  even  fibre." 

A  number  of  the  leading  English  agriculturists,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  appreciation  of 
the  services  rendered  to  the  cause  of  agriculture  by  Mr.  Lawes,  (well  known  for  his  experi- 
mental investigations  on  the  growth  of  wheat,  mineral  manures,  &c.,  in  connection  with  Dr. 
Gilbert,)  have  recently  erected  and  furnished  a  laboratory,  which,  together  with  an  elegant 
silver  candelabrum,  has  been  presented  to  him.  It  may  be  expected  that,  with  increased 
facilities,  more  new  and  valuable  results  will  be  attained. 

The  importations  of  English  cattle  into  the  United  States  have  been  very  numerous  during 
the  past  year.  "A  few  years  ago  the  taste  ran  in  a  different  direction,  and  blood-horses 
were  all  the  go.  Priam,  Glencoe,  Monarch,  and  horses  of  that  stamp  were  purchased  in 
England  at  enormous  prices — 15,000  or  16,000  dollars  being  paid  for  a  single  animal;  but  a 
fondness  for  racing  has  diminished,  not  only  in  the  Northern  but  also  in  Southern  States, 
and  the  importation  of  well-bred  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs  has  been  pursued  with  more  ardor." 

In  Kentucky,  in  Bourbon  county  especially,  there  are  at  present  some  of  the  finest 
cattle  in  the  world,  the  descendants  of  foreign  Shorthorn  stock.  As  a  proof  of  their  supe- 
riority over  the  present  English  cattle,  the  Ohio  Farmer  states  the  following  conclusive  fact : 
"In  the  last  three  years  about  two  hundred  head  of  English  Shorthorns  have  been  imported 
into  Kentucky,  and  not  one  in  ten  out  of  them  have  been  able  to  take  premiums  over  those 
bred  in  Kentucky,  and,  out  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cows,  but  two  have  been  successful  com- 
petitors. The  bulls  have  been  more  successful  than  the  cows,  for  the  reason  that  aged  Ken- 
tucky bulls  have  been  sold  out  of  the  State." 

There  is  something  in  the  climate  and  soil  of  Kentucky  extremely  favorable  to  the  de- 
velopment of  stock ;  and  it  is  stated  that,  within  a  district  of  that  State  not  exceeding  forty 
miles  square,  there  are  now  as  many  fine  cattle  bred  as  in  all  England. 

The  cattle  interest  of  the  Western  States  has  also  become  one  of  great  magnitude,  espe- 
cially in  Ohio.  The  best  evidence  of  this  is  the  continued  announcement  of  importations, 
intended  for  this  section  of  the  country,  and  the  exhibitions  of  the  various  State  fairs.  Some 
of  the  finest  of  the  recently-imported  stock  in  the  United  States  is  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  United  Society  of  Shakers,  of  Union  Village,  Warren  county,  Ohio.  The  Ohio  Farmer 
states  that  $2000  were  paid  by  this  Society  for  a  short-horned  prize  bull,  imported  during  the 
past  summer. 

The  Cashmere  and  Angora  goats,  and  the  Brahmin  cattle,  imported  sometime  since  by  Dr. 
Davis,  of  South  Carolina,  are  multiplying  both  directly  and  by  crossing  with  native  stock. 
The  results  thus  far  attained  exceed  the  most  sanguine  expectations. 

A  number  of  alpaca  sheep  have  also  been  recently  introduced  into  the  United  States  from 
Peru,  by  Captain  James  Pedersen,  of  New  Jersey. 

The  strange  mania  which  has  of  late  years  manifested  itself  for  importing  and  breeding 
foreign  fowls,  has  nearly  exhausted  itself.  The  effect,  so  far  from  being  beneficial,  has  un- 
doubtedly produced  a  deterioration  of  some  of  the  most  valued  varieties  of  our  domestic 
fowls.  Hybrid  races  have  been  produced,  which  are  incapable,  in  a  great  degree,  of  propa- 
gating their  species,  are  useless  for  supplying  eggs,  and  worthless  for  the  table.  We  would 
call  attention  to  a  paper  in  support  of  these  views,*  recently  read  before  the  Boston  Society 
of  Natural  History  by  Dr.  Kneeland. 

Increased  attention,  attended  with  valuable  practical  results,  has  been  recently  given  to 
the  subject  of  the  artificial  propagation  of  fish  in  the  United  States.  In  Ohio,  Drs.  Garlick 
and  Ackley,  of  Cleveland,  have  succeeded  in  propagating  the  speckled  trout  (Salmo  fontanalis) 
of  Lake  Superior  in  great  numbers,  at  small  expense.  A  most  interesting  account  of  their 
experience  has  been  published  in  the  columns  of  the  Ohio  Farmer,  and  an  abstract  of  the 
same  will  also  be  found  in  the  present  volume.  The  Natural  History  Society  of  New  Jersey 
have  proposed  to  stock  the  waters  of  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware,  the  Susquehanna,  and 

*  See  department  of  the  Year-Book,  Agricultural  Zoology. 


PROGRESS  AND  PROSPECTS   OF   AGRICULTURE.  17 

their  tributaries,  with  the  salmon  and  other  valuable  fish,  on  condition  that  the  several  States 
of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  will  defray  the  trifling  expense  of  transporting 
the  eggs  and  parent  fish  to  the  proper  localities,  and  enact  laws  providing  for  the  protection 
and  preservation  of  the  young  fry.  The  estimated  amount  of  expenditure  required  on  the 
part  of  the  States  is  only  about  two  thousand  dollars,  and  the  end  which  can  certainly  be 
thereby  accomplished  is  the  creation  or  regeneration  of  a  great  and  important  branch  of 
national  industry. 

Joseph  Remy,  the  poor  fisherman  of  the  Yosges,  France,  who  discovered  the  art  of  artifi- 
cially propagating  fish,  recently  died  at  Bresse  from  a  disease  brought  on  by  exposure  to 
inclement  weather  in  his  researches.  A  pension  of  1200  francs  had  been  awarded  him  for 
his  labors  in  this  interesting  branch  of  ichthyology.  His  son,  Laurent  Remy,  is  a  zealous 
disciple  of  his  father ;  and  has  exhibited  so  much  skill  in  the  art  of  pisciculture,  as  to  have 
been  intrusted  by  government  with  the  duty  of  keeping  the  waters  in  the  department  of  the 
Loire  stocked  with  fish.  This  business  has  become  a  recognised  feature  in  the  list  of  aliment- 
ary productions  in  France. 

In  connection  with  the  French  Industrial  Exhibition,  there  was  held,  during  the  past  sum- 
mer, a  show  of  live-stock,  at  which  specimens  of  the  breeds  of  several  different  countries 
were  presented.  The  English  farmers  were  there  with  their  Shorthorns,  Herefords,  Devons, 
and  the  most  popular  breeds  of  sheep  and  swine.  The  cattle  brought  from  Switzerland,  and 
known  as  the  Fribourg  breed,  appear  to  have  been  the  objects  of  special  interest.  They  are 
characterized  by  a  surprising  bulkiness  of  frame,  being  larger  than  any  native  breed  of  Great 
Britain.  The  color  is  brown  or  black,  with  large  patches  of  white,  and  the  face  and  back 
generally  white.  The  prices  asked  for  these  cattle  were  fully  e<iual  to  those  demanded  for 
choice  English  stock.  As  much  as  £08  was  refused  for  an  indifferent  bull  of  the  Fribourg 
breed,  and  he  was  again  taken  back  to  Geneva.  Two  cows  from  the  same  district  were  pur- 
chased by  a  small  proprietor  within  six  miles  of  Paris,  for  £31  each,  and  these  were  con- 
sidered a  bargain.  Higher  prices  were  refused  for  cows  of  the  Schwitz  breed,  and  many  of 
these  were  taken  back  to  Switzerland,  a  distance  of  six  hundred  miles ;  and  this  these  cows 
had  accomplished  on  foot,  shod,  of  course,  but  active,  and  not  apparently  injured  by  the 
journey.  They  are  structurally  well  adapted  for  travelling. 

The  exhibition  of  stock  at  the  recent  fair  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  at  Carlisle, 
England,  is  said  to  have  been  fully  equal  in  numbers  and  quality  to  any  of  the  previous  fairs 
of  the  Society.  The  special  correspondent  of  the  Mark  Lane  Express  says : 

A  more  splendid  show  of  Shorthorns  we  believe  we  never  saw — so  uniformly  good,  (with 
one  or  two  exceptions  only,)  and  denoting  not  only  all  that  beauty  of  color,  form,  and  feature 
which  all  so  much  admire  and  love  to  see,  but  those  better  and  more  substantial  qualities — a 
large,  rotund,  proportionate  frame,  evidencing  a  tendency  or  capacity  to  produce  plenty  of 
good  lean  flesh,  and  of  the  priraest  quality,  as  well  as  to  lay  on,  as  they  do,  such  enormous 
quantities  of  fat.  This  is  as  it  should  be :  who  can  dine  from  off  fat  meat  ?  We  are  glad  to 
notice  such  a  feature  at  this  meeting.  We  think  more  attention  is  given  to  the  breeding  of 
animals  of  heavier  frame,  and  denoting  a  tendency  or  propensity  to  produce  good  lean  flesh, 
than  heretofore.  For  the  public  good,  we  beg  most  earnestly  still  closer  attention  to  this 
principle  in  breeding  in  every  class. 

The  show  of  Devons  was  small,  only  23  animals — whereas  the  average  of  the  past  nine 
years  was  51,  and  that  of  Shorthorns,  98. 

In  virtue  of  a  recommendation  from  the  War  Department,  Congress,  at  its  last  session, 
passed  an  appropriation  for  the  purpose  of  importing  camels  from  the  East,  to  be  used  as 
beasts  of  burden  on  the  vast  sandy  plains  of  the  South-west  which  intersect  the  overland 
route  to  California.  A  national  vessel,  in  charge  of  officers  especially  detailed  for  this  pur- 
pose, has  been  sent  to  the  Mediterranean,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  required  number 
of  these  animals. 

The  production  of  vegetable  oils  is  a  subject  which  imperatively  demands  the  attention  of 
our  agriculturists.  The  price  and  the  consumption  of  animal  oils  is  increasing  most  rapidly, 
and  the  vegetable  kingdom  presents  the  only  source  from  which  we  can  expect  to  derive  a 
cheap  and  adequate  supply.  An  appeal  has  been  made  to  the  farmers  of  the  United  States 

2 


18  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

on  behalf  of  the  Light-house  Board,  to  engage  in  the  cultivation  of  the  rape  and  colza — 
plants  extensively  and  most  profitably  grown  in  Europe. 

It  is  a  serious  question  whether  our  agriculturists,  in  importing  foreign  seeds  and  plants, 
are  not  neglecting  valuable  products  and  materials  which  are  abundant  at  our  very  doors. 
The  cotton-seed  annually  wasted  at  the  South  is  capable  of  affording  a  large  amount  of  su- 
perior oil.  Recent  experiments,  made  in  Scotland,  show  that  the  cotton-seed  cake,  after 
pressing,  is  equal  to  linseed,  rape,  or  bean  cake  for  the  feeding  of  stock.  Indeed,  its  im- 
portation from  New  Orleans  into  Great  Britain,  for  this  purpose,  has  already  commenced. 
Other  facts,  of  a  similar  character,  might  also  be  adduced. 

Many  of  our  readers  will  remember  the  splendid  collection  of  woods,  seeds,  mineral  and 
vegetable  products  sent  from  British  Guiana  for  the  New  York  Crystal  Palace.  This  valuable 
and,  at  the  same  time,  perfectly  unique  collection,  made  by  the  colonial  government  at  great 
expense,  has  been  secured,  through  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Gale,  of  Washington,  and  the  aid  of 
the  British  Minister,  for  the  National  Institute,  and  will,  hereafter,  form  an  important  feature 
in  the  museum  of  this  Society. 

In  Russia,  for  some  years  past,  a  peculiar  disease,  called  "rinder-pest,"  or  cattle-plague, 
has  been  committing  fearful  ravages  among  the  flocks  and  herds  of  that  country.  During 
the  past  year  it  has  exhibited  some  tendency  to  spread  westward  into  Austria  and  Prussia. 
The  authorities  of  the  latter  country  have,  therefore,  just  published  a  proclamation  totally 
prohibiting  the  importation  from  Russia  of  horned  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  pigs,  dogs,  and  poul- 
try ;  fresh  skins  of  oxen  and  other  animals,  horns,  unmelted  tallow,  fresh  beef,  furs,  manure, 
and  stable  implements  that  have  been  used.  The  following  articles  are  prohibited  if  there  is 
reason  to  believe  they  are  the  produce  of  infected  or  suspected  districts :  Raw  wool,  dried 
hides,  and  the  hair  of  animals,  with  the  exception  of  hogs'  bristles.  All  persons  who,  from 
the  nature  of  their  avocations,  may  be  fairly  supposed  to  have  had  personal  contact  with 
infected  cattle,  such  as  cattle-dealers,  butchers,  graziers,  drovers,  tanners,  leather-merchants, 
and  poultry-dealers,  will  not  be  allowed  to  enter  the  Prussian  territory ;  and  should  special 
reasons  exist  for  making  exceptions  in  particular  cases,  they  must  remain  for  some  days 
before  their  admission  under  the  surveillance  of  the  authorities,  submitting  to  such  regula- 
tions as  may  be  considered  needful  for  the  general  security.  In  order  the  more  effectually 
to  maintain  a  control  over  travellers  and  goods  arriving  from  Russia,  they  will  only  be  allowed 
to  cross  the  frontiers  at  specified  points,  all  others  for  the  present  being  closed. 

The  subject  has  also  come  before  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  and  the 
matter  is  also  under  serious  consideration  both  on  the  part  of  the  Society  and  of  the  Govern- 
ment. There  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  disease  has  made  its  appearance  also  in  the 
Crimea  among  the  animals  intended  for  the  allied  armies,  and  the  French  government  have 
especially  instructed  their  veterinary  surgeons  in  reference  to  its  nature  and  propagation. 

The  potato  disease  appears  to  be  diminishing  in  intensity,  and  but  little  complaint  com- 
paratively has  been  made  of  it  during  the  past  season.  The  British  Meteorological  Society, 
as  the  result  of  a  long  series  of  observations,  have  recently  published  the  following  summary 
of  conclusions  to  which  they  have  arrived : — 

That  the  vital  energy  of  the  potato  is  unimpaired,  and  that  it  never  becomes  diseased 
until  the  stage  of  flowering,  which  is  about  one  hundred  days,  or  about  three  months,  from 
the  time  of  planting ;  that  the  causes  are  simultaneous  in  their  action  over  a  large  tract  of 
country,  and  at  great  distances,  and  are  peculiar  to  the  soil  and  air.  That  the  object  of  the 
agriculturist  ought  to  be  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  endeavor  to  economize  the 
vital  power  of  the  plant  at  the  time  of  flowering ;  and  the  removal  of  the  flower  before  the 
formation  of  the  seed  would  seem  to  contribute  to  this  end. 

Two  interesting  productions  have  been  recently  introduced  into  the  Jardin  des  Plantes,  at 
Paris,  from  Ecuador,  by  M.  Bourcier,  formerly  consul-general  of  France  in  that  country. 
One  is  the  red  and  yellow  ocas,  which  is  of  the  form  of  a  long  potato,  and  has  the  taste  of  a 
chestnut ;  the  other  is  the  milloco,  which  has  the  taste  and  form  of  our  best  potatoes.  These 
two  roots,  which  are  found  in  great  abundance  in  the  neighborhood  of  Quito,  grow  readily  in 
the  poorest  land.  The  oca  is  cultivated  in  the  fields  of  Mexico,  but  only  succeeds  in  the 
warmer  districts. 


PROGRESS  AND  PROSPECTS  OP  AGRICULTURE.          19 

In  Great  Britain  the  potato-rot  has  been  much  less  this  year  than  formerly.  The  European 
crop  also  has  been  generally  large. 

Attention  has  also  been  directed  to  the  fact,  that  the  sycamore-trees,  •which,  for  a  number  of 
years  past,  have  been  diseased,  are  now  recovering.  The  malady  appears  to  have  commenced 
about  the  same  time  as  that  affecting  the  potato,  and  has  never  been  explained  or  satisfac- 
torily accounted  for  in  any  way. 

In  some  parts  of  the  South,  especially  in  Louisiana,  great  trouble  is  experienced  from  the 
rapid  extension  and  propagation  of  the  so-called  "coaco,"  or  "nut-grass."  The  legislature 
of  Louisiana  have  offered  a  premium  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  any  practical  plan  of  de- 
stroying it.  A  writer  in  the  American  Cotton- Planter  states  that  some  of  the  most  valuable 
plantations  in  Louisiana  have  been  rendered  almost  worthless  by  it,  and  that,  unless  great 
precautions  are  taken,  it  will  spread  over  the  whole  of  the  Southern  States. 

One  of  the  results  of  the  Japan  expedition,  under  Commodore  Perry,  was  the  procurement 
of  a  large  number  of  Chinese  and  Japanese  plants,  which  have  been  deposited  in  the  National 
Conservatory  at  Washington.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  Chinese  gardener,  who  is  said  to 
be  well  versed  in  the  Eastern  style  of  trimming  shrubs  and  training  flowers. 

The  foreign  varieties  thus  procured  embrace  several  new  varieties  of  roses,  including  the 
China  black  rose,  the  guava,  custard-apple,  several  varieties  of  oranges,  persimmons,  and 
dates,  various  species  of  China  lilies,  the  lemon-grass,  blue  magnolia,  and  others. 

During  the  past  year  a  quantity  of  African  corn  has  been  imported  into  Boston  from  Wine- 
babah,  on  the  west  coast.  The  corn  resembles  our  Southern  corn,  but  the  kernels  are  some- 
what smaller. 

At  the  last  session  of  the  legislature  of  New  York,  an  appropriation  was  granted  to  the 
State  Agricultural  Society  to  defray  the  expense  of  an  investigation  into  the  habits  and  cha- 
racter of  the  insects  of  that  State  injurious  to  vegetation.  The  work  has  been  .intrusted  to 
Dr.  Asa  Fitch,  well  known  as  an  entomologist.  A  collection  already  made  by  Dr.  F.  is  un- 
ili-r-'tood  to  be  the  finest  and  most  complete  in  the  United  States,  and  in  some  respects  is 
unsurpassed  by  any  in  Europe. 

As  an  encouragement  for  the  growth  of  flax  in  Maine,  the  legislature  of  that  State,  at  its 
last  session,  passed  the  following  resolution  : — 

Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  is  hereby  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Maine 
State  Agricultural  Society  for  the  encouragement  of  the  raising  of  flax  in  this  State,  to  be 
appropriated  in  such  manner  as  in  their  judgment  will  best  subserve  such  purpose. 

The  State  Agricultural  Society,  on  their  part,  voted  to  offer  the  whole  in  premiums,  dis- 
tributing $400  among  the  county  societies,  and  reserving  $100  to  be  offered  in  premiums  by 
the  State  Society. 

By  the  London  Times,  of  August  9, 1855,  it  appears  that  the  attempt  to  improve  the  culti- 
vation of  cotton  in  India,  which,  up  to  1842,  had  failed  upon  government  farms  under  the 
care  of  government  servants,  has  not  been  more  successful  in  the  hands  of  the  natives.  This 
is  ascribed  to  the  prejudices  of  the  natives,  coinciding  with  the  belief  of  certain  of  the  go- 
vernment agents,  that  "the  introduction  of  the  American  varieties"  would  be  of  no  benefit 
to  India.  By  the  sales  by  auction  at  Bombay  it  is,  however,  shown  that  the  cotton  grown 
from  American  seed  for  the  last  seven  years  has  averaged  from  twenty-five  to  twenty-six  per 
cent,  higher  than  the  native  cotton.  The  Times,  therefore,  argues  that  further  effort  should 
be  made.  From  this  it  appears  that  it  is  not  likely  that  the  United  States  will  ever  have  a 
very  formidable  competitor  in  India. 

Instigated  by  the  high  prices  of  breadstuff's  during  the  past  year  in  France,  all  the  che- 
mical and  mechanical  resourceiof  that  country  have  been  applied  in  various  directions  for 
the  discovery,  development,  an  Jincrease  in  quantity  and  quality  of  farinaceous  edible  matter. 
We  have  new  inventions  for  corn-grinding,  bread-making,  and  bread-baking.  Agriculturists, 
more  or  less  encouraged  by  government,  are  experimenting  in  the  culture  of  roots  and  grains 
new  to  the  soil  of  France.  Among  these  a  variety  of  upland  rice  may  be  particularly  men- 
tioned. A  Mr.  Callias  seems  in  the  way  to-turn  the  fecula  of  horse-chestnuts  to  profitable 
account  as  a  substitute  for  wheat  and  potatoes,  if  not  on  the  table,  at  least  in  the  industrial 
arts.  The  fecula  of  the  horse-chestnut  is  extracted  by  grinding  and  sifting,  with  the  same 


20  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

apparatus  as  is  used  for  potatoes,  the  consumption  of  which,  in  the  manufacture  of  starch, 
&c.,  has  hitherto  been  enormous.  The  process  for  extracting  the  bitter  taste  from  these 
nuts  is  simply  a  series  of  washings  in  weak  alkaline  water. 

Lieutenant  Maury,  of  the  National  Observatory,  who  has  done  so  much  for  the  promotion 
of  the  interests  of  navigation,  has  recently  proposed,  in  a  -communication  to  the  American 
Farmer,  that  a  national  system  of  meteorological  observations,  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of 
the  agricultural  interest  of  the  country,  be  established.  He  claims  that,  by  an  arrangement 
simple  and  inexpensive,  results  altogether  as  important  to  landsmen  may  be  obtained,  as 
have  been  yielded  by  the  system  of  research  pursued  under  his  directions  at  sea.  In  his 
communication,  Lieutenant  M.  says — 

"  The  germination  of  the  seed  and  the  growth  of  the  plant  are  but  the  display  of  a  me- 
teorological force,  the  expression  of  atmospherical  laws,  which,  when  rightly  understood, 
cannot  fail  to  confer  upon  agriculture  and  the  well-being  of  States  benefits  as  signal  as  the 
study  of  the  movements  of  the  same  grand  machine  at  sea  has  conferred  upon  commerce  and 
navigation.  I  appeal,  therefore,  to  the  farmers,  and  all  who  are  interested  in  the  matter  on 
shore,  to  follow  the  example  of  the  sailors,  and  put  their  shoulders  to  the  wheel,  and  help 
along  the  undertaking.  Man  by  nature  is  a  meteorologist,  and  everybody,  whether  ashore 
or  afloat,  has,  even  if  he  has  not  the  intelligence  to  perceive  it,  an  interest  in  it." 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  vast  amount  of  talk  and  "resolving"  every  year  expended  in 
favor  of  establishing  a  department  of  the  General  Government  for  the  supervision  and  en- 
couragement of  the  agricultural  interests  of  the  country,  may  ultimately  find  a  termination 
in  some  plan  as  practical  as  that  proposed  by  Lieutenant  Maury.  Thus  far,  government  has 
done  comparatively  little  or  nothing  for  this  leading  branch  of  American  industry.  The  two 
hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  annually  expended  for  printing  and  cir- 
culating the  Patent  Office  reports  would,  if  applied  in  a  more  practical  manner,  produce 
results  of  the  greatest  value.  A  portion  of  the  Patent  Office  claims  the  dignity  of  an  Agri- 
cultural Bureau,  and  under  the  last  commissioner  has  done  something  to  merit  the  title.  In 
proportion,  however,  to  its  means,  its  results  have  been  scanty ;  the  reports  are  generally  a 
mass  of  unsystematized  matter,  containing  a  few  things  good,  some  pernicious,  and  much 
that  is  worthless — the  good  being  like  a  grain  of  wheat  in  a  bushel  of  chaff.  The  Horticul- 
turist states  that  many  of  the  seeds  "  sent  out  year  after  year,  as  novelties,  are  bundles  of 
perfect  trash,"  and  plants  growing  in  the  United  States  are  said  to  have  been  imported  at 
expense  from  foreign  countries. 

One  of  the  most  reliable  methods  of  facilitating  and  insuring  agricultural  progress,  is  by 
the  dissemination  and  circulation  of  good  books  and  journals.  In  this  respect,  especial 
credit  must  be  awarded  to  Messrs.  C.  M.  Saxton  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  who  have  made  agri- 
cultural literature  a  speciality.  The  number  of  books  pertaining  to  agriculture  and  rural 
economy  now  published  by  this  house  is  upwards  of  sixty,  the  majority  of  which  are  of  a 
highly  practical  and  scientific  character. 

We  shall,  also,  do  no  more  than  justice,  in  taking  advantage  of  our  position  as  a  reviewer, 
to  award  a  large  measure  of  praise  to  the  Scientific  American  for  its  early  and  accurate  reports 
of  the  progress  of  improvement  in  respect  to  agricultural  machines  and  implements.  This 
paper  is  the  only  journal  in  the  country  that  describes  in  full  American  agricultural  inventions. 

The  contributions  made  to  agricultural  literature  during  the  past  year  have  been  numerous 
and  important.  An  essay  has  been  published  by  Baron  Liebig,  with  the  especial  view  of  re- 
futing the  positions  in  respect  to  manures  which  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  of  England, 
assert  to  have  been  established  by  their  experiments.  This,  the  friends  of  the  great  chemist 
claim,  has  been  done  most  triumphantly. 

A  journal,  devoted  to  veterinary  science,  the  only  publication  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States,  has  recently  been  established  in  Boston,  under  the  auspices  of  Dr.  George  H.  Dadd. 

We  have  thus  briefly  noted  some  of  the  memorable  incidents  and  points  of  progress  in  the 
agricultural  history  of  the  year  1854-5.  We  think  we  err  not  in  saying  that  marked  im- 
provement has  been  made,  and  that  the  promise  for  future  years  is  most  flattering. 


Agricultural  Dferjntnin;  m^  lural 

Present  State  of  Agriculture, 

PERFECTED  agriculture  can  result  only  from  nice  adjust- 
iiK'nts — a  determination  of  the  nature  of  the  matter  to  be 
dealt  with  and  its  inherent  forces,  combined  with  a  special 
knowledge  of  the  individual  organization  and  its  functional 
wants.  Defective  products  are  mainly  due  to  functional  wants ; 
there  are  no  truly  diseased  products  or  disorganized  organs. 
Graduate  tlu>  supplies  to  the  nutrient  powers,  satisfy  the 
capacities  of  the  plant  at  the  proper  time,  and,  all  other  things 
being  a-lju.-ted.  the  husbandry  is  perfect;  or  give  the  plant 
its  climate,  temper  the  heats  and  moisture  to  its  constitution, 
make  its  physical  condition  happy,  and  put  within  its  reach 
the  assimilating  elements,  and  enough  is  done  to  insure  pro- 
ductive returns.  But  to  do  this  requires  probably  more  knowledge  of  soils  and  of  the  culti- 
vated vegetables  than  we  now  possess.  The  ohj.vt  is  t«.  Mipply  without  waste,  to  cheapen 
the  product  by  the  expenditure  of  the  least  labor,  an<i  n -<ti -iet  the  food  to  the  kind  and 
quantity,  so  that  it  shall  not  be  lost  by  escaping  iut«>  the  air  or  by  being  washed  to  remote  parts 
by  mm-.  It  i-  evident  that  adjustments  require  a  complete  insight  into  the  physiology  of 
vegetation,  its  incipient  stage,  its  natural  strength,  the  peculiar  or  special  products  to  be 
found,  the  elements  eompo>in£  them,  and  the  be>t  form  in  which  these  elements  can  be  com- 
bined to  meet  all  the  wants  of  the  being.  As  I  have  already  said,  functional  endowments 
must  be  considered  ;  hence,  that  course  with  a  plant  which  will  give  it  an  early  vigorous 
constitution  and  a  full  development  of  its  organs  in  its  rirst  stages,  must  be  pursued,  and  the 
foundation  is  then  laid  for  the  full  amount  of  the  products  sought. — Dr.  Emmona's  J\Tat. 
Hist.  New  York. 

Why  the  Fanner  should  give  heed  to  the  Man  of  Science. 

THE  following  judicious  remarks  form  the  conclusion  of  a  recent  lecture  by  Prof.  Tuomey, 
of  Alabama,  upon  science,  as  applied  to  agriculture : — 

"  In  conclusion,  allow  me  to  say  one  word  upon  the  apparent  indifference  with  which  agri- 
culturists, as  a  body,  listen  to  the  teachings  of  science.  Rural  pursuits  are  far  less  favorable 
to  speculative  states  of  mind  than  those  of  the  manufacturer ;  and  hence,  while  the  latter  has 
pressed  chemistry  into  his  service,  the  cultivator  of  the  soil  is  too  often  contented  to  pursue 
his  own  chance-directed  processes,  unaided  by  the  light  of  science. 

"  This  unnatural  divorcement  of  science  and  agriculture  has  often  arisen  from  not  distin- 
guishing between  agriculture  as  a  science  and  agriculture  as  an  art.  The  man  of  science 
investigates  one  department,  and  the  cultivator  of  the  soil  practises  the  other.  Odium  is 
often  brought  upon  what  is  called  scientific  farming  by  the  failure  of  men  of  science  when 
they  attempt  the  practice  of  agriculture.  Now,  I  believe  that,  in  general,  it  will  be  found 
that  it  was  not  the  science,  but  the  common  sense,  of  such  men  that  was  at  fault.  The  practice 
requires  a  different  training,  and,  however  sound  his  principles,  the  mere  man  of  science  fails 
for  want  of  it  when  he  attempts  to  try  his  own  principles  practically.  Liebig,  I  apprehend, 
would  make  but  a  sorry  plowman,  yet  the  world  has  listened  to  his  teachings.  In  all  the  arts 

21 


22  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

of  civilization  this  division  of  labor  is  recognised.  The  anatomist  points  out,  from  his  know- 
ledge of  the  hoof,  the  best  mode  of  shoeing  horses,  but  no  one  would  think  of  employing  him 
to  put  his  own  principles  in  practice.  The  chemist  informs  the  tanner  of  those  substances 
that  contain  the  largest  amount  of  tannin,  and  explains  the  rationale  of  all  his  processes,  yet 
the  chemist  is  rarely  expected  to  be  able  to  produce  leattier  from  the  raw  hide,  nor  is  the 
utility  of  his  knowledge  called  in  question  on  this  account.  Now,  let  this  but  be  properly  under- 
stood among  us,  and  there  will  be  an  end  to  the  sneers  at  '  book-farming,'  nor  shall  there  be 
any  longer  cause  to  complain  of  the  proverbial  tardiness  with  which  practical  agriculturists 
avail  themselves  of  the  discoveries  of  chemical  science." 

Machine  for  Cutting  Cotton-Stalks. 

IN  the  States  where  cotton  is  grown,  the  removal  of  the  stalks,  prior  to  the  preparation  of 
the  land  for  new  planting,  is  a  slow  and  laborious  operation,  for  it  is  usually  done  by  hand. 
The  negro  seizes  hold  of  the  stalk  and  bends  it  with  one  hand,  while  with  the  other  he  cuts  it 
off  at  the  root  by  means  of  a  heavy  cleaver.  An  invention  designed  to  effect  this  operation 
mechanically  has  been  recently  patented  by  Mr.  Bowerman,  of  Detroit,  Michigan.  It  consists 
of  a  cart  which  is  driven  through  the  stalks  in  order  to  bend  them  down  close  to  the  ground. 
At  the  rear  part  of  the  vehicle  a  large  horizontal  knife  is  arranged  to  move  vertically  between 
suitable  slides.  Motion  is  given  to  the  knife  by  means  of  gearing  on  the  wheels  of  the  vehicle. 
As  the  cart  advances,  the  stalks  bend,  the  knife  is  elevated,  and  then  suddenly  discharged,  to 
fall  upon  the  base  of  the  bent  stalks  and  clip  them  in  a  twinkling.  Springs  are  employed  to 
give  additional  force  to  the  knife  as  it  descends. 

Improvement  in  Cotton  Saw-Gins, 

A  VALUABLE  improvement  in  the  construction  of  the  saws  of  cotton  gins  has  been  recently 
patented  by  Mr.  A.  D.  Brown,  of  Columbus,  Georgia.  This  invention  consists  in  arranging 
the  teeth  of  the  saw  in  a  series  of  curves  eccentric  to  their  axis,  or,  what  is  equivalent,  in  a 
series  of  tangential  lines.  By  this  means,  with  a  proper  arrangement  of  the  saws  relatively 
to  each  other,  it  is  rendered  impossible  for  any  two  saws  to  catch  the  same  fibre  across  a  rib, 
and  thereby  cut  or  break  it,  while  a  peculiar  degree  of  facility  is  provided  for  the  clearing  of 
the  saws  by  the  brush.  The  expense  of  gins  made  according  to  this  patent  is  no  greater  than 
those  in  ordinary  use,  while  the  cotton  comes  out  equally  as  well  cleansed,  and  otherwise  in 
a  far  superior  state.  The  amount  of  work  done  is  also  the  same  as  in  other  gins  of  like 
capacity. 

Cleaning  of  Sea-Island  Cotton. 

SEA-ISLAND  COTTON  is  nearly  all  ginned  by  hand,  upon  gins  of  the  most  primitive  construc- 
tion possible  to  conceive.  A  writer  in  the  New  York  Tribune  furnishes  the  following  descrip- 
tion of  the  process  and  machine  in  use,  as  witnessed  on  Edisto  Island,  South  Carolina : — 

"  Let  the  reader  fancy  a  very  roughly -made  frame  of  two-inch  square  timber ;  the  length 
of  the  frame  is  2  feet  4  inches ;  width,  2  feet  2  inches ;  height,  3  feet  4  inches.  Upon  the 
front  part  of  the  frame  there  is  a  little  box  8  by  12  inches,  about  3  inches  deep,  which  holds 
the  seed  cotton.  Upon  each  side  of  the  box  there  is  an  iron  fly-wheel,  two  feet  across,  of  fif- 
teen pounds  weight.  Upon  the  outside  of  the  fly-wheels  there  are  short  bearings  and  little 
cranks.  The  inside  bearing  is  formed  by  a  wooden  roller,  about  a  foot  long,  driven  into  a 
socket  in  the  wheel.  These  rollers  lie  one  upon  the  other  over  the  back  part  of  the  box. 
From  the  cranks  rods  extend,  like  those  of  a  small  spinning-wheel  or  turning-lathe,  to  a  treadle 
on  the  floor.  Now,  a  man  places  a  handful  of  cotton  in  the  box,  puts  his  foot  on  the  treadle 
and  starts  the  wheels,  which  make  the  two  little  rollers  revolve  toward  each  other ;  then  he 
holds  a  lock  of  cotton  up  to  the  rollers,  and  the  lint  passes  through  and  seeds  fall  back,  if  the 
cotton  is  in  good  order  and  the  weather  dry ;  if  not,  it  cannot  be  separated  without  mashing 
now  and  then  a  seed,  which  injures  the  quality  of  a  large  lock.  It  is  a  day's  work  for  a 
strong  negro  man  or  woman  to  gin  twenty -five  pounds.  From  the  gin  it  is  taken  to  the  motor's 


I 


TON     PI&IUT 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  23 

table,  where  one  woman  motes  for  two  ginners.  If  a  mashed  seed  is  found,  the  ginner  is  called 
to  pick  it  out.  From  the  moter's  table,  the  cotton  goes  to  the  overlooker's  table,  who  sees 
that  every  mote  is  picked  out.  Then  it  goes  to  the  packer's  room,  and  thence  in  suitable 
weather  into  the  bags.  It  fc  packed  by  hand,  three  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  in  a  bag  made 
of  four  and  one-half  yards  of  cloth.  One  bag  is  a  day's  work,  the  packer  standing  in  the  bag 
and  beating  down  the  cotton  with  a  rammer,  almost  as  solid  as  though  pressed  with  a  screw. 

"  Human  ingenuity  has  been  taxed  heavily  to  furnish  a  cotton-gin  that  would  clean  Sea- 
Island  cotton  at  a  more  rapid  rate,  without  injuring  the  delicate,  silky  fibre  of  this  variety, 
which  is  used  for  all  the  very  finest  threads,  either  for  weaving  or  sewing. 

"A  great  many  sanguine  inventors  have  satisfied  themselves  that  they  had  accomplished 
this  very  desirable  object,  by  inventing  a  gin  that  could  be  worked  by  other  than  human 
power,  ginning  faster  thun  the  roller-gin,  without  injuring  the  staple,  but  they  have  never 
been  able  to  convince  the  Sea-Island  planters.  Governor  Seabrook  spent  $5000  in  experi- 
ments, and  others  equally  as  much,  to  get  a  substitute,  but  have  been  compelled  to  go  back  to 
the  little  primitive  machine  we  have  described. 

"We  have  often  been  assured  by  the  cultivators  of  this  description  of  cotton,  that  any  man 
who  could  contrive  an  expeditious  method  of  ginning  their  crops,  could  readily  get  assurances 
of  $500,000  for  his  invention,  as  soon  as  he  could  procure  certificates  from  the  spinners  that 
cotton  cleaned  upon  his  machine  was  equal  to  that  upon  those  now  in  use.  Various  attempts 
have  been  made  with  horse-power  un«l  r-tcmu-power  to  relieve  the  hard  labor  of  propelling  the 
roller-<rins  with  the  foot,  but  even  this  li.-id  to  be  abandoned  on  account  of  seeds  being  drawn 
through  ami  broken  with  the  lint.  Kven  a  substitute  t'i>r  the  wooden  rollers  would  be  worth 
thousands  of  dollars.  Those  in  use  have  to  be  made  of  wood  not  hard  enough  to  glaze,  or 
soft  enough  to  broom;  and,  with  all  care  in  selectin<i  the  right  ((utility,  a  pair  of  rollers  wear 
out  every  day,  and  sometimes  have  to  be  renewed  two  or  three  times  a  day.  These  rollers 
must  be  split  out  and  made  smooth  with  the  grain  by  a  knife ;  the  more  rapid  process  of  the 
turning-lathe  will  not  answer. 

"lu  conclusion,  we  put  the  pertinent  t|Ui-t'n>n  to  American  inventors:  Have  you  or  not  in- 
genuity enough  to  make  a  Sea-Island  cotton-gin  ?  If  you  cannot  produce  the  entire  article,  can 
you  not  find  a  substitute  for  the  wooden  rollers,  which  continually  wear  out  ?" — New  York  Tribune. 

Rafting  Cotton. 

MR.  G.  R.  GRIFFITH,  of  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  has  recently  perfected  an  invention 
by  which  cotton  ^nay  be  got  to  market  and  the  seaboard  in  spite  of  low  water  in  the  Southern 
rivers.  The  plan  is  very  simple,  being  merely  the  adoption  of  a  kind  of  vulcanized  India- 
rubber  bag,  so  constructed  that  any  number  of  them  may  be  connected  together  in  the  fashion 
of  a  raft,  and  either  towed  down  the  shallow  streams  by  a  steamer  of  light  draught,  or  piloted 
by  hands  on  the  cotton,  two  men  being  able  to  manage  one  hundred  bales.  Twelve  inches  of 
water  is  amply  sufficient  for  the  transportation  of  cotton  by  means  of  these  patent  floaters ; 
and  if  they  can  be  suecessfully  introduced,  the  condition  of  the  streams  hereafter  will  be  no 
barrier  to  supplying  the  markets  with  the  great  Southern  staple. 

Cotton  Rigging  for  Ships. 

THIS  article  continues  to  increase  in  popular  favor.  The  New  Orleans  Delta  states,  "  that 
in  April  last  there  were  thirteen  large  vessels  in  that  port  with  a  part  or  the  whole  of  their 
running  rigging  and  hawsers  of  cotton  cordage.  The  officers  of  all  these  ships  were  unani- 
mous in  their  testimony  in  favor  of  cotton  cordage  for  running  rigging,  and  many  of  them 
thought  it  would  be  adopted  for  standing  also.  A  large  new.  clipper  vessel,  recently  built  at 
Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  has  all  her  rigging,  both  standing  and  running,  of  cotton 
cordage.  An  experienced  sea-captain,  in  an  article  in  the  Delta,  asserts  that  cotton  rope  is 
much  stronger  than  Manilla,  as  by  bending  cotton  and  Manilla  ropes  together  and  heaving  on 
it  at  the  capstan  the  Manilla  will  always  part  first.  In  wet  weather,  likewise,  it  is  more 
pliable,  and  in  frosty  weather  it  is  not  so  stiff  as  Manilla.  After  it  is  used  a  few  months  it 
becomes  smooth  and  glossy,  and  works  through  the  blocks  much  better  than  any  other  rope. 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Machine  for  Cutting  Standing  Cotton-stalks. 

THE  accompanying  figure  is  a  perspective  view  of  a  machine  for  cutting  standing  cotton- 
etalks,  invented  and  patented  August,  1855,  by  J.  W.  Bocage,  Cypress  Mills,  Arkansas. 

The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  the  employment  of  a  series  of  circular  saws  placed 
upon  a  vertical  shaft,  and  rotating  between  angular  bars,  which  answer  the  purpose  of  fingers ; 
the  whole  being  placed  and  secured  in  a  wheeled  carriage,  which  is  drawn  through  the  cotton- 
field  with  mules  or  horses,  and  the  saws  rotated  by  gearing  from  the  drawing-wheel,  so  as  to 
act  against  the  standing  cotton-stalks  and  cut  them  down. 


A  is  a  stout  frame  for  supporting  the  machinery.  It  is  sustained  on  the  back  and  front 
wheels  B  Df.  The  perch  C  is  connected  to  the  front  axle  D  as  in  an  ordinary  wagon.  A 
bevelled  gear-rim  E  is  secured  to  the  spokes  of  one  of  the  hind-wheels  B.  A  small  pinion  F 
on  a  vertical  spindle  G  gears  into  it.  This  spindle  is  secured  in  the  cross  piece  c',  and  a 
pendant  brace  supported  by  standards  b.  H  is  a  pulley  on  the  upper  end  of  spindle  G.  A 
belt  bf  passes  around  this  pulley,  and  another  small  one  I  on  the  top  of  the  saw-spindle, 
which  gives  it  a  rotary  motion — and  consequently  the  saws  df  df — as  the  machine  is  drawn 
forward.  The  saw-spindle  is  secured  in  strap-bearings  c  cf  on  the  top  and  bottom  cross-pieces 
of  the  frame.  The  saws  d'  vary  in  size,  the  lower  one  being  of  the  least  diameter,  and  the 
size  of  them  gradually  increasing  upwards — the  top  one  being  the  largest.  They  are  placed 
at  suitable  and  equal  distances  apart.  Six  of  these  are  represented  in  this  machine,  but 
more  may  be  employed.  L  L  is  a  metallic  frame  composed  of  horizontal  bars  e'  e  placed  at 
equal  distances  apart,  and  bent  nearly  at  right  angles.  The  saw-shaft  or  spindle  is  set  just 
behind  the  inner  angle  formed  by  these  bars,  and  the  saws  d'  work  through  and  between 
them;  (about  one-quarter  of  their  discs  project  through  the  spaces.) 

OPERATION. — The  team  is  attached  to  the  pole  of  the  carriage  in  the  common  way,  and  as 
the  machine  is  drawn  along,  the  cotton-stalks  are  caught  by  the  angular  frame  L,  and  forced 
towards  the  corner  or  angles  of  the  bars  or  fingers  ef,  holding  them  firm  for  the  circular  saws 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  25 

to  act  upon  them  and  saw  them  down.  As  the  saws  decrease  in  diameter  downwards,  the 
upper  part  of  the  stalks  will  be  cut  down  first ;  in  other  words,  the  stalks  are  cut  successively 
from  their  upper  to  their  lower  ends. 

Saws  are  superior  to  knives  for  cutting  cotton-stalks  by  machinery  in  this  manner,  as  they 
can  be  operated  with  less  power,  are  more  easily  sharpened,  and  not  so  liable  to  get  out  of 
repair. — Scientific  American. 

Cotton  Cleaner. 

A  NEW  machine  for  cleaning  cotton  has'  recently  been  invented  by  Mr.  J.  B.  Mell,  of  Rice- 
boro',  Georgia,  which  promises  some  advantages  over  the  gins  now  in  use.  It  consists  in  an 
ingenious  relative  and  combined  action  of  brushes  and  teeth,  with  which  the  rollers  are  armed. 
By  the  operation  of  these  the  pure  cotton  is  rapidly  taken  from  the  mass  of  the  feed,  leaving 
the  seed  as  well  as  the  dirt  behind.  The  card  or  teeth,  and  brush  rollers,  revolve  in  opposite 
directions,  so  that,  as  the  former  raises  the  cleansed  cotton,  the  latter  sweeps  it  off,  and  it 
passes  down  the  "discharge"  and  out  of  the  box  without  interruption. 

Recent  Improvements  in  the  Preparation  of  Flax  and  Hemp. 

Hayings  Ifffrip  and  Flax-breaker. — An  improvement  in  machinery  for  breaking  and  cleaning 
flax  has  recently  been  made  by  W.  D.  Hughes,  of  New  London,  Missouri.  Three  breakers, 
like  heavy  blunt  knives,  are  attached  to  levers,  and  two  of  them  are  so  arranged  that  they 
may  be  brought,  while  the  machine  is  in  operation,  to  the  proper  distance  apart  to  suit  the 
nature  of  the  material  to  be  operated  upon.  They  may  thus  be  caused  to  approach  each 
other  or  nearer  to  the  line  of  operation  to  the  corresponding  breaker,  so  that  the  operator 
can  adapt  the  machine  to  break  any  kind  of  hemp,  whether  it  be  well-rotted  or  not,  and  to 
act  upon  large  and  small  bunches.  In  this  way,  perfect  control  of  the  breakers  is  obtained 
while  the  machinery  is  in  operation. 

CaryVs  Flax-dressiny  Machine. — A  valuable  machine  for  the  breaking  and  cleaning  of  flax, 
grown  for  seed,  has  been  invented  by  Mr.  A.  II.  Caryl,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio.  This  machine  is 
now  in  successful  operation  in  various  parts  of  the  West,  and  is  well  worthy  the  attention  of 
those  interested  in  flax  production.  An  explanation  of  its  principles  without  engravings 
would  be  unintelligible. 

Sugett's  Improvement  in  Treating  Hemp. — In  a  patent  recently  granted  to  Lewis  C.  Sugett, 
of  Kentucky,  for  an  improved  process  in  treating  hemp,  the  improvement  consists  in  picking 
the  hcn:]>  seven  to  ten  day-;  lu'i'uiv  ripening,  its  toughness  being  at  its  maximum  about  this 
time ;  the  immersing  thereof,  after  the  usual  mechanical  treatment,  in  a  solution  of  common 
salt  at  about  70°  Fahrenheit,  during  six  hours,  followed  by  a  treatment  with  tar  or  an  equiva- 
lent, previous  to  manufacturing  it  into  twine  or  cordage;  the  whole  for  the  alleged  purpose 
of  making  it  softer,  stronger,  more  pliable,  and  more  durable,  and  at  the  same  time  cheaper, 
than  under  any  other  treatment.  The  claims  are  as  follows : 

u  The  application  of  common  salt,  or  other  saline  substance,  to  the  steep-water,  in  order  to  effect  the  removal 
and  separation  of  the  gum  at  the  most  advantageous  condition  of  the  lint  or  bar!.  The  saturation  of  the  fibre  and 
expulsion  of  its  moisture,  by  immersion  in  boiling  tar,  pitch,  or  oil,  for  the  purpose  of  more  thorough  and  inti- 
mate application  of  the  preserving  substance  to  the  fibres,  preliminary  to  their  conversion  into  twine  or  cordage." 

Parker's  Flax-breaking  and  Scutching  Machine. — The  peculiarities  of  this  machine,  recently  in- 
vented by  William  Parker,  of  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  are,  that  after  breaking  the  flax  it  first 
presents  the  root-end  of  the  fibre  to  the  scutchers,  retaining  the  seed-end,  then  withdraws  the 
root-end  and  presents  the  seed-end,  while  the  root-end  is  retained.  The  finished  fibre  is  delivered 
on  to  an  endless  apron  at  the  same  time  that  the  next  tableful  is  received  into  the  machine. 

Jennings' s  Process  for  Improving  the  Quality  of  Flax  Fibres. — This  process  consists  in  throwing 
down  upon  the  flax  a  small  quantity  of  oil,  say  about  half  an  ounce  to  the  pound  of  flax ;  this 
is  done  by  boiling  the  flax  in  an  alkaline  soap-ley,  washing  with  water,  and  then  boiling  it  in 
water  slightly  acidulated  with  some  acid ;  for  which  purpose  acetic  acid  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
suitable,  from  its  exerting  no  injurious  action  upon  vegetable  fibre.  The  acid  decomposes  the 
soap,  the  fatty  constituent  of  which  is  left  in  the  fibre,  or,  perhaps,  a  mixture  of  an  acid  soap 


26  THE  YEAK-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

and  a  small  portion  of  free  oil.  These  enter  into  and  through  every  part  of  the  fibre.  After 
this  treatment,  it  is  •washed,  and  is  then  found  to  be  soft  and  silky,  its  spinning  quality  being 
thereby  much  improved,  and  its  value  being  very  considerably  increased;  and,  while  the  fibre 
is  not  weakened,  this  process  gives  to  it  what  is  known  in  the  trade  as  "nature."  The  im- 
provement in  quality  may  be  estimated  at  from  £8  to  £10  per  ton,  and  is  capable  of  being 
made  with  ease  probably  double. — Dublin  Journal  of  Industrial  Progress. 

New  Method  of  Cleaning-  and  Preparing  the  Plantain  Fibre. 

VARIOUS  attempts  have  been  made  at  different  times  to  construct  a  machine  which  would 
prove  effectual  for  cleaning  in  a  simple  and  economical  manner  the  fibre  of  the  plantain. 
Many  expensive  machines  have  been  made  and  patented ;  but  all  have  failed  when  brought 
into  full  operation,  partly  on  account  of  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  substance  to  be  acted  upon, 
and  partly  through  ignorance  respecting  its  composition  and  qualities.  All  inventors  have  acted 
on  the  principle  of  crushing  the  stem  of  the  plant,  and  combing  out  the  substance  which  fills  up 
the  interstices  between  the  fibres,  thus  freeing  them  from  native  impurities.  This  appears  to 
have  been  a  false  principle ;  and  is  the  chief,  if  not  the  only,  reason  of  all  the  failures  which 
have  resulted. 

The  Hon.  Francis  Burke,  of  Montserrat,  West  Indies,  who  has  been  experimenting  on  this 
subject  for  some  time,  has  recently  succeeded  in  completing  a  small  machine  which  perfectly 
cleans  the  plantain  fibre,  leaving  a  beautiful  white,  silky  substance,  resembling  flax,  only  three 
times  as  long.  It  is  capable  of  being  manufactured  into  any  description  of  textile  fabric,  from 
the  quality  of  the  finest  cambric  to  that  of  the  coarsest  sail-cloth. 

This  machine  is  said  to  combine  simplicity  of  action  with  extreme  cheapness.  A  piece  of 
the  stem  of  the  plant  is  held  by  one  end  in  the  hand,  passed  into  the  machine  through  the 
"feeder,"  and,  being  still  retained  in  the  hand,  is  drawn  out  again  perfectly  clean  and  white. 
These  machines  are  of  different  dimensions,  and  may  be  worked  by  the  hand  or  any  other 
motive-power  according  to  its  size.  , 

A  small  machine  worked  by  the  hand  costs  but  about  fifteen  dollars,  and,  with  the  assistance 
of  a  boy  to  feed  it,  will  clean  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  per  day ;  and  is  so  portable  that 
it  can  be  taken  to  the  spot  where  the  plantains  grow,  when  they  may  be  prepared  in  one  day 
ready  for  shipment.  So  small  is  the  waste,  that  from  75  to  80  per  cent,  by  weight  of  pre- 
pared fibre  is  procured  from  the  plant,  irrespective  of  its  watery  particles.  The  waste  sub- 
stance is  a  valuable  pulp,  which  may  readily  be  converted  into  the  finest  writing-paper.  The 
pulp  is  estimated  at  a  value  equal  to  the  cost  of  working,  and  the  fibre  is  net  profit. 

Transportation  of  Grain. 

THE  transportation  of  grain  from  all  the  great  wheat  and  corn-fields  of  the  West  is  a  sub- 
ject which  now  requires  a  careful  investigation,  from  the  immense  amount  of  expenditure 
which  it  has  been  found  to  involve.  The  question  is,  simply,  as  to  whether  grain  shall  be 
transported  in  bags  or  barrels ;  and  that  a  great  saving  is  in  favor  of  the  latter  it  is  our  pur- 
pose to  establish.  ^ 

By  the  present  system  of  moving  grain  there  is  a  continual  waste  from  the  harvest-field  to 
the  mill,  and  until  the  flour  is  packed  in  tight,  well-seasoned  barrels.  Western  wheat  is  mostly 
thrashed  from  an  out-door  stack,  and  piled  and  winnowed  on  the  ground ;  then  bagged  and 
brought  to  market,  where  it  is  emptied  into  elevators,  and  stored  in  bulk ;  the  centre  of  the 
pile  often  heating  until  its  value  is  destroyed.  It  is  then  shipped  in  bulk,  and  when  it  arrives 
at  Buffalo,  is  transferred  by  elevators  to  a  canal-boat,  and  thence  to  a  storehouse  in  New  York. 
If  it  is  finally  sold  for  exportation,  it  is  put  up  in  bags  suitable  for  shipping,  after  having 
undergone  a  dozen  different  handlings. 

Now  suppose  the  farmer  had  provided  himself  with  barrels,  and  put  up  his  grain  on  the 
farm,  dry  and  in  good  order.  Each  common  flour-barrel  will  hold  about  three  and  one-third 
bushels,  for  which  the  freight  from  Indianapolis  to  New  York  is  about  $1.40  to  $1.60  per 
barrel ;  and,  as  a  general  rule,  the  charges  on  rolling  freight  on  every  line  of  railroad  is  from 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  27 

15  to  20  per  cent,  less  than  on  other  freight.  And,  independent  of  the  evident  economy 
of  this  system,  there  is  another  consideration  which  commends  itself  to  the  attention  of 
farmers.  It  is  well  known  that  grain  is  even  more  liable  to  heat  and  spoil  in  bags  than  it  is 
in  bulk ;  while  in  barrels  it  is  impossible  to  stow  it  in  a  position  which  will  prevent  the  circu- 
lation of  the  air  around  it ;  and  if  the  wood  of  which  the  barrel  is  made  be  well  seasoned,  it 
will  absorb  and  dry  out  any  moisture  which  may  be  in  the  grain.  For  in  the  transportation 
of  grain  from  the  warehouse  to  the  cars,  vessel,  or  storeroom,  it  is  often  necessary  to  do  a 
part  of  the  work  in  unfavorable  weather;  and  thus,  in  winter-time,  snow  frequently  drifts 
into  the  cars  and  moistens  the  bags,  and  in  this  or  some  way  they  are  dampened ;  and  then, 
if  packed  in  bulk,  there  frequently  ensues  more  injury  from  mould  and  other  causes  than  the 
whole  cost  of  barrelling  would  amount  to.  A  friend  who  has  had  a  great  deal  of  experience 
in  this  matter  estimates  the  saving  to  the  farmer  at  at  least  six  cents  a  bushel  on  every  bushel 
of  grain  sent  to  this  market  in  barrels ;  in  fact,  that  by  the  present  system  of  sending  it  in 
bulk  or  bags  the  farmer  is  losing  six  cents  a  bushel  at  the  very  lowest  estimate. 

There  is  another  view  of  the  matter,  in  the  consideration  that  the  manufacture  of  the 
barrels  would  add  so  much  more  to  the  productive  interest  of  the  country.  What  a  vast 
amount  of  raw  material,  quite  worthless  in  a  wooded  region,  it  would  convert  into  cash !  for 
each  buyer  of  the  grain  would  pay  the  value  of  the  barrel  at  the  point  where  it  changed  hands. 
When  it  reached  France,  it  would  be  worth  its  original  cost  for  fire-wood ;  for  there  fuel  is 
sold  by  the  pound  at  a  high  price.  At  any  rate,  there  would  be  no  loss,  as  in  the  case  of  bags, 
while  in  cost  of  freight,  handling,  storage,  leakage,  wetage,  injury  from  mustiness,  etc.,  there 
would  be  a  c-onsioVraMo  balance  in  favor  of  the  bam-1-. 

With  Indian,  corn  this  saving-would  be  more  important  than  with  wheat,  because  it  is  a 
grain  so  low  in  price  that  it  will  n<>t  bear  o-tly  transportation.  When  corn  is  only  worth 
twenty-five  cents  a  bushel  at  a  point  in  the  West  whence  it  cost  fifty  cents  to  get  it  to  New 
York,  a  ditl'en-iu-e  of  six  cents  u  bushel  in  freight  may  entirely  prevent  it  from  being  sent 
forward,  as  the  market,  price  would  not  allow  a  higher  rate  of  freight,  and  any  increase  would 
•  nun  h  from  the  farmer's  low  price.  But  there  is  yet  another  fact  regarding  the  trans- 
].. 'i -ration  of  grain  in  barrels  that  is  worthy  of  coiiM«lerati«>n.  The  motion  of  the  cars  keeps 
the  kernels  of  grain  in  the  barrels  in  constant  motion,  and  the  natural  tendency  is  to  follow 
the  circle  round  and  round,  instead  of  settling  down  to  the  bottom,  as  it  does  in  bags  or  bulk. 
This  has  been  proved  by  experiment.  Besides  this,  the  frequent  rolling  of  the  barrels  gives 
motion  to  the  grain,  and  helps  to  keep  it  sweet.  If  there  should  be  any  danger  of  dampness, 
it  is  suggested  that  a  few  dry  corn-cobs  or  husks  among  the  grain  would  be  likely  to  prove  a 
preventive.  In  conclusion,  we  are  quite  confident  that  if  these  hints  should  be  followed  by 
the  majority  of  Western  farmers,  the  amount  of  money  saved  in  one  year  would  be  as  much 
a  source  of  surprise  as  self-congratulation. — New  York  Tribune. 


Improvements  in  the  Construction  of  Granaries. 

A  MR.  ADAMS,  in  a  late  number  of  The  Journal  of  the  London  Society  of  Arts,  has  made  a 
suggestion  for  a  new  kind  of  granary,  by  which  he  thinks  that  grain  may  be  safely  and 
effectually  preserved  for  any  number  of  years.  The  great  difficulty  now  is  the  natural  moist- 
ure contained  in  all  grain,  and  which  it  is  never  entirely  divested  of  by  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere  at  the  common  temperature ;  this  being  the  cause  of  much  of  the  sour,  musty 
flour  found  in  market. 

The  following  are  Mr.  Adams's  observations  upon  the  subject : — 

"There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  difficulty  in  the  matter,  if  we  divest  ourselves  of  precon- 
ceived ideas,  of  the  notion  that  a  granary  or  grain  receptacle  must  necessarily  be  a  building 
with  a  floor  or  windows  more  or.  less  multiplied  in  altitude.  We  may  reason  by  analogy  as 
to  what  is  the  cheapest  and  most  effective  means  of  securing  perishable  commodities  from  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere  and  vermin.  In  England  we  put  our  flour  in  sacks.  Brother  Jona- 
than puts  his  in  barrels,  which  does  not  thoroughly  answer.  *  *  *  If  Brother  Jonathan 
wishes  really  to  preserve  his  flour  or  his  '  crackers'  undamaged,  he  makes  them  thoroughly 


28  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

dry  and  cool,  and  hermetically  seals  them  in  tin  cans.  This  also  is  a  common  process  to  pre- 
vent goods  from  being  damaged  at  sea. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  that  if  we  were  to  put  dry  wheat  in  an  hermetically  sealed  tinned 
case,  it  might  be  kept  as  long  as  the  famed  'mummy  wheat'  of  Egypt.  This  will  readily  be 
admitted,  but  the  expense  would  be  queried.  Let  us  examine  into  this.  A  canister  is  a 
metallic  reservoir;  so  is  a  gasometer;  so  is  an  iron  water-tank  in  a  ship,  at  a  railway  station, 
or  elsewhere ;  and  a  cubic  foot  of  water-tank  on  a  very  large  scale  will  be  found  tov  cost  very 
much  less  than  a  cubic  foot  of  canister  on  a  small  scale.  And  if  a  bushel  of  wheat  be  more 
valuable  than  a  bushel  of  water,  it  will  clearly  pay  to  put  wheat  in  huge  canisters  of  iron. 
The  wheat  canister,  in  short,  should  be  a  wrought  or  cast  metal  tank  of  greater  or  less 
size,  according  to  the  wants  of  the  owner,  whether  for  the  farmer's  crop  or  the  grain-mer- 
chant's stock. 

"This  tank  should  be  constructed  of  small  parts,  connected  by  screw-bolts,  and  conse- 
quently easily  transported  from  place  to  place.  The  internal  parts  should  be  galvanized,  to 
prevent  rust,  and  the  external  part  also,  if  desired.  It  should  be  hermetically  tight  at  all  the 
points,  and  the  only  opening  should  be  what  is  called  a  man-hole ;  that  is  to  say,  a  canister- 
top,  where  the  lid  goes  on,  large  enough  to  admit  a  man.  When  filled  with  grain,  the  top 
should  be  put  on,  the  fitting  of  the  edge  forming  an  air-tight  joint.  Wheat  put  dry  into  such 
a  vessel,  and  without  any  vermin,  would  remain  wheat  any  number  of  years.  But  an  addi- 
tional advantage  to  such  a  reservoir  would  be  an  air-pump,  by  the  application  of  which,  for 
the  purpose  of  exhaustion,  any  casual  vermin  would  be  killed.  If  the  grain  were  moist,  the 
same  air-pump  might  be  used  to  draw  or  force  a  current  of  warm  air  through  it,  to  carry  off 
the  moisture.  By  this  process,  and  subsequently  keeping  out  the  air,  the  grain  might  be  pre- 
served for  any  length  of  time.  As  the  reservoir  would  be  perfectly  air-tight  and  water-tight, 
it  might  be  buried  in  the  ground  with  perfect  safety ;  and  thus  cellars  might  be  rendered 
available  for  granaries,  economizing  space  of  comparatively  little  value.  The  grain  would  be 
easily  poured  in  from  the  surface ;  and  to  discharge  it,  an  Archimedean  screw  should  be  used. 
The  size  of  the  reservoir  should  be  proportioned  to  the  locality,  and  it  should  hold  a  specified 
number  of  quarters,  so  as  to  serve  as  a  measure  of  quantity,  and  prevent  the  expense  of 
meterage.  *  *  *  If  constructed  above  the  ground,  a  stair  or  ladder  must  communicate  with 
the  upper  part,  and  the  lower  part  must  be  formed  like  a  hopper,  for  the  purpose  of  discharge. 
For  many  farm  localities  this  arrangement  might  be  best,  and  wheat  might  be  thrashed  into 
grain  direct  from  the  field  and  stored.  *  *  *  Granaries  of  this  description  would  occupy  less 
than  one-third  the  cubic  space  of  those  of  the  ordinary  description,  and  their  cost  would  be 
less  than  one-fifth.  *  *  *  With  this  security  for  storing  safely,  a  farmer  would  have  less 
hesitation  in  sowing  great  breadths  of  land.  He  would  not  be  driven  to  market  under  an 
average  value,  and  might  choose  his  own  time  for  selling.  The  fear  of  loss  being  dispelled, 
people  would  buy  with  less  hesitation,  and  the  great  food  stores  of  the  community  would,  by 
a  wholesome  competition,  insure  the  great  mass  of  the  community  against  a  short  supply. 
But  as  long  as  uncertainty  shall  prevail  in  the  storage  of  grain,  so  long  will  it  be  a  perilous 
trade  to  those  engaged  in  it,  and  so  long  will  the  food  of  the  community  be  subject  to  a  very 
irregular  fluctuation  of  prices.  There  is  nothing  difficult  in  this  proposition.  It  is  merely 
applying  existing  arrangements  to  unusual  cases.  There  needs  but  the  practical  example  to 
be  set  by  influential  people,  and  the  great  mass  will  travel  in  the  same  track.  To  the  wealthy 
agriculturist  it  will  be  but  the  amplification  of  the  principle  of  the  tin-lined  corn-bin,  that 
keeps  out  the  rat  from  the  oats  of  the  stable.  *  *  *  Were  this  mode  of  preserving  grain  to 
become  general,  the  facility  of  ascertaining  stocks  and  crops  after  reaping  would  be  very 
great.  The  granaries  being  measures  of  quantity,  no  hand-measuring  would  be  needed,  and 
the  effects  of  wet  harvest-weather  might  be  obviated."  • 

Immense  Grain  Warehouse. 

THE  Chicago  Journal  thus  describes  an  immense  grain  warehouse  recently  erected  in  that 
city  by  Messrs.  Gibbs,  Griffith  &  Co. : — 

The  structure  extends  from  the  dock  to  the  railroad  track,  a  distance  of  190  feet.     The 


AGRICULTURAL   MECHANICS   AND   RURAL   ECONOMY. 


29 


river  front  is  GO  feet  wide,  that  on  the  railroad  is  110  feet.  The  edifice  is  constructed  as 
strong  as  wood  and  iron  can  make  it,  and  is  protected  on  the  outside  by  a  fire-proof  roof  and 
walls  of  brick,  or  sheathed  with  sheet  iron.  The  height  of  the  main  building  is  62  feet  to  the 
roof,  or  a  little  over  100  feet  to  the  top  of  the  cupolas,  two  in  number,  where  is  constructed 
the  weighing  apparatus.  There  are  in  the  building  above  the  lower  floor,  sixty-six  bins  of 
5000  bushels  capacity  each,  or  of  the  dimensions  of  ten  feet  square  by  thirty-five  feet  in  depth, 
all  braced  in  the  strongest  manner  to  sustain  lateral  pressure.  The  two  immense  shipping 
bins  hold  12,000  bushels  each.  The  lower  floor  gives  a  clear  space  for  rolling  freight,  and 
will  easily  accommodate  .">(>, 000  barrels.  The  uppermost  story  is  designed  to  furnish  con- 
veniences for  drying  grain,  and  also  for  receiving  and  storing  grain  in  bags.  By  way  of  re- 
capitulation, it  will  be  seen  to  be  a  modi-rate  estimate  that  the  warehouse  can  give  storage- 
room  to  half  a  million  of  bushels  of  grain.  The  grain  is  received  on  the  land  side  by  four 
elevators,  which  can  unload,  in  the  aggregate,  10,000  bushels  of  grain  per  hour,  or  two  hundred 
car  loads.  On  the  river-side  a  single  elevator  unloads  the  canal  boats  at  the  rate  of  3000 
bushels  per  hour,  while  in  the  same  period,  into  the  vessels,  may  be  pouring  at  once,  8000 
bushels  of  grain.  The  great  heart  of  all,  the  seat  of  life  in  the  establishment,  is  found  very 
economically  and  snugly  stowed  in  an  interior  angle  of  the  building  in  shape  of  a  splendid 
low-pressure  engine  of  one  hundred  horse-power. 

Ford's  Improved  Granary. 
Fig.  l. 


THE  annexed  engravings  are  views  of  an  improvement  in  granaries,  for  which  a  patent  was 
granted  to  Ebenezer  Ford,  of  Spring  Cottage,  Mississippi,  October,  1854. 

The  nature  of  the  improvement  consists  in  erecting  a  building  having  double  walls  and 
double  floors,  furnishing  the  same  with  double  partitions ;  the  walls,  floors,  and  partitions 
being  filled  in  with  salt,  in  order  to  prevent  the  attacks  of  insects. 

Figure  1  is  a  perspective  view  of  the  granary,  and  figure  2  is  a  horizontal  section  of 
the  same. 


30 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Fig.  2.  a  is  the  flooring ;  b  c  are  compartments ;  d  are 

doors ;  e  a  wire  gauze ;  /  are  windows ;  g  is  the 
door ;  h  is  wire  gauze  on  the  same ;  i  are  par- 
titions ;  k  the  smoke-hole ;  I  are  the  walls. 

The  building*  intended  for  a  granary  con- 
structed on  this  plan  is  built  in  the  usual  man- 
ner, except  that  the  walls  b  are  made  double, 
one  side  of  the  other,  the  space  between  being 
filled  in  with  salt.  The  partitions  i  are  so  con- 
structed in  the  same  manner,  so  that  between 
the  different  compartments  a  b  c  there  are  double 
partitions  containing  a  filling  of  salt.  When 
the  granary  is  finished  and  ready  for  use,  the 
floor  should  be  saturated  with  salt  brine.  The 
house  is  now  to  be  smoked  by  the  introduction 
of  a  stove-pipe  through  the  hole  k,  the  pipe  being 
connected  outside  with  an  ordinary  stove — the 
smoke  being  carried  through  the  hole  k  directly  into  the  interior  of  the  building ;  sawdust, 
or  any  kind  of  wood  used  in  smoking  meat  will  answer. 

When  the  house  is  being  smoked,  the  doors  and  windows  should  all  be  closed,  but  in  clear 
weather  the  windows  may  be  opened  for  ventilation.  The  grain  may  now  be  put  in ;  and 
if  in  bulk,  it  should  be  thrown  up  against  the  walls,  slanting  down  towards  the  corners  of  the 
garners.  The  partitions  between  the  compartments  are  high  where  they  join  the  walls  of 
the  building,  and  slant  down  quite  low  towards  the  centre  of  the  same,  which  permits  the 
introduction  of  light  in  the  various  parts.  The  house  should  be  smoked  at  least  once  a  month 
with  sulphur,  and  likewise  with  wood  and  sawdust  during  cloudy  or  sultry  weather,  which 
are  the  periods  when  the  weevil  and  other  insects  generate.  If  no  insects  be  carried  into  the 
granary  with  the  grain,  none  will  appear  during  the  season ;  should  any  have  been  carried 
in,  they  will  perish,  and  not  generate  any  more.  The  object  of  the  gauze  at  the  top  of  the 
doors  and  the  windows  is  to  admit  currents  of  cold  air  when  an  opportunity  occurs.  Salt  is  a 
substance  very  destructive  to  insects.  By  the  employment  of  smoke  in  the  manner  described, 
any  superabundant  moisture  occasioned  by  the  use  of  salt  will  be  carried  off,  and  the  condi- 
tion of  the  granary  may  be  at  all  times  properly  preserved. 

The  claim  is  as  follows:  "  I  am  aware  that  salt  has  long  been  used  as  a  filling  between  the 
timbers  of  ships,  and  also  between  the  walls  of  ice-houses ;  and  therefore  to  such  devices  I 
make  no  claim.  But  I  claim  the  mode  herein  described  for  making  granaries,  having  the 
walls,  floors,  and  partitions  filled  in  with  common  salt,  in  the  manner  substantially  as  set  forth." 


David  Leavitt's  Barn  at  Great  Barrington,  Massachusetts. 

ABOUT  two  years  since,  David  Leavitt,  Esq.,  late  President  of  the  American  Exchange  Bank, 
New  York,  purchased  for  his  son,  who  had  a  taste  for  rural  pursuits,  a  beautiful  farm  of  three 
hundred  acres,  situated  about  one  mile  south  of  the  delightful  village  of  Great  Barrington, 
Massachusetts.  With  the  assistance  of  Professor  Wilkinson,  late  Principal  of  the  Agricultural 
Institution  at  Mount  Airy,  Mr.  Leavitt  commenced  a  series  of  improvements  which,  for  the 
labor  and  expense  attending  them,  are  probably  unequalled  in  the  annals  of  American  agri- 
culture. The  situation  of  the  farm  commands  not  only  varied  and  picturesque  scenery,  but 
is  admirably  adapted  for  that  system  of  improvements  which  its  proprietor  is  so  energetically 
and  bountifully  executing.  Its  outline  is  nearly  quadrangular.  On  the  south-east  the  farm 
is  bounded  by  a  high  mountain,  from  which  two  streams  run  through  a  portion  of  the  farm, 
forming  a  junction  in  a  deep  ravine  a  short  distance  from  the  house.  A  few  rods  below  this 
junction,  a  dam  is  thrown  across  the  ravine,  and  the  arrested  waters  form  a  large  and  beauti- 
ful pond,  if  we  recollect  rightly,  about  twenty  feet  deep. 

The  barn  is  built  in  the  ravine  ;  in  fact,  one  of  its  sides  forms  the  dam  to  which  we  have 
alluded.  It  is  a  gigantic  building,  spanning  the  ravine,  two  hundred  feet  from  side  to  side, 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  31 

and  forty  feet  wide.  The  centre  of  the  barn  is  a  square;  on  each  side,  two  wings  with  arched 
roofs,  covered  with  tin,  extend  to  the  ravine  on  either  side.  The  roof  of  the  square  centre 
is  flat,  and  forms  the  base  of  a  cupola  twenty  feet  square,  and  about  eighteen  feet  high. 
From  this  cupola  rises  a  wooden  spire  of  about  thirty  feet  elevation.  From  the  peculiar 
situation  of  the  barn,  and  by  a  great  expenditure  of  labor  and  money  in  grading,  easy  drives 
are  obtained  into  each  story  and  basement  of  the  building.  The  upper  story  is  on  a  level 
with  the  surrounding  table-land,  and  there  is  a  magnificent  driveway  the  entire  length  of  the 
building,  two  hundred  feet.  On  each  side  this  driveway,  there  are  bays  for  the  storage  of 
hay,  a  carriage-house,  implement-room,  and  convenient  apartments  for  the  bailiff  and  farm 
laborers,  coachmen,  &c.  Above  this,  in  the  centre  building,  there  are  a  granary,  pigeon- 
house,  and  rooms  for  the  storage  of  cut-fodder  and  straw  for  litter.  We  should  have  said 
that  the  water  of  the  brook,  by  being  dammed  up,  furnishes  a  constant  power,  and  is  used 
for  driving  the  machinery  of  the  building.  In  the  upper  story,  over  the  driveway,  a  shaft, 
with  pulleys,  runs  the  entire  length  of  the  building ;  and  by  it,  and  an  ingenious  contrivance, 
the  hay  is  taken  from  the  wagons,  a  load  at  a  time,  and  deposited  in  the  bays  alongside.  In 
this  way  a  ton  of  hay  can  be  unloaded  each  minute  ! 

Descending  to  the  next  story,  we  find  another  splendid  driveway,  one  hundred  and  sixty 
feet  in  length,  and  on  each  side  stables  and  stalls  for  horses,  cattle,  &c.  By  means  of  lead 
pipes,  and  conveniently  situated  stop-cocks,  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  hot  and  cold 
water  for  all  purposes.  The  mangers  for  cows  and  horses  are  of  iron,  fixed  on  a  swivel,  so 
that  they  can  be  easily  turned  into  the  driveway,  or  feeding-room,  away  from  the  animals. 
This  is  very  convenient,  and  might  be  generally  adopted  with  advantage.  The  piggeries  are 
on  this  floor,  and  are  well  arranged.  In  the  pens  for  breeding  sows,  a  framework  of  slats, 
about  a  foot  high,  is  placed  all  around  the  inside  of  the  pen,  a  foot  or  so  from  the  outside 
boards.  This  is  to  prevent  the  sows,  in  lying  down,  from  crushing  the  little  pigs  against  the 
outside  of  the  pen,  the  framework  leaving  a  space  into  which  they  can  escape,  between  the 
glats,  and  be  l»fe.  Mr.  Wilkinson  thinks  this  arrangement  has  saved  him  many  hundreds 
of  dollars.  The  dairy  is  on  a  level  with  this  floor.  It  is  an  arched  room  or  cellar,  eighty 
feet  in  length,  extending  into  the  bank  of  the  river,  under  the  driveway  by  which  teams 
enter  the  third  story  above.  The  floor  and  roof,  which  is  of  stone,  are  cemented,  and  means 
are  taken  to  secure  good  ventilation.  At  the  end  of  the  milk-room  there  is  a  large  and  con- 
venient ice-house.  The  whole  length  of  this  floor,  including  ice-house,  dairy,  and  stables,  is 
two  hundred  and  seventy-eight  feet ! 

The  basement,  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long  and  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  wide,  is 
used  as  a  manure-cellar,  and  has  an  easy  driveway  to  all  parts  of  it.  The  arrangement  for 
cleaning  the  stable  is  most  complete.  The  trap-doors  are  placed  on  a  slide,  and  by  means 
of  a  lever  at  one  end  of  the  stable  they  can  be  all  opened  and  shut  at  once,  in  a  moment. 
All  the  straw  for  litter  is  cut,  and  this,  too,  greatly  facilitates  the  cleaning  of  the  stables. 

The  grain  is  threshed  as  it  is  drawn  in  from  the  field.  The  machine  threshes  out  the 
grain,  separates  it  from  the  straw  and  chaff,  and  carries  it,  already  cleaned  for  market  or 
use,  into  the  granary  in  the  upper  story ;  it  cuts  the  straw  up  fine  for  fodder  or  for  litter, 
and  conveys  it  up  to  the  storeroom  above.  The  grain  or  cut  straw,  by  means  of  well- 
arranged  tunnels,  can  be  shot  into  any  part  of  the  feeding-rooms  below.  The  root-cellar  is 
in  the  eastern  division  of  the  second  story,  and  there  is  an  apparatus  for  sorting  and  clean- 
ing the  roots,  by  means  of  large  riddles  or  wire  sieves,  as  they  are  stored  away.  There  are 
also  machines  for  sawing  lumber  of  all  kinds,  and  one  of  Woodworth's  largest  and  best 
planing  and  matching  machines !  The  sawdust  from  these  machines  falls  into  a  room  below 
designed  for  its  reception :  it  is  used  for  litter.  The  manure  is  regularly  dusted  over  with 
charcoal  and  sulphate  of  lime,  in  order  to  prevent  the  escape  of  ammonia.  The  advantage 
of  cutting  the  straw  for  litter  is  most  manifest  in  filling,  hauling,  and  spreading  the  manure. 
It  is  all  drawn  out  and  spread  upon  the  land  in  the  winter.  The  conveniences  of  this  method 
are  quite  sufficient  to  counterbalance  any  ordinary  loss  from  leaching,  evaporation,  &c.  It 
I  that  this  barn  has  cost  Mr.  Leavitt  some  fifty  thousand  dollars! — New  York  Country 
Gentleman. 


32 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Ventilating  Flour  Barrel. 


THE  annexed  engravings  represent  an  improvement  in  flour  barrels,  recently  patented  by 
Thomas  Pearsal,  of  Smithboro',  New  York.  Fig.  2  represents  a  vertical  section  through  the 
centre  of  the  barrel,  showing  the  ventilating  tube. 

It  is  well  known  that  all  commodities  containing  in  themselves  the  constituents  necessary 
to  produce  fermentation  will,  when  closely  packed  in  bulks  of  sufficient  size  to  prevent  the 
air  from  perietrating  them,  sooner  or  later  generate  heat  at  the  centre,  which  gradually 
diffuses  itself  through  the  mass;  hence  the  enormous  quantity  of  flour,  meal,  &c.  spoiled 
in  transportation  and  storing.  It  is  also  well  known  that  decomposition  invariably  com- 
mences at  the  centre  of  the  bulk,  owing  to  the  increased  pressure  there,  and  to  its  being 
farther  removed  from  the  refrigerating  influence  of  the  atmosphere :  it  is  a  common  occur- 
rence on  opening  a  barrel  of  flour  to  find  it  perfectly  sweet  and  good  at  top,  bottom,  and 
around  the  outside  of  the  bulk,  while  at  the  centre  it  will  be  both  hot  and  sour.  While 
this  is  common  in  bulks  of  the  size  of  a  flour  barrel,  it  is  rare  in  a  half-barrel.  On 
this  theory  the  invention  is  based,  and  to  remedy  this  evil  there  is  inserted  a  tube  or  tubes 
longitudinally  through  the  cask  in  which  such  commodity  is  to  be  packed,  for  the  free  cir- 
culation of  air  therethrough,  so  that  the  centre  of  the  cask  is  no  longer  the  centre  of  the 
mass ;  as  in  proportion  as  you  increase  the  diameter  of  the  pipe,  you  increase  the  number  of 
centres  in  the  bulk,  thus  mathematically  dividing  the  mass  into  as  many  parts  as  required, 
which  is  equivalent  to  dividing  the  mass  into  as  many  smaller  packages. 

A  represents  a  flour  barrel  with  holes  B'  in  each  end  in  the  centre  of  the  heads  A/,  to 
receive  the  tube  B.  In  filling  the  cask,  the  head  A  is  taken  out,  and  the  tube  B  inserted  in 
the  hole  in  the  lower  head  of  the  cask ;  the  desired  quantity  of  flour  or  meal  is  then  packed 
therein,  and  the  upper  head  A  is  put  into  the  cask  again,  the  tube  B  protruding  through  the 
holes  in  each  end  of  the  cask,  about  half  an  inch,  more  or  less,  which  is  to  be  hammered 
down,  forming  a  flange  on  the  heads.  Thus  the  air  can  circulate  freely  through  the  centre 
of  the  bulk,  and  its  liability  to  heat  is  obviated,  and  at  the  same  time  the  cask  is  materially 
strengthened.  When  larger  casks  are  used,  several  tubes  may  be  inserted  in  the  same 
manner,  if  found  necessary.  These  tubes  may  be  made  of  iron,  tin,  wood,  or  any  other 
suitable  material — porous,  perforated,  or  otherwise. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  33 

Machines  for  Dressing  Flour. 

THE  following  is  an  abstract  of  a  paper  recently  read  before  the  London  Society  of  Arts, 
by  Mr.  T.  Egan,  on  the  above  subject: — 

"  The  mode  of  dressing  meal  after  it  is  ground  into  flour  is  a  subject  that,  no  doubt,  has 
engaged  the  attention  of  men  in  all  ages,  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  civilization,  when  men 
first  began  to  settle  down  from  hunting  and  the  chase,  and  to  grow  corn  and  cultivate  land 
for  human  subsistence;  but  it  must  soon  have  occurred  to  them,  even  in  a  rude  state,  that 
the  outer  skin  or  bran  made  their  cake  dark  in  color,  and  was  not  nutritious  or  good  for 
human  food ;  so  that  they  would  soon  try  to  devise  means  for  separating  this  oiiter  covering 
of  the  seed  from  the  fine  flour.  Most  probably  the  first  invention  for  this  purpose  was  the 
skins  of  sheep,  or  other  animals,  perforated  with  small  holes,  and  fastened  to  a  wooden 
frame.  This  frame  being  shaken,  flour  would  pass  through,  while  the  bran  would  remain 
above.  The  second  step,  probably,  was  the  invention  of  a  sort  of  sieve,  made  with  very 
thin  slips  of  narrow  wood,  crossed  upon,  and  worked  down  into  each  other,  forming  a  kind 
of  weft  and  warp,  which  was  attached,  as  they  best  knew  how,  to  hoops.  To  this  sieve  a 
semi-rotatory  shaking  was  given,  so  that  the  fine  part  or  flour  was  let  through,  while  the 
larger  particles  were  held  in  the  sieve.  This  kind  of  sieve  is,  to  this  day,  used  in  many 
parts  of  Great  Britain ;  but  growing  intelligence,  however,  has  substituted  wire  sieves, 
which  do  the  work  both  quicker  and  better.  But,  as  population  increased,  and  the  wants 
of  man  became  more  numerous,  the  primitive  mode  of  sifting  by  hand  was  too  slow  a  pro- 
cess, and  could  not  long  supply  the  wants  or  gratify  the  tastes  of  the  more  enlightened 
people.  Then  it  was  that  power  was  first  applied  to  sifting  meal  and  dressing  it  into  flour, 
by  means  either  of  wind  or  water ;  and  as  soon  as  power  became  thus  employed,  the  reel 
was  introduced,  very  nearly  as  we  have  it  at  the  present  day.  This  reel  consisted  of  a 
wooden  hexagonal  frame,  some  six  or  eight  feet  in  length  and  two  in  breadth,  with  a  wooden 
spindle  or  shaft  through  the  centre ;  over  and  on  the  frame  was  drawn  a  kind  of  stocking 
or  web  material,  sewn  together  in  two  or  more  parts,  into  which  the  meal  was  let  from  a 
hopper  above.  The  shaft  being  connected  with  the  mill,  motion  was  communicated  to  the 
reel,  and  the  meal  was  dressed  into  flour.  The  next  thing  to  be  considered  is  the  kind  of 
web  or  stocking  put  upon  this  reel.  The  most  ancient  kind  was  made  of  fine  linen,  proba- 
bly in  six  pieces  sewn  together ;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact,  that  in  Austria,  Prussia,  Bavaria, 
England,  America,  and  France,  this  ancient  reel  is  the  same  in  form  and  shape  throughout, 
except  that  in  some  parts  of  France  it  is  five  or  six  times  as  long,  and  is  driven  much 
slower.  The  material  used  for  the  bolting-cloth  was  that  which  was  most  easily  attainable 
in  each  country.  In  Germany  and  England,  linen  stretched  and  stitched  with  six  seams  was 
the  first  kind  of  cloth ;  and  there  is  no  question  or  doubt  but  in  the  process  of  time,  and  at 
a  very  early  period,  a  mixture  of  linen  and  woollen  cloth,  called  linsey,  was  used ;  but  in 
France,  where  silk  was  easy  to  be  obtained,  they  adopted  it  for  bolting-cloth.  It  has  been 
found,  by  experience,  that  a  silk  web  cannot  be  driven  at  the  same  rate  of  speed  as  the 
German  and  English  cloths ;  a  fact  which  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  millers  when  they 
fancy  they  have  discovered  wonders  in  dressing  with  silk.  The  next  improvement  in  order 
in  the  dressing  of  flour  is  the  improvement  of  bolting-cloths,  which  was  followed  by  the 
system  of  dressing  flour  through  an  iron  wire-cloth.  In  this  arrangement  the  reel  was 
changed  for  circular  wooden  frames,  three  or  four  being  used  to  each  sheet  or  width  of 
wire,  as  they  were  considered  to  afford  support  to  the  wire.  Though  the  centre  of  the 
cylinder  is  a  shaft,  to  which  a  series  of  brushes  are  attached,  driven  at  the  rate  of  300  or 
400  revolutions  per  minute,  while  the  cylinder  is  stationary.  This  machine  stands  at  an 
inclination  of  three  or  four  inches  to  the  foot.  The  meal  is  introduced  at  the  upper  end  or 
head  of  the  machine,  and,  in  passing  from  one  to  the  othery,  the  flour  is  pushed  through  the 
wire  by  the  revolution  of  the  shaft,  while  the  bran  is  retained  in  the  cylinder  until  it  reaches 
the  lower  end,  where  it  falls  into  a  hopper.  This  machine  is  apt  to  clog,  and  it  becomes 
necessary  for  the  miller  to  clear  the  outside  of  the  wire  cylinder  from  time  to  time  with  a 
hand  brush.  This  mode  of  dressing  obviously  produces  great  pressure  upon  the  wire,  and 
the  brushes  force  the  finer  particles  of  bran  through  the  wire,  along  with  the  flour.  Con- 

3 


34  .     THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

siderable  breakage  of  wire  takes  place,  but  still  the  wire  cylinders  maintain  the  precedence 
over  cloths,  so  far  as  regards  the  quantity  of  work  performed. 

"An  improvement  on  this  plan,  known  in  England  as  the  Yorkshire  machine,  resembles 
somewhat  the  foregoing,  save  that  iron  is  used  instead  of  wood  for  the  ribs  supporting  the 
wire ;  and  the  cylinder,  instead  of  being  stationary,  has  a  slo^w  revolving  motion  given  to  it. 
A  series  of  brushes  revolves  on  the  outside  of  the  wire  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  it  clean, 
thus  doing  away  with  the  necessity  of  hand  brushing.  The  interior  brushes  affixed  to  the 
shaft  are  capable  of  being  adjusted  by  means  of  a  screw,  so  as  to  stand  at  any  required  dis- 
tance from  the  interior  surface  of  the  wire,  which  they  are  never  allowed  to  come  in  contact 
with.  The  whole  of  these  motions  of  the  cylinder  and  the  outside  and  inside  brushes  are 
obtained  from  gearing  fixed  at  the  head  of  the  machine.  These  machines  have  been  largely 
used,  and  are  very  efficient,  but  they  are  liable  to  continual  breakage  of  the  wire  gauze,  more 
particularly  at  the  ribs  which  are  used  to  support  the  wire,  as  in  the  machine  before 
described.  This  machine  is  fixed  at  the  same  inclination  as  the  one  in  which  the  cylinder 
was  stationary.  It  is  clear  that  the  numerous  ribs  in  all  these  machines  form  obstructions 
to  the  passage  of  the  flour  through  the  wire  gauze.  It  occurred  to  Mr.  Egan  that  if  he 
could  get  rid  of  these  ribs,  the  quantity  of  flour  dressed  per  hour  would  be  much  increased, 
without  in  any  way  adding  to  the  pressure  on  the  wire ;  and  that,  at  the  same  time,  economy 
would  result  if,  as  was  supposed,  the  breakage  of  the  wire  gauze  was  due  to  the  ribs.  In 
his  machine,  the  only  ribs  used  are  those  necessary  to  form  the  junctions  between  the  sheets 
of  wire ;  the  distance  between  them  thus  being  about  eight  or  nine  inches,  instead  of  two 
and  a  half  or  three  inches,  as  in  the  old  machines.  The  inside  brushes,  instead  of  revolv- 
ing with  their  surface  parallel  to  the  gauze,  and  being  continuous  throughout  the  length  of 
the  cylinder,  as  in  the  Yorkshire  machine,  are  divided  into  separate  portions,  corresponding 
with  each  sheet  of  wire  gauze,  and  are  at  an  angle,  so  that  one  end  of  the  brush  is  nearer  to 
the  cylinder  than  the  other.  The  outside  brush,  instead  of  revolving,  has  a  motion  given 
to  it  similar  to  hand  brushing.  By  these  means  the  frequent  breakage  of  the  wire  is  obvi- 
ated, besides  dressing  a  larger  quantity  of  flour  per  hour." 

Improvements  iir  Flouring  and  Bolting. 

A  PATENT  has  been  recently  granted  to  Messrs.  Stouffer,  Brough,  and  Barr,  of  Chambers- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  for  an  important  improvement  in  flouring  and  bolting. 

The  nature  of  the  improvement  consists  in  entirely  separating  the  bran  and  the  flouring 
particles  previous  to  subjecting  the  stuffs  to  regrinding,  by  passing  them  through  the  super- 
fine bolt,  and  then  through  a  second  one  under  it.  The  advantages  of  this  improvement  are 
set  forth  in  the  specification,  as  follows:  "In  the  bolting  process  and  apparatus  an  insig- 
nificant quantity  of  brown  stuff  is  made,  (which  is  only  bran  ground  fine,)  and  avoiding 
entirely  the  production  of  middlings,  at  the  same  time  increasing  the  production  of  superfine 
flour  of  uniform  quality  or  brand;  with  good  wheat,  a  barrel  being  produced  from  four 
bushels  to  four  bushels  and  six  pounds. 

It  is  also  stated  in  the  specification,  that  all  efforts  heretofore  made  to  produce  a  barrel 
of  superfine  flour  from  less  than  four  bushels  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  wheat,  have  failed 
to  procure  a  regular  run  of  quality,  on  account  of  the  bran  husk  being  reground  with  the 
farina,  and  imparting  a  red  cast  to  the  flour.  The  regrinding  of  all  the  offal,  on  account  of 
gluten,  has  also  a  tendency  to  clog  the  bolts.  The  great  quantity  of  bran  also,  in  proportion 
to  the  flour,  which  is  passed  through  the  auxiliary  mill,  consumes  a  great  deal  of  power. 

A  full  description  of  this  improvement,  with  a  diagram,  may  be  found  in  the  Scientific 
American,  vol.  x. 

Feeding  Flour-Bolts. 

SAMUEL  TAGQART,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  has  obtained  a  patent  for  an  improvement  in 
feeding  flour-bolts,  the  essential  feature  of  which  consists  in  feeding  the  meal  at  all  times 
uniformly  to  the  bolts.  The  usual  method  of  feeding  the  meal  to  bolts  in  making  flour  is  by 
spouts  having  a  drop-shoe  under  each.  These  drop-shoes  receive  a  shaking  motion  by 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  35 

cams  or  wiper  wheels,  and  the  meal  slides  down  their  inclined  bottoms,  and  is  conducted  to 
the  bolts,  often  irregularly,  by  ordinary  spouts.  By  the  new  plan,  the  "hopper-boy"  which 
receives  the  meal  for  the  bolts  is  fitted  within  an  annular  chamber,  through  which  passes  a 
vertical  shaft,  having  arms  upon  it,  with  sweepers  secured  to  their  ends.  Directly  above 
the  "hopper-boy,"  on  the  vertical  shaft,  an  arm  having  oblique  flights  upon  it  is  placed 
loosely,  and  is  connected  by  cords  to  a  rod  passing  horizontally  through  the  central  shaft. 
Spouts  lead  from  the  lower  end  of  the  annular  chamber  to  the  elevated  ends  of  the  bolts. 
The  central  vertical  shaft  passing  through  the  centre  of  the  "hopper-boy,"  rotates  and  gives 
motion  to  the  flight-arm  named,  which  also  rotates  and  carries  the  meal  towards  the  centre 
of  the  "hopper-boy,"  from  whence  it  falls  into  the  annular  chamber  and  is  cooled,  while  the 
sweepers  take  and  force  it  into  spouts,  which  convey  it  to  the  bolts,  and  thus  feed  it  in  more 
regularly  than  by  the  shaking  of  the  shoes. 

An  improvement  in  dressing  flour,  patented  during  the  past  year,  by  Messrs.  Nordyke 
and  Hunt,  Richmond,  Indiana,  consists  in  a  peculiar  device  for  expanding  and  contracting 
the  rotating  brushes,  which  act  against  the  wire-cloth  of  the  bolts  and  force  the  flour  through. 
These  brushes  may  be  made  to  act  against  bolting-wires  with  a  greater  or  less  pressure, 
according  to  the  will  of  the  miller. 

Self-regulating  Windmills. 

MR.  T.  C.  VICE,  of  Rochester,  New  York,  has  recently  invented  a  self-regulating  windmill, 
constructed  as  follows:  The  arms  and  frames  are  as  usually  constructed,  but  the  canvas 
sails  are  fitted  with  rings  at  each  end  running  loosely  on  an  iron  rod ;  also  with  rods  and 
loops  at  suitable  distances  dong  its  length,  so  that  the  sail  is  prevented  from  slatting,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  be  extended  or  contracted  by  suitable  cords.  The 
main  shaft  of  the  mill  is  hollow,  and  through  it  leads  a  light  shaft,  which  carries  on  its  end, 
and  in  front  of  the  centre  of  the  windmill,  a  bevel  wheel.  This  wheel  gears  into  power-wheels 
keyed  on  the  end  of  light  shafts,  which  extend  the  whole  length  of  each  arm,  having  bearings 
at  proper  intervals  along  its  length.  Revolving  these  shafts  in  one  direction  contracts  the 
sail,  by  shortening  a  set  of  cords  leading  directly  to  the  leech  or  edge  of  the  sails,  while 
revolving  them  in  the  other  direction  releases  these  cords  and  contracts  another  set,  which 
are  rove  through  sheaves  or  through  staples  on  the  opposite  side,  and  serve  to  extend  the 
s:iil.  When  all  is  right,  the  small  shaft  in  the  centre  of  the  main  driving-shaft  is  allowed  to 
turn  with  it;  but  if  the  wind  freshens  and  the  mill  moves  too  fast,  the  small  shaft  must  be 
retarded,  which  will  have  the  effect,  by  revolving  the  bevel  wheels,  to  reef  or  contract  the 
sails.  As  the  weather  moderates,  and  more  sail  becomes  desirable,  the  surface  may  be 
extended  by  giving  the  regulating  or  central  shaft  a  greater  velocity. 

This  arrangement  is  easily  adapted  to  employment  with  a  governor,  so  as  to  be  literally 
self-adjusting ;  and  in  any  event  will,  if  successful  in  practice,  save  much  of  the  disagreeable 
labor  in  attending  windmills — that  of  reefing  in  cold  and  wet  weather.  A  forty  horse-power 
mill,  or  one  the  sails  of  which  are  each  thirty-three  feet  long  and  six  feet  wide,  would  pro- 
bably require  considerable  power  to  extend  the  sails  thus  simultaneously ;  but  it  may  be 
recollected  that  this  operation  will  usually  be  performed  when  the  wind  is  light,  the  action 
in  reefing  being  merely  that  of  a  brake  to  retard  the  wheel,  and  the  action  of  the  cords  on 
the  sails  is  in  this  case  direct.  Mr.  Vice  has  provided  means  for  making  the  mill  itself  sup- 
ply the  power  for  this  purpose,  and  considers  the  whole  susceptible  of  complete  control  by 
an  ordinary  governor. 

An  improvement  in  windmills  has  also  been  made  by  Daniel  Halliday,  of  Ellington,  Con- 
necticut. This  consists  of  the  attachment  of  wings  or  sails  to  rotary  movable  spindles  fur- 
nished with  levers.  These  levers  are  also  attached  to  a  head  which  rotates  with  the  sails 
upon  the  same  shaft.  Another  lever  is  attached  to  the  head ;  this  is  connected  to  a  go- 
vernor, which  slides  the  head  upon  the  shaft,  so  as  to  cause  the  levers  to  turn  the  wings  or 
sails.  The  necessary  resisting  surface  being  thus  presented  to  the  wind,  a  uniformity  of 
velocity  is  attained.  The  proper  regulation  of  the  obliquity  of  the  sails,  so  as  to  adapt  them 
to  the  varying  motive  force  of  the  atmosphere,  is  represented  by  the  inventor  to  be  thus 


86  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

secured  without  difficulty,  to  a  degree  which  renders  his  mill  more  constantly  available  than 
those  hitherto  employed.  The  mill  built  by  him  has  five-feet  wings;  that  is,  the  diameter 
of  the  wind-wheel  is  ten  feet,  and  it  has  been  in  operation  for  six  months,  without  a  hand 
being  touched  to  it  to  regulate  the  sails.  It  is  so  contrived  that  nothing  but  a  squall  of 
great  severity  falling  upon  it  without  a  moment's  warning  c*n  produce  damage. 

The  mill  mentioned  has  drawn  water  from  a  well  twenty-eight  feet  deep,  one  hundred  feet 
distant,  and  forced  it  into  a  small  reservoir  in  the  upper  part  of  the  barn,  sufficient  for  all 
farm  purposes,  garden  irrigation,  and  "lots  to  spare."  The  cost  of  such  a  mill  will  be  $50, 
and  the  pumps  and  pipes  about  $25.  It  is  elevr.  ted  on  a  single  oak  post  a  foot  square,  the 
turn-circle  being  supported  by  iron  braces.  The  wings  are  made  of  one  longitudinal  iron 
bar,  through  which  run  small  rods  ;  upon  these  rods,  narrow  boards  half  an  inch  thick  are 
fitted,  holes  being  bored  through  from  edge  to  edge,  and  screwed  together  by  nuts  on  the 
ends  of  the  rods.  This  makes  strong,  light  sails,  but,  as  will  be  seen,  are  fixtures  not  to  be 
furled  or  clewed  up ;  but  they  are  thrown  up  edge  to  the  wind  by  a  very  ingenious  and 
simple  arrangement  of  the  machinery,  which  obviates  the  great  objection  to  windmills  for 
farm  use — the  necessity  of  constant  supervision  of  the  sails  to  suit  the  strength  of  the  wind. 

A  third  plan  for  self-regulating  windmills  has  also  been  invented  during  the  past  year  by 
A.  P.  Brown,  of  Brattleborough,  Vermont.  It  is  somewhat  on  the  plan  of  Halliday's,  above 
described,  and  is  regulated  by  a  weight  attached  to  a  lever  in  such  a  manner  that  when  at 
rest  it  keeps  the  sails  flat,  but  as  the  breeze  freshens,  the  wings  open  by  the  force  of  the 
wind  and  lift  the  weight,  which  falls  back  to  its  place  when  the  wind  lulls. 

Wind  is  undoubtedly  the  cheapest  power  that  a  farmer  can  use ;  and,  notwithstanding  its 
inconstancy,  if  this  improvement  operates  as  well  as  it  bids  fair  to  in  the  mills  already 
erected,  it  will  be  applied  to  many  valuable  uses. 

Horse-Shoeing  Apparatus. 

A  PATENT  was  recently  granted  to  Noah  Warlick,  of  Lafayette,  Alabama,  for  the  employ- 
ment of  a  peculiar  adjustable  rest  for  the  support  of  the  horse's  foot  during  the  operation 
of  shoeing.  The  arrangement  consists  in  a  standard,  sustaining  a  support,  hollowed  out  to 
receive  the  horse's  hoof.  Attached  to  this  support  is  an  adjustable  serrated  slide,  held  by 
a  screw,  by  which  the  slide  may  be  maintained  in  any  desired  position ;  upon  this,  the  horse's 
hoof  rests  during  the  operation  of  fitting  the  shoe,  paring  the  hoof,  and  fastening  the  shoe  to 
the  hoof,  the  serrated  edge  of  the  slide  preventing  the  slipping  of  the  hoof  from  the  head- 
piece. The  use  of  this  support  is  of  importance  to  the  operator,  as,  instead  of  holding  the 
horse's  hoof  between  his  knees  and  supporting  its  entire  weight,  he  is  enabled  to  devote  all 
his  attention  to  the  adjustment  of  the  shoe  and  the  keeping  of  the  horse  quiet. 

Improvements  in  the  Construction  of  Horse-Shoes. 

Horse-Shoes  without  Nails. — Mr.  Sewall  Short,  of  New  London,  Conn.,  has  recently  intro- 
duced, with  success,  a  new  style  of  horse-shoe,  invented  by  him,  the  object  of  which  is  to 
avoid  the  necessity  of  driving  nails  in  the  hoofs  of  the  animal ;  a  practice  always  more  or  less 
objectionable,  and  only  submitted  to  from  imperious  necessity,  and  which  frequently,  from 
misplacing  a  nail,  or  splitting  a  hoof,  renders  a  horse  useless,  at  least  for  a  time.  Mr.  Short 
is  not  the  first  who  has  attempted  to  clamp  the  shoe  to  the  foot  without  nails,  but  is  the  first 
to  do  it  in  this  simple  and  effective  manner.  He  makes  the  whole  in  two  pieces,  employing, 
in  addition,  two  small  screws  to  aid  in  screwing  the  parts  together.  Both  are  made  of  mal- 
leable iron ;  the  lower  portion,  or  "  sole,"  being  very  similar  to  the  horse-shoe  ordinarily 
employed,  but  with  a  groove  around  its  exterior,  and  without  nail-holes.  The  upper  portion, 
or  "vamp,"  is  thin,  and  has  a  flange  projecting  inward  from  its  lower  edge  to  match  the 
groove  in  the  sole.  These  parts  are  so  arranged  as  to  secure  a  tight  and  firm  connection ; 
and  the  whole  is  made  additionally  secure  by  the  aid  of  the  set-screws  before  mentioned  at 
the  heel.  A  shoe  of  this  kind  once  fitted,  the  vamp  may  be  made  to  wear  out  a  great  num- 
ber of  soles.  The  exterior  may  be  highly  finished  and  plated  with  silver,  which  gives  a  very 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS    AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  37 

flashy  appearance  to  a  team  of  lively  horses,  or  the  shoes  may  be  enamelled  jet-black  when 
intended  for  white  or  gray  animals.  One  practical  advantage  to  be  derived  from  this  stylo 
of  shoes  is  the  facility  with  which  they  may  be  removed  or  exchanged,  so  that  a  skilful 
hostler  may  exchange  the  shoes,  or  rather  the  soles,  on  every  occasion  when  the  presence  of 
ice  or  the  like  renders  it  desirable,  and  it  may  even  be  expedient,  in  extreme  cases  of  ex- 
haustion, as  with  race-horses,  to  remove  the  shoes  altogether  for  a  time,  and  allow  of  a  more 
refreshing  rest. 

Elastic  Horse-Shoes. — Mr.  J.  0.  Jones,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  has  invented  and  patented  a  new 
style  of  horse-shoe.  It  is  not  any  way  peculiar  in  its  external  appearance,  but  has  a  piece 
of  India-rubber  inserted  between  the  two  surfaces  of  steel  or  Swedish  iron  (the  latter  pre- 
ferred on  pavements)  from  either  side  of  the  heel  most  of  the  way  to  the  toe.  These  give 
the  shoe  an  elasticity  elsewhere  unknown ;  diminish  the  force  and  abruptness  of  each  concus- 
sion when  the  shoe  strikes  on  rock  or  other  solid ;  induce  the  animal  to  put  his  foot  down 
firmly  and  fearlessly ;  prevents  bruises  and  consequent  tenderness,  resulting  in  lameness ;  and 
sometimes  cures  diseases  of  the  foot  already  contracted.  The  rubber  is  never  displaced,  and 
the  shoe  is  durable  of  itself,  besides  making  the  horse  so. 

Towers'  Improved  Horse-Shoe. — An  invention  has  been  patented,  during  the  past  year,  by 
W.  H.  Towers,  of  Philadelphia,  for  an  improved  method  of  fastening  horse-shoes.  The  in- 
vention consists  in  the  construction  of  inclined  flanges,  or  lips,  rising  from  the  front  sides  of 
the  shoe  corresponding  in  form  with  the  parts  of  the  hoof  against  which  they  are  made  to 
bear  when  fitted.  One  of  the  side-flanges  is  made  separate,  and  fastened  by  sliding  into  a 
recess  in  the  side  of  the  shoe,  and  secured  by  moans  of  a  screw,  thus  entirely  dispensing 
with  the  use  of  nails,  and  avoiding  any  liability  to  injury  by  pricking. 

Irresistible  Bit  for  Refractory  Horses. 

MESSRS.  TITUS  &  FBXWICK,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  have  recently  patented  a  contrivance  for 
governing  refractory  horses,  which  seems  to  be  a  great  and  very  desirable  improvement  in 
certain  hard  cases,  while  it  will  not  be  an  expensive  or  cumbrous  addition  to  an  ordinary 
harness  for  general  purposes.  Stopping  the  breath  has  been  sufficiently  proved  by  experi- 
ment to  be  a  sure  and  very  rapid  means  of  arresting  the  progress  of  an  animal ;  but,  instead 
of  tightening  a  cord  around  the  nook,  a*  invented  by  somebody  a  few  years  ago,  these  <ron- 
tlemon  simply  cover  the  nostrils  with  pads  of  leather.  The  bit  itself  is  a  little  longer  than 
usual,  ami  carries  at  each  side  a  slender  metallic  lever  with  a  pad.  Suitable  coiled  springs 
hold  these  levers  away  from  the  nose,  in  which  position  they  are  of  no  particular  service, 
being,  both  for  convenience  and  ornament,  about  on  a  par  with  the  rings  in  the  noses  of  pigs 
or  in  the  ears  of  boarding-school  misses.  There  are  two  methods  proposed  for  operating 
these  levers  and  pressing  the  pads  upon  the  nostrils :  one  hf  employing  a  separate  rein — the 
other,  by  attaching  the  ordinary  reins  to  the  lever  in  such  manner  that  they  will  move  them 
when  pulled  with  great  violence.  The  first  method  is  undoubtedly  the  surest  and  least  liable 
to  derangement,  in  consequence  of  the  weakening  of  the  springs  or  the  like ;  but  the  second 
is  less  troublesome  to  the  driver,  and  will,  we  presume,  be  generally  preferred.  When  ar- 
ranged according  to  the  second  method,  the  springs  must  be  sufficiently  stiff  to  allow  of  the 
reins  being  held  at  the  usual  tension  without  affecting  them,  and  the  horse  is  •ruide.l  without 
recognising  their  existence ;  but  the  moment  the  animal  commences  to  be  unmanageable,  the 
pull  is  increased,  and  his  breath  and  speed  instantly  stopped. 

Duplex  Safety  Rein. 

THIS  invention,  by  Mr.  W.  A.  Holwell,  of  Quebec,  is  designed  to  afford  security  against  the 
running  away  of  horses  when  under  saddle  or  in  harness.  It  is  a  very  simple  contrivance, 
and  in  this  lies  its  merit.  There  have  been  a  gfcod  many  methods  for  controlling  horses,  or 
escaping  from  the  dangers  of  runaway  animals,  such  as  the  slipping  off  of  the  harness  by  a 
slide  rein,  and  the  disconnection  of  the  traces  by  other  means  ;  in  both  cases  the  design  being 
to  let  the  horse  out  of  and  free  from  the  vehicle,  to  go  whither  he  will,  while  the  carriage 


38  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

stops.  But  all  the  modes  named  are  liable  to  the  objections  of  complexity  or  uncertainty. 

The  mode  adopted  by  Mr.  Holwell  is  to  furnish  the 
bridle  with  a  good  curbing  bit,  the  driving  rein  being 
attached  at  the  lower  part  of  the  bit,  as  is  seen  at  b  in 
the  annexed  figure  ;  a  is  a  short  piece  of  elastic  mate- 
rial connected  with  the  driving  rein  and  the  central  eye 
of  the  bit.  When  the  horse  is  passive,  this  elastic  con- 
nection is  sufficient  to  drive  him  in  the  usual  manner, 
and  the  pordon  of  the  rein  b  remains  slack,  so  that  the 
curb  is  not  applied.  But  when  the  horse  is  spirited, 
or  becomes  frightened,  or  attempts  to  run,  all  that  is 
necessary  is  to  pull  tightly  on  the  rein,  as  people  always 
do  in  such  cases,  when  the  elastic  piece  a  stretches  and 
brings  up  b  ;  so  that  the  curb  operates  effectually  in  the 

horse's  mouth  and  brings  him  to  a  stand-still  at  once,  provided  that  the  bit  is  properly  made. 

On  the  TTselessness  of  the  Bearing  Rein. 

FROM  an  article  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Mark  Lane  Express,  (England,)  we  make  the 
following  extracts  relative  to  the  uselessness  of  the  bearing  rein,  as  applied  to  horses.  It 
says: — 

On  the  Continent,  the  bearing  rein  is  rarely  used,  and  then  only  as  a  servile  English  imita- 
tion ;  but  in  horse-racing,  hunting,  horse-loving  England,  it  must  be  confessed,  its  use  is  all 
but  universal.  The  folly  of  the  practice  was,  some  years  ago,  very  ably  shown  by  Sir  Francis 
Head,  in  his  Bubbles  by  an  Old  Man,  where  he  contrasted  most  unfavorably  our  English  cus- 
tom of  tying  tightly  up,  with  the  German  one  of  tying  loosely  down,  and  both  with  the  French 
one  of  leaving  the  horse's  head  at  liberty,  (and  a  man  of  his  shrewdness  and  observation,  a 
distinguished  soldier,  who  has  galloped  across  the  South  American  pampas,  and  saw  there 
herds  of  untamed  horses  in  all  their  native  wildness  and  natural  freedom,  is  no  mean  au- 
thority.) Now,  he  has  pointed  out  most  clearly  that,  when  a  horse 'has  real  work  to  do, 
whether  slow  work,  as  in  our  plows  and  carts,  or  quick,  as  in  a  fast  gallop,  or  in  headlong 
flight  across  the  plains  of  America,  Nature  tells  him  not  to  throw  his  head  up  and  backwards 
towards  his  tail,  but  forwards  and  downwards,  so  as  to  throw  his  weight  into  what  he  is  called 
upon  to  do.  This  is  a  fact  within  every  one's  observation.  We  have  only  to  persuade  the  first 
wagoner  we  see  (he  is  sure  to  have  all  his  horses  tightly  borne  up)  to  undo  his  bearing  reins, 
when  down  will  go  every  horse's  head,  so  as  to  relieve  the  wearisome  strain  upon  his  muscles, 
and  give  the  weight  of  his  body  its  due  natural  power  of  overcoming  resistance ;  and  thus 
each  horse  becomes  enabled  to  d^his  work  as  comfortably  and  easily  as  nature  intended  he 
should  dd ;  for  Nature  never  intended  a  heavy  animal  like  a  cart-horse  to  perform  slow 
work  only  or  chiefly  by  strain  of  muscle,  but,  on  the  contrary,  by  the  power  of  weight  as 
the  rule,  assisted  by  strength  of  muscle  as  the  exception,  when  extra  resistance  has  to  be 
overcome. 

Thus,  when  we  curb  up  a  horse's  head  with  our  senseless  bearing  reins,  and  make  him  as 
ewe-necked  as  we  appear  to  do,  we  are  inverting  the  rule  and  order  of  nature ;  we  are  evi- 
dently trying  to  prevent  his  using  the  full,  unrestrained  power  of  his  weight,  and  are  com- 
pelling him  to  overstrain  and  over-exert  constantly  those  very  muscles  which  should  be  kept 
in  reserve  for  extra  difficulties — such  as  greater  inequalities  of  the  road,  new-laid  stones,  &c. 
It  is  a  mistake  to  think  it  improves  a  horse's  appearance ;  nothing  contrary  to  nature  can 
ever  really  do  this.  It  is  a  mistake  to  think  it  can  ever  prevent  a  horse's  falling  down,  though 
it  has  been  the  means  of  preventing  many  an  old  one  recovering  from  a  stumble.  But  until 
our  horse-owners  be  taught  to  look  at  this  matter  in  its  true  light — the  light  of  common 
sense — it  is  in  vain  to  hope  for  any  mitigation  of  this  but  too-universal  cruelty. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  39 

Improved  Harness  Buckle. 

MUCH  peril  as  well  as  painful  annoyance  has  resulted  from  the  old-fashioned  harness 
buckles,  by  reason  of  their  liability  to  break  or  draw  out  during  accidents,  which  their  own 
defects  not  unfrequently  cause,  and  also  from  the  difficulty  of  release  to  falling  horses, 
occasioned  by  the  tightening  force  of  the  animal's  weight.  C.  and  L.  B.  Oyster,  of  Chambers- 
burg,  Pennsylvania,  have  jointly  claimed  an  improvement  in  buckles,  which  will  completely 
revolutionize  the  principle  of  their  action,  if  found  applicable  as  designed  by  the  inventors. 
It  is  proposed  to  dispense  entirely  with  the  tongue-holes  in  traces  and  other  straps,  and  to 
rivet  the  tongue  to  the  leather  instead  of  the  buckle.  The  bar  of  the  buckle  is  furnished 
with  a  number  of  rachet-shaped  teeth  or  stops,  and  corresponding  cavities  are  cut  in  the 
tongue,  but  having  reversed  catches.  The  desired  length  of  the  trace  is  adjusted  by  bring- 
ing these  teeth  together  at  a  given  point,  and  securing  them  with  a  set  screw.  The  screw 
puts  the  unhitching  of  the  horse  under  the  instantaneous  control  of  the  driver  in  cases  of 
falls  or  other  perilous  entanglements. — Scientific  American. 

Horse  Muzzles. 

THB  attention  of  Mr.  Clowes,  of  England,  has  been  directed  to  the  removal  of  an  unpleasant 
habit  which  some  horses  have  of  biting  or  sucking  their  crib  or  manger.  This  he  professes 
to  effect  by  means  of  a  muzzle,  which  is  represented  in  elevation  in  fig.  1  of  our  engravings, 
and  in  vertical  section  in  fig.  2. 

Fig.  1.  Fig.  2. 


The  body  of  the  muzzle  A  is  composed  of  leather,  or  any  other  suitable  material,  and  is  formed 
with  apertures  in  it,  in  order  not  to  impede  respiration.  A  light  metal  frame  B  is  fitted  into  the 
lower  portion  of  the  muzzle,  and  across  this  frame  is  fixed  longitudinally  the  perforated  bar  C. 
Immediately  beneath  this  fixed  bar  is  placed  a  second  bar  D,  which  is  movable  in  a  vertical 
direction,  and  is  fitted  with  a  number  of  prickers  or  sharp  points  E.  This  movable  bar  is 
connected  to  the  fixed  bar  by  the  two  screws  F,  which  allow  of  a  slight  vertical  play  between  the 
two  bars.  Two  blade  springs  G,  secured  to  the  under  side  of  the  fixed  bar,  are  for  the  pur- 
pose of  pushing  down  the  bar  D,  and  shielding  the  prickers  in  the  perforations  of  the  fixed 
bar,  when  the  movable  bar  is  not  acted  upon  by  pressure  from  below.  Two  small  pro- 
jections H,  formed  on  the  frame  B,  and  projecting  beyond  the  bar  D,  serve  to  prevent  this 
bar  from  being  acted  upon  when  the  horse  is  eating  off  a  flat  or  hollow  surface  of  a  greater 
width  than  the  distance  between  the  projections.  But  if  the  animal  attempts  to  bite  or  suck 
his  crib,  or  presses  his  mouth  downwards  upon  any  hard  thing  which  is  not  wider  than  the 
distances  between  the  projections  H,  the  prickers  will  be-forced  upwards  through  the  perfora- 
tions in  the  bar  C,  and  as  these  pricking  points  will  thereby  be  brought  into  contact  with  the 
animal's  mouth,  the  objectionable  habit  will  be  effectually  checked.  The  muzzle  being  open 
at  the  bottom,  will  not  prevent  the  animal  from  feeding ;  but  when  it  is  desirable  to  stop 
him  from  feeding,  a  perforated  plate  may  be  inserted  into  the  frame  of  the  muzzle,  being 
fastened  therein  temporarily  by  a  fixed  pin  on  one  side  and  a  small  bolt  on  the  other,  so 


40  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

that  it  can  be  removed  with  the  greatest  facility.  Another  set  of  prickers  are  fitted  into  the 
back  of  the  muzzle,  and  act  upon  the  under  jaw  of  the  animal  when  attempting  to  suck  his  crib. 
The  sharp  points  are  fitted  to  the  fixed  curved  bar  L,  which  is  secured  to  the  inside  of  the 
muzzle,  and  they  are  shielded  or  protected  by  the  slotted  or  perforated  bar  M,  which  is  con- 
nected to  the  bar  L  by  screws  at  N,  working  in  slots  in  the*bar  M,  thus  allowing  it  to  be 
pressed  downwards  by  the  under  jaw  of  the  horse  when  sucking  its  crib,  and  thereby  causing 
the  prickers  to  protrude. 

Improvement  in  Ox- Yokes. 

THE  annexed  figures  are  representations  of  an  improvement  in  ox-yokes,  invented  by 
Heman  B.  Hammon,  of  Bristolville,  Ohio.  The  peculiarities  of  the  invention  consist  in 
placing  a  ferrule  or  plate  having  branched  slots  upon  the  end  of  the  ox-bow,  and  in  fasten- 
ing to  the  top  of  the  yoke  a  movable  washer  having  a  projection  caused  to  fit  into  the  branched 
slots  of  the  ferrule  attached  to  the  bow ;  by  means  of  this  combination  the  bow  may  be  ele- 
vated or  depressed  as  desired,  and  fastened  in  any  position.  The  construction  of  the  several 
parts  will  be  understood  by  reference  to  the  accompanying  figures:  a  (fig.  1)  represents  one- 
half  of  the  yoke,  with  the  bow-plate  or  ferrule  and  washer  attached:  eg  (fig.  2)  and  c  (fig.  3) 


are  prospective  views  of  the  washer  and  bow-plate,  or  notched  ferrule,  a  (fig.  4)  is  a  sec- 
tion of  the  bow,  showing  the  part  cut  away  to  receive  the  notched  ferrule  or  plate,  c,  (fig.  3,) 
in  which  1 1 1  are  branched  slots  to  receive  and  hold  the  projection  on  the  washer  eg.  The 
plate  c  (fig.  3)  is  fastened  to  the  bow  with  two  screws  m  m,  and  a  groove  k  k  (fig.  4)  is  cut 
down  in  the  side  of  the  bow,  close  by  the  notched  edge  of  the  ferrule,  which  allows  the  pro- 
jection of  the  washer  to  pass  down  and  enter  in  either  of  the  branched  slots  III.  When  the 
bow  in  the  yoke  hangs  in  a  natural  position,  the  washer  is  at  the  upper  end  of  the  branched 
slot,  but  if  the  bow  should  crowd  up  through  the  yoke-beam,  the  washer  will  fall  down  to 
the  bottom  of  the  slot,  and  is  thus  prevented  from  becoming  disconnected  with  the  bow.  To 
release  the  bow  from  the  yoke,  it  is  only  necessary  to  raise  the  bow  up  through  the  yoke, 
far  enough  to  allow  the  washer  to  pass  out  of  the  upper  end  of  the  slot  in  the  ferrule ;  then 
turn  it  into  the  groove  k  in  the  bow,  and  raise  it  off.  The  opening  in  the  washer  eg  is 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  41 

oblong,  which  allows  it  to  adjust  itself  to  the  yoke,  whether  the  surface  is  straight  or  hol- 
lowed as  in  the  old-fashioned  kind. 

Vote's  Improved  Ox- Yokes. — In  these  yokes,  introduced  and  improved  by  Deering  and  Dick- 
son  of  Albany,  the  neck  blocks  are  separate  from  the  beam,  and  attached  to  it  by  strong 
bolts  passing  from  an  iron  thimble  or  socket  in  the  block  up  through  the  centre  of  the  beam. 
The  advantages  claimed  for  this  improvement  are  as  follows:  First.  By  the  neck  block 
accommodating  itself  to  whatever  movement  of  the  ox,  it  is  impossible  for  his  shoulders  ever 
to  become  sore  or  broken.  Second.  It  does  away  with  the  evil  arising  from  one  ox  stepping 
in  advance  of  the  other,  as  by  the  moving  of  the  blocks  the  weight  must  under  all  possible 
circumstances  fall  equally  on  both  oxen,  except  (which  is  the  third  advantage)  when  de- 
siring to  favor  one.  you  may  move  him  one  or  more  holes  farther  from  the  centre  than  his 
fellow.  Fourth.  By  moving  the  neck  blocks  into  either  of  the  five  holes,  it  can  be  changed 
at  pleasure  into  a  yoke  of  any  width  required  for  ploughing,  carting,  sleighing,  or  hauling, 
which  advantage  of  itself  makes  its  value  equal  to  two  or  three  of  the  common  yokes.  Fifth. 
Bows  in  this  yoke  will  last  much  longer  than  in  any  other,  because  the  tugging  or  jerking 
of  the  ox  does  not  fall  on  the  bow,  but  directly  on  the  centre  bolt.  The  bows  are  secured 
by  keys  passing  through  the  bows  and  neck  blocks,  there  being  in  each  block  two  or  more 
holes,  so  that  the  bow  can  be  raised  or  lowered  at  pleasure. 

Improved  Horse  Neck-Yoke. 

A  PATENT  for  an  improved  horse  neck-yoke  was  recently  granted  to  John  R.  Pierce,  of 
Castile,  New  York.  The  object  of  the  invention  is  to  furnish  points  for  the  attachment  of 
the  breast  straps,  which  shall  be  movable  longitudinally  on  the  yoke,  to  accommodate  the 
side  movement  of  one  or  both  horses,  the  attachment  being  so  connected  that  the  movement 
of  one  will  produce  a  similar  movement  of  equal  extent  in  the  other,  thereby  causing  the 
attachments  to  continue  at  all  times  at  equal  distances  on  each  side  of  the  carriage  pole. 
The  invention  consists  in  forming  the  yoke  with  a  cavity  sufficiently  large  to  contain  the 
movable  parts — namely,  two  racks  and  a  pinion  upon  the  main  bolt,  the  racks  carrying  the 
attaching  bolts.  The  attaching  rings  are  fastened  by  eyes  to  the  racks,  which  rocks  mesh 
into  the  opposite  sides  of  the  pinion.  The  horses  being  attached  to  the  yoke  in  the  usual 
manner,  and  driven  forward,  any  movement  of  one  of  the  attaching  rings  revolves  the  pinion, 
causing  the  rack  carrying  the  other  ring  to  move  longitudinally  the  same  distance  in  the 
opposite  direction;  thus  enabling  the  horses  to  move  cither  from  or  towards  each  other  with- 
out deranging  the  position  of  the  pole,  the  attaching  rings  being  by  this  arrangement  always 
at  equal  distances  from  the  main  bolt. 

New  Method  of  Securing  Tires  upon  Wheels. 

THIS  invention,  by  John  L.  Irwin,  of  Franklin,  Alabama,  is  designed  to  save  time,  labor, 
and  fuel  in  the  setting  of  tires,  also  to  prevent  accident  in  case  of  the  loosening  of  the 
tire.  All  are  familiar  with  the  common  mode  of  tire-setting,  viz.  by  making  the  hoop  a  trifle 
smaller  than  the  wheel,  and  then  expanding  the  iron  by  heat  until  it  will  slip  on;  the  subse- 
quent cooling  of  the  tire  causes  it  to  contract  to  its  original  dimensions,  and  consequently  to 
bind  tightly  upon  the  wheel.  Mr.  Irwin  dispenses  with  this  process ;  instead  of  welding  the 
ends  of  the  tire  together,  he  hooks  them  over,  and  connects  them  with  a  screw  bolt ;  a  recess 
is  cut  in  the  felloe  for  the  bolt  and  hooked  ends  of  the  tire,  which  enables  the  operator  to 
screw  up  the  tire  tightly  after  it  has  been  applied  to  the  wheel.  If  the  tire  becomes  at  any 
time  a  little  loose,  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  apply  a  wrench  to  the  bolt  and  tighten  up.  Under 
the  old  plan,  the  diameter  of  the  tire  would  have  to  be  reduced  and  reset. 

Goodman's  Improved  Axle-Box. 

THIS  box  resembles,  in  external  appearance,  that  ordinarily  employed  for  this  purpose,  but  the 
friction  of  the  journal  is  received  on  vegetable  rather  than  metallic  substances.  Mr.  Goodman 


42 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


casts  a  box  of  iron  provided  with  a  number  of  ribs  on  its  interior,  between  and  upon  which 
hemp,  cotton-waste,  leather,  shavings,  or  other  fibrous  materials,  previously  well  saturated  with 
tallow  and  sulphur,  are  tightly  driven  with  a  caulking-iron.  In  short,  while  the  use  of  hemp 
has  been  discontinued  as  packing  for  pistons  in  steam-cylinders,  and  its  place  supplied  by 
metallic  rings,  Mr.  Goodman  has  discovered  that  in  other  situations,  where  friction  alone  is 
to  be  encountered,  without  the  existence  of  a  Tiigh  temperature,  the  reverse  may  obtain,  and 
hemp  may  be  substituted  to  advantage  in  place  of  metallic  surfaces.  Boxes  of  this  charac- 
ter in  use  upon  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  have  required  oiling  but  twice  in  two 
months.  There  is  a  cavity  on  the  top  of  the  box  of  sufficient  size  to  contain  about  three- 
fourths  of  a  pint  of  oil  or  tallow,  protected  from  d'rt  by  a  suitable  hinged  cover,  while  the 
bottom  of  the  box  is  filled  with  well-oiled  waste,  in  the  usual  manner.  The  use  of  leathers 
at  the  ends  of  the  bearings  is  entirely  dispensed  with,  and  thin  slabs  of  cast  iron  are  substi- 
tuted, these  slabs  being  made  adjustable,  to  compensate  for  wear.  The  weight  of  the  box, 
complete,  is  about  sixty-three  pounds,  that  of  the  ordinary  box  being  usually  about  sixty  ; 
and  the  expense  of  fitting  up  being  very  nearly  equal,  it  results  that  the  hemp-packed  box 
is  cheaper  than  the  ordinary  brass-lined  one,  by  nearly  the  whole  cost  of  the  brasses.  The 
brass  used  in  each  box  generally  weighs  about  seven  pounds,  and  is  worth  something  like 
two  dollars,  arhile  the  hemp  to  supply  its  place  Costs  only  about  fourteen  cents. 

Improvement  in  the  Construction  of  Hogpens. 

THE  accompanying  figures  represent  in  perspective  and  in  section,  an  improvement  in  the 
construction  and  arrangement  of  hogpens,  recently  invented  and  patented  by  R.  M.  Abbe, 
of  Thompsonville,  Connecticut  :  — 

The  improvement  relates  to  the  construction  of  the  trough  guards.  A  pen  is  first  built  of 
the  requisite  size  for  a  certain  number  of  hogs,  and  on  the  front  part  of  it  the  improvement 
is  placed.  The  arrangements  will  be  clearly  understood  by  reference  to  the  engravings. 

Fig.  1. 


A  B  are  swinging  fronts  intended  to  swing  inwards  on  F  F  when  cleaning  out  the  troughs 
or  feeding,  (as  shown  with  front  A  at  E,)  and  thus  prevent  the  hogs  interfering  with  any  of 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


43 


these  two  operations.  When  the  feed  is  placed  in  the  trough,  the  swinging  front  is  brought 
into  place  and  made  fast  by  a  bar  or  button,  (as  shown  by  B,)  thus  allowing  the  hogs  free 
nivess  to  the  troughs  C  C.  These  troughs  are  made  of  cast  iron — oval-formed  basins — and 
firmly  secured  in  a  frame  G.  D  D  D  are  iron  guards,  one  for  each  trough;  these  prevent  the 
hogs  from  interfering  with  one  another  while  feeding.  They  are  fixed  on  the  swinging-frame 
inside  the  pen,  and  being  secured  with  screw-bolts,  they  can  be  raised  or  lowered  to  suit  the 
size  of  the  hogs.  They  are  placed  so  as  to  allow  each  hog  to  pass  his  head  in,  but  not  his 
feet,  and  feed  freely.  The  latter  is  a  bad  habit  with  hogs  in  common  pens,  by  which  they 
waste  and  foul  their  food. 

Fig.  2. 


Fig.  3. 


By  this  method  of  constructing  hogpens,  the  troughs  can  be  easily  cleaned  out,  and  thus 
kept  in  proper  condition.  The  health  and  growth  of  hoga  are  both  greatly  promoted  by  keep- 
ing their  troughs  clean,  for  it  is  certainly  injurious  to  them  if  fresh  food  is  mixed  with  any 
surplus  that  has  been  left  from  a  previous  meal  and  suffered  to  ferment  and  become  offensive. 
This  method  of  constructing  hogpens  also  saves  food  by  preventing  waste,  as  the  hog  by  this 
arrangement  cannot  gt-t  his  iVi-t  into  or  root  out  his  food  from  the  trough.  The  proprietor 
states  that  he  guarantees  a  saving  of  thirty-seven  per  cent,  in  fattening  hogs  by  the  use  of  this 
pen.  Another  useful  point  is,  that  the  front  of  the  pen  swinging  on  the  bar  F  F  may  be  used 
as  a  door  for  ingress  or  egress,  thus  doing  away  with  the  custom  of  tearing  a  pen  to  pieces 
whenever  the  occupants  have  to  be  removed.  The  person  also  in  feeding  does  not  come  in 
contact  with  the  filth  that  naturally  accumulates  in  the  pen,  and  the  trough  can  be  filled  or 
emptied  without  getting  into  or  reaching  over  the  side  of  the  pen. 

Hog-Killing  on  Cincinnati, 

THE  following  account  of  the  process  of  killing  and  dressing  hogs  in  one  of  the  largest  esta- 
blishments of  Cincinnati  is  taken  from  an  Ohio  paper: — 

The  building  and  its  appurtenances  are  calculated  for  despatching  two  thousand  hogs  per 
day.  The  process  is  as  follows:  "The  hogs,  being  confined  in  pens  adjacent,  are  driven,  about 
twenty  at  a  time,  up  an  inclined  bridge  or  passage,  opening,  by  a  doorway  at  top,  into  a  square 
room,  just  large  enough  to  hold  them;  and  as  soon  as  the  outside  door  is  closed,  a  man  enters 
from  an  inside  door,  and,  with  a  hammer,  of  about  two  pounds  weight  and  three  feet  length 
of  handle,  by  a  single  blow,  aimed  between  the  eyes,  knocks  each  hog  down,  so  that  scarce  a 
squeal  or  grunt  is  uttered.  In  the  mean  time,  a  second  apartment  adjoining  this  is  being 
filled ;  so  the  process  continues.  Next,  a  couple  of  men  seize  the  stunned  ones  by  the  legs, 
and  drag  them  through  the  inside  doorway  on  to  the  bleeding  platform,  where  each  receives 
a  thrust  of  a  keen  blade  in  the  throat,  and  a  torrent  of  blood  runs  through  the  lattice  floor. 
After  bleeding  for  a  minute  or  two,  they  are  slid  off  this  platform  directly  into  the  scalding- 
vat,  which  is  about  twenty  feet  long,  six  wide,  and  three  deep,  kept  full  of  water  heated  by 
steam,  and  so  arranged  that  the  temperature  is  easily  regulated.  The  hogs  being  slid  into 
one  end  of  this  vat,  are  pushed  slowly  along  by  men  standing  on  each  side  with  short  poles, 
turning  them  over,  so  as  to  secure  uniform  scalding,  a"hd  moving  them  onward,  so  that  each 
one  will  reach  the  opposite  end  of  the  vat  in  about  two  minutes  from  the  time  it  entered. 
About  ten  hogs  are  usually  passing  through  the  scalding  process  at  one  time.  At  the  exit 


44  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

end  of  the  vat  is  a  contrivance  for  lifting  them  out  of  the  scalding  water,  two  at  a  time,  unless 
quite  large,  by  the  power  of  one  man  operating  a  lever,  which  elevates  them  to  the  scraping- 
table.  This  table  is  about  five  feet  wide  and  twenty-five  long,  and  has  eight  or  nine  men 
arranged  on  each  side,  and  usually  has  as  many  hogs  on  it  at  a  time,  each  pair  of  men  per- 
forming a  separate  part  of  the  work  of  removing  the  bristles  and  hair.  Thus,  the  first  pair 
of  jnen  remove  the  bristles,  only  such  as  are  worth  saving  for  brush-makers,  taking  only  a 
double-handful  from  the  back  of  each  hog,  which  are  deposited  in  a  barrel  or  box.  fc  The  hog 
is  then  given  a  single  turn  onward  to  the  next  pair,  who,  with  scrapers,  remove  the  hair  from 
one  side,  then  turn  it  over  to  the  next  pair,  who  scrape  the  other  side;  the  next  scrape  the 
head  and  legs ;  the  next  shave  one  side  with  sharp  knives ;  the  next  do  the  same  to  the  other 
side ;  and  the  next,  the  head  and  legs ;  and  each  pair  of  men  have  to  perform  their  part  of  the 
work  in  only  twelve  seconds  of  time,  or  at  the  rate  of  five  hogs  in  a  minute  for  three  or  four  hours 
at  a  time !  Arrived  at  the  end  of  this  table  with  the  hair  all  removed,  a  pair  of  men  put  in 
the  gambril  stick  and  swing  the  carcass  off  on  the  wheel.  This  wheel  is  about  ten  feet  in 
diameter,  and  revolves  on  a  perpendicular  shaft  reaching  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling,  the 
height  of  the  wheel  being  about  six  feet  from  the  floor.  Around  its  periphery  are  placed  eight 
large  hooks,  about  four  feet  apart,  on  which  the  hogs  are  hung  to  be  dressed ;  and  here, 
again,  we  find  remarkable  despatch  secured  by  the  division  of  labor.  As  soon  as  the  hog  is 
swung  from  the  table  on  to  one  of  these  hooks,  the  wheel  is  given  a  turn  one-eighth  of  its 
circuit,  which  brings  the  next  hook  to  the  table,  and  carries  the  hog  a  distance  of  four  feet, 
where  a  couple  of  men  stand  ready  to  dash  on  it  a  bucket  of  clean  water,  and  scrape  it  down 
with  knives,  to  remove  the  loose  hair  and  dirt  that  may  have  come  from  the  table.  The  next 
move  of  the  wheel  carries  it  four  feet  farther,  where  another  man  cuts  open  the  hog  almost 
in  a  single  second  of  time,  and  removes  the  large  intestines,  or  such  as  have  no  fat  on  them 
worth  saving,  and  throws  them  out  at  an  open  doorway  by  his  side ;  another  move  of  four  feet 
carries  it  to  the  next  man,  who  lifts  out  the  remainder  of  the  intestines,  the  heart,  liver,  etc., 
and  throws  them  on  to  a  large  table  behind  him,  where  four  or  five  men  are  engaged  in  sepa- 
rating the  fat  and  other  parts  of  value ;  another  move,  and  a  man  dashes  a  bucket  of  clean 
water  inside,  and  washes  off  any  filth  or  blood  that  may  be  seen.  This  completes  the  clean- 
ing or  dressing  process ;  and  each  man  at  the  wheel  has  to  perform  his  part  of  the  work  in 
twelve  seconds  of  time,  as  there  are  only  five  hogs  at  once  hanging  on  the  wheel,  and  this 
number  are  removed  and  as  many  added  every  minute.  The  number  of  men  employed,  besides 
drivers  outside,  is  fifty ;  so  that  each  man  may  be  said  to  kill  and  dress  one  hog  every  ten 
minutes  of  working-time,  or  forty  in  a  day.  This  presents  a  striking  contrast  with  the  man- 
ner that  farmers  commonly  do  their  'hog-killing.'  At  the  last  move  of  the  wheel,  a  stout 
fellow  shoulders  the  carcass,  while  another  removes  the  gambril-stick,  and  backs  it  off  to 
the  other  part  of  the  house,  where  they  are  hung  up  for  twenty-four  hours  to  cool  on  hooks, 
placed  in  rows  on  each  side  of  the  beams  just  over  a  man's  head.  Here  are  space  and  hooks 
sufficient  for  2000  hogs,  or  a  full  day's  work  at  killing.  The  next  day,  or  when  cool,  they 
are  taken  by  teams  to  the  packing-house,  where  the  weighing,  cutting,  sorting,  and  packing, 
are  all  accomplished  in  the  same  rapid  and  systematic  manner." 

The  Milker's  Protector. 

MR.  JOHN  M.  WARE,  of  Seabrook,  New  Hampshire,  has  recently  obtained  a  patent  for  hold- 
ing cow's  tails  still  during  the  operation  of  milking.  The  machine  is  fastened  to  one  of  the 
animal's  ham-strings,  and  the  tail  is  compressed.  Mr.  Ware  styles  his  discovery  the  Milker's 
Protector.  His  claim  is  as  follows:  "I  claim  the  Milker's  Protector,  constructed  as  specified — 
viz.  a  combination  of  ham-strings  and  tail  nippers  applied  together,  and  made  to  operate  as 
described." 

Self-loading  Cart. 

THE  constraction  of  a  new  self-loading  cart,  recently  patented  by  S.  W.  ISoule,  of  Oswego, 
New  York,  is  as  follows :  In  outward  appearance  this  cart  resembles  the  ordinary  dirt-cart. 
An  opening,  however,  is  made  in  the  middle  of  the  cart  body,  through  which  a  narrow  frame 


AGRICULTURAL   MECHANICS   AND   RURAL  ECONOMY. 


45 


or  wheel  somewhat  like  a  steamboat  paddle-wheel  revolves.  The  ends  of  the  spokes  are 
furnished  with  scoops  or  shovels,  and  the  wheel  receives  motion  by  a  connection  with  the 
axle  of  the  cart  wheels.  M'hen  the  cart  moves  along,  the  scoops  dig  into  the  ground  under- 
neath the  cart,  and  bring  up  the  dirt,  depositing  the  same  into  the  body  of  the  vehicle  with 
great  rapidity.  As  soon  as  the  cart  is  loaded,  the  driver  pulls  a  lever,  which  throws  the 
mechanism  out  of  gear,  and  brings  the  scoopers  away  from  the  ground. 

Moss's  Calve  Suckler. 

THIS  is  merely  a  tin  vessel,  holding  perhaps  five  or  six  quarts  of  milk,  at  the  bottom  of 
which  is  attached  an  exact  counterpart  of  a  cow's  bag  and  teat  of  India-rubber.  This  teat 
has  within  it  a  valve,  through  which  the  fluid  within  is  drawn  out  by  a  slight  pressure  similar 
to  that  of  the  calf's  jaws,  or  of  the  hand  in  milking.  All  that  is  necessary  in  raising  a  calf  is 
merely  to  hang  the  vessel  on  a  hook  in  the  stable  or  barnyard,  fill  it  with  the  milk  or  hay-tea, 
etc.,  and  let  the  calf  go  to  it  at  pleasure.  It  will  soon  become  accustomed  to  it,  thus  saving  all 
trouble.  The  manner  also  of  feeding  by  suction  is  more  natural  to  the  calf  than  drinking, 
and  is  more  beneficial. 

Machine  for  Shearing  Sheep, 

THE  accompanying  figure  is  a  top  view  of  a  machine  for  shearing  sheep,  for  which  a  patent 
was  recently  granted  to  Palmer  Lancaster,  of  Burr  Oak,  Michigan. 


A  A  represent  a  top  and  bottom  metallic  plate  secured  a  short  distance  apart  by  bolts  or 
rods;  (the  bottom  plate  is  hid.)  These  plates  may  be  of  rectangular  or  other  proper  form. 
On  the  upper  surface  of  the  upper  plate  A  there  is  a  sliding  frame,  which  works  between  suit- 
able guides  b.  The  sliding  frame  is  provided  with  an  upright  handle  C.  At  each  side  of  this 
frame  there  is  attached  racks  D  D,  one  being  somewhat  higher  or  projecting  farther  up  from 
the  frame  than  the  other.  E  represents  a  vertical  shaft  which  works  between  the  two  plates 
A;  the  upper  end  of  this  shaft  extends  a  short  distance  above  the  upper  plate,  and  has  two 
pinions  F  F  placed  loosely  upon  it,  one  pinion  being  directly  over  the  other.  There  are  also 
on  the  shaft  E  two  ratchets  c  c  permanently  attached  to  the  shaft,  the  one  being  above  the 
pinion  F,  and  the  other  below  the  other  pinion  F.  To  each  of  the  pinions  F  there  is  secured 
a  pawl  d,  the  ends  of  which  are  kept  against  the  teeth  of  the  ratchets  by  springs.  The  upper 
rack  D  gears  into  the  upper  pinion  F,  and  the  rack  D  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  frame  gears 
into  the  lower  pinion  F.  On  the  shaft  E,  and  between  the  two  plates  A,  there  is  attached  a 
spur  wheel  which  gears  into  a  pinion  II  having  a  crank  pulley  I  above  it  on  the  same  axis. 
To  the  crank  pulley  there  is  attached  a  connecting  rod  J,  the  outer  end  of  which  is  secured  to 
an  arm  R  of  a  series  of  cutters  /,  which  work  on  a  pivot  g,  the  cutters  being  of  saw-teeth 
form,  and  attached  to  a  common  plate  L,  through  which  the  pivot  g  passes.  The  cutters/ are 
directly  over  a  series  of  stationary  cutters  A,  which  are  formed  at  the  end  of  a  plate  M 
attached  to  the  front  end  of  the  lower  plate  A.  The  cutters  h  are  of  the  same  form  as  the 
cutters/,  but  are  inclined  a  little  upward.  The  cutters /are  very  slightly  inclined.  To  the 
back  end  of  the  lower  plate  A  there  is  attached  a  handle  N,  having  a  bow  0  at  its  end.  The 
bow  0  is  placed  under  the  shoulder  of  the  operator,  and  may,  if  necessary,  be  secured  thereto 
by  straps.  The  implement  is  placed  upon  the  body  of  the  sheep,  and  the  handle  C  is  grasped 
by  the  right  hand  and  moved  back  and  forth,  and  a  continuous  rotary  motion  ia  given  the 


46 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


spur  wheel,  in  consequence  of  the  pinions  F  F  only  being  connected  to  the  shaft  E  when 
turned  in  one  direction — viz.  from  left  to  right.  This  is  effected  by  the  pawls  d  d.  As  the 
spur  wheel  gears  into  the  pinion  H,  a  vibratory  motion  is  given  the  cutters  /  by  means  of  the 
connecting  rod  K,  and  the  cutters  /  work  over  the  cutters  h,  similar  to  the  blades  of  shears, 
and  will  cut  the  wool  from  the  animal  in  a  perfect  and  expeditious  manner;  the  implement,  of 
course,  as  it  cuts,  being  moved  over  the  body  of  the  animal. 

The  advantage  of  this  invention,  besides  the  rapidity  with  which  it  operates,  is,  that  the 
implement  will  not  mince  or  cut  the  wool  twice,  nor  cut  the  animal,  as  is  often  done  with  the 
ordinary  sheap-shears. — Scientific  American. 


Drone-trap  for  Beehives. 

THE  accompanying  figure  is  a  vertical  section  of 
an  improved  drone-trap  for  beehives,  recently  in- 
vented by  Clark  Wheeler,  of  Little  Valley,  New  York. 
A  represents  part  of  a  beehive ;  A7  is  an  ingress 
and  egress  passage  of  the  working  bees.  B  is  the 
drone  trap-box ;  C  is  a  sliding  glass  front  for  admit- 
ting light  to  decoy  the  drones  into  the  box,  &c.  F  is 
the  drone  passage  communicating  with  passage  a  of 
the  hive,  and  is  set  inclined;  it  consists  of  a  tube 
having  a  reticulated  front  b  for  admitting  light,  &c., 
and  is  provided  with  one  or  more  pendant  valves 
G  H ;  these  valves  swing  on  centres  d  e,  as  they  are 
operated  by  the  drones  passing  under  them.  As  soon 
as  the  drones  attempt  to  pass  through  the  egress 
passage  A'  of  the  working  bees,  and  find  it  too  small, 
they  will,  being  attracted  by  the  light  from  the  trans- 
parent front  of  the  trap-box,  seek  an  escape  through 
the  tube  F,  as  sliown  by  the  arrows  1,  causing  the 
valves  to  swing  outward  as  they  pass,  after  which  the 
valves  assume  their  common  position,  and  prevent 
their  return  to  the  hive.  Working  bees  going  into 
the  trap  pass  out,  as  indicated  by  the  arrows  2  3, 
through  the  several  passages  E  D  c  provided  for 
their  escape,  which  passages  are  not  large  enough 
for  the  drones,  their  bodies  being  nearly  twice  as 
large  as  those  of  working  bees.  The  movable  glass 
front  is  taken  out,  when  desired,  to  remove  the  dead  or  entrapped  drones. 

In  parent  or  stock  beehives,  large  numbers  of  drones  are  seen  between  the  months  of 
May  and  August,  several  thousands  often  existing  in  a  single  hive,  consuming  the  surplus 
honey,  and  frequently  depriving  the  working  bees  of  their  requisite  food  for  winter.  Few 
drones  go  off  with  young  swarms,  the  greater  number  remain  with  the  parent  stock ;  hence 
it  is  both  profitable  and  prudent  to  entrap  a  large  portion  of  them  from  the  stock  hive  or 
hives.  The  drone  bees  doing  no  labor,  they  should  be  always  limited  to  the  lowest  number 
necessary.  This  simple  and  efficient  drone-trap,  for  removing  a  superabundance  of  drones, 
can  be  applied  to  any  hive  in  use. 

Fruit  Preservatory. 

A  PATENT  has  been  recently  taken  by  Mr.  William  D.  Parker,  of  New  York  City,  for  an 
improved  fruit  ice-house,  which  is  reported  to  possess  superior  advantages.  The  object  of 
this  invention  is  principally  the  perfect  preservation  of  fruit  in  all  seasons,  by  keeping  it  at 
a  low  and  equal  temperature,  free  from  moisture  and  injurious  gases. 

The  house  may  be  of  any  proper  form.  The  sides  of  it  are  double,  with  a  space  of 
suitable  width  between  them.  The  roof  is  also  formed  of  two  thicknesses.  The  spaces  are 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  47 

filled  or  well  packed  with  sawdust  or  other  non-conducting  substances.  A  short  distance 
above  the  bottom  of  the  icehouse  there  is  a  slatted  floor.  The  slats  rest  upon  proper  sup- 
ports, and  the  space  between  the  slats  and  the  bottom  forms  an  ice-chamber.  Just  below 
the  upper  ends  of  the  sides  there  is  secured  a  double  inclined  flooring,  the  highest  point  of 
which  is  at  the  centre  of  the  house,  and  inclining  downwards  towards  each  side ;  and  directly 
underneath  this  flooring  there  is  placed  a  wire-screen,  a  space  being  allowed  between  the 
screen  and  flooring.  This  space  is  filled  with  charcoal  or  other  proper  absorbent.  Holes  or 
traps  are  made  through  this  flooring,  which  are  provided  with  doors ;  and  at  one  end  of  the 
house,  at  the  upper  part,  above  the  inclined  flooring,  is  the  main  entrance.  The  sides  of 
the  house  are  kept  firm,  or  prevented  from  spreading  under  the  thrust  or  pressure  of  the 
roof,  by  means  of  rods. 

The  space  or  ice-chamber  between  the  slatted  floor  and  the  bottom  of  the  icehouse  is 
filled  with  ice,  and  ice  is  also  placed  on  the  inclined  flooring. 

The  articles  to  be  preserved  or  stored  are  lowered  from  the  upper  or  inclined  floor  down 
mto  the  lower  chamber,  and  allowed  to  rest  upon  the  slatted  floor.  By  not  allowing  the 
outer  door  of  the  house  and  the  trap-doors  of  the  inclined  floor  to  be  open  at  the  same  time, 
the  lower  chamber  is  kept  free  from  atmospheric  influences  and  changes  of  temperature. 
The  sawdust  or  other  non-conducting  filling,  together  with  the  ice,  keeps  the  house  at  a  low 
temperature,  the  filling  keeping  the  interior  of  the  house  free  from  atmospheric  influence. 
The  charcoal  and  other  absorbents  keep  the  house  dry  by  absorbing  moisture  and  vapors 
arising  from  the  articles  to  be  preserved. 

The  house  is  placed  entirely  above  the  ground,  and  may  be  constructed  of  any  proper 
material — wood  would  probably  be  preferable.  In  case  of  the  melting  of  the  ice,  proper 
pipes  may  be  inserted  to  carry  away  the  water,  and  the  floors  on  which  the  ice  is  placed 
may  be  properly  inclined  for  that  purpose. 

The  construction  of  icehouses  above  ground,  with  double  walls,  filled  between  with  straw, 
&c.,  is  not  new,  and  is  not  claimed  as  such  in  this  patent,  but  the  general  arrangement  and 
combination  of  parts  for  the  more  perfect  preservation  of  fruit,  &c.,  in  all  seasons,  by 
keeping  the  temperature  of  the  house  low  by  the  ice  and  non-conducting  walls;  also  main- 
taining a  dry  and  pure  atmosphere  in>i<le,  by  the  use  of  the  absorbents  described.  The 
great  feature  of  this  invention  is  the  prevention  of  incipient  decomposition  and  decay  of 
fruit,  which  can  be  accomplished  in  a  low  and  dry  atmosphere — the  conditions  fulfilled  by 
this  fruit  preservatory. 

Artificial  Egg-hatching. 


THE  system  of  hatching  eggs  artificially  has  recently  received  a  new  impulse  from  the 
exertions  of  Signer  Minasi,  of  London,  who  has  labored  to  dispel  the  notion  that  top  con- 


48  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

\ 

tact,  as  with  the  natural  hen-mother,  was  absolutely  essential  for  ^successful  hatching  by 
artificial  agents.     It  is  this  view  which  has  so  long  retarded  the  progress  of  this  curious  art, 
as  great  complication  of  mechanical  details  was  necessary  under  such  a  system,  in  addition 
to  the  constant  attendance  of  a  watcher,  to  keep  the  temperature  to  the  right  point.     With 
this  top  contact,  too,  the  eggs  must  be  all  of  the  same  size;  but,  by  Signor  Minasi's  plan, 
the  eggs  of  ducks  and  pigeons  may  be  hatched  alongside  ^ach  other.     The  heat  he  uses  is 
derived  from  a  simple  spirit-lamp,  by  which  he  obtains  the  necessary  uniform  temperature. 
Our  perspective  sketch  represents  the  hatcher  complete.     It  consists  of  a  watet-tight  plat- 
form or  tray  of  metal,  with  a  corrugated  bottom,  and  filled  with  warm  water  at  such  a  heat 
as  will  keep  a  layer  of  sand  thereon  up  to  a  temperature  of  104°  F.     This  sand-layer  holds 
the  eggs,  which  are  screened  by  a  glass-cover.    The  sand,  which  is  of  the  "silver"  kind,  is  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  deep,  and  the  eggs,  when  deposited  in  it,  are  covered  with  a  blanket,  another 
blanket  being  employed  to  envelop  the  whole  of  the  glass-frame.     Under  the  tray  is  placed 
a  mass  of  chopped  hay,  mixed  with  sand,  this  being  changed  daily.     The  heating  lamp, 
which  is  itself  on  a  novel  principle,  is  placed  with  its  flame  about  three  inches  from  the 
bottom  of  the  boiler  or  water-holder.     When  the  proper  heat  has  been  obtained,  the  eggs, 
with  their  opposite  sides  numbered,  are  placed  in  the  sand,  and  left  for  twenty-four  hours,  after 
which  time  they  are  reversed,  to  expose  the  other  side.     At  the  end  of  the  sixth  day  that 
the  eggs  have  been  in  the  machine,  it  may  be  ascertained  if  the  chicken  is  formed  or  not, 
by  darkening  the  room,  and  holding  them  against  a  hole  the  size  of  a  shilling,  cut  in  the 
shutter  for  the  purpose,  when,  if  the  egg  be  gently  turned,  the  germ  will  be  seen  to  float  to 
the  top.     If  no  germ  appears,  the  egg  may  be  considered  a  bad  one  for  hatching  purposes. 
A  bit  of  soft  leather  should  be  placed  round  the  hole,  against  which  the  egg  may  be  held 
without  the  fear  of  breaking.     If  the  shell  be  a  dark  one,  it  will  not  be  until  the  seventh  or 
eighth  day  that  this  can  be  known.     It  requires  a  little  practice  before  the  eye  becomes 
sufficiently  experienced  to  detect  this.     The  great  advantage  which  science  has  over  nature 
is  here  apparent,  for  if  by  the  sixth  day  no  chicken  is  visible,  the  egg  may  be  at  once 
removed  as  containing  no  germ,  and  its  place  filled  by  another.     In  eggs  with  lighter  shell, 
such  as  Spanish,  Poland,  and  Sultan  fowls,  the  chicken  is  seen  clearly  after  the  fourth  day. 
If,  at  the  end  of  twenty-one  days,  any  doubt  should  exist  as  to  the  vitality  of  the  chickens 
then  due,  fill  a  basin  nearly  full  of  water,  heated  to  about  104°  or  106°,  and  place  some  eggs 
gently  in  it.     When  the  water  is  quite  still,  the  eggs  that  contain  live  chickens  will  be  seen 
to  move  about,  and  should  be  immediately  replaced  in  the  machine,  and  allowed  another 
day  or  two  more.     When  buying  eggs  for  hatching,  they  must  be  placed  in  water,  to  find  if 
they  will  lie  flat  at  the  bottom.     If  they  do  so,  they  are  good  for  hatching;  but  if  one  end 
rises  higher  than  the  other,  they  will  not  answer  the  purpose ;  and  should  they  float  to  the 
surface,  or  near  it,  they  are  rotten.     Another  method  of  telling  new-laid  eggs  from  stale 
ones  is  by  examining  them  at  the  hole  in  the  shutter.     If  there  appears  at  the  thick  end  a 
vacuum  about  the  size  of  a  fourpenny  piece  only,  the  egg  may  be  considered  new-laid,  or 
only  two  or  three  days  old ;  but  if  the  vacuum  be  greater,  the  egg  is  a  stale  one.     When  the 
chicken  commences  to  star  the  shell,  it  is  better  to  remove  it  to  a  glass-box  at  the  end, 
with  a  little  flannel  laid  lightly  underneath,  and  the  same  to  cover  over  it,  as,  if  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  sand,  they  sometimes  injure  their  eyes.     The  chickens  may  be  allowed  to 
remain  in  the  glass-box  without  food  for  the  first  twenty-four  hours  of  their  existence. 
They  should  then  be  removed  to  the  artificial  mother,  where  they  will  shift  for  themselves, 
and  shojild  remain  for  about  five  or  six  weeks.     If  a  chicken  appears  weakly  for  the  first 
two  or  three  days,  it  is  perhaps  as  well  to  put  it  in  the  glass-box,  away  from  its  more  robust 
companions  under  the  artificial  mother,  giving  them,  of  course,  a  little  food.     In  his  ex- 
periments, Signor  Minasi  has  been  remarkably  successful ;  and,  having  hatched  several  eggs 
of  rare  birds  furnished  him  from  the  Zoological  Gardens,  is  about  to  experiment  on  the  eggs 
of  the  ostrich. 

Arrangement  for  Holding  Eggs. 

A  PATENT,  for  an  improved  arrangement  for  holding  and  conveying  eggs,  has  been  granted 
to  Francis  Arnold,  of  Haddam,  Conn.     It  consists  in  having  a  suitable  box,  with  a  number 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  49 

of  vertical  curved  springs  attached  by  their  lower  ends  to  the  bottom  of  the  case.  The  eggs 
are  slipped  in  between  the  springs,  which  hold  them  firm  yet  gently,  preventing  them  from 
coming  in  contact  or  being  broken  by  any  ordinary  concussion. 

Uncertainty  of  Preserving  Records  in  Walls  or  Foundations  of  Buildings. 

IT  is  a  common  practice  to  place  the  coins  of  the  time,  newspapers,  and  other  documents  or 
records,  in  sealed  vessels  under  the  foundation-stones,  or  in  some  marked  situation  in  the  walls 
of  new  public  or  otherwise  important  buildings.  At  a  meeting  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society  in  April  last,  Dr.  Boye  stated  that,  "On  recently  opening  the  corner-stone  of  the 
High  School  building  of  Philadelphia,  erected  fifteen  and  a  half  years  ago,  in  order  to  de- 
posit its  contents  in  the  new  building  about  to  be  erected,  the  papers,  coins,  &c.,  which  had 
been  deposited  in  a  sealed  glass  jar,  were  found  to  be  in  a  perfectly  decayed  and  corroded 
condition,  and  saturated  with  water."  Dr.  Boye*  states,  that  after  a  careful  examination,  he 
is  satisfied  that  the  water  must  have  got  in  from  the  outside  by  infiltration — first  through  the 
mortar  into  the  cavity,  and  afterwards  from  this  through  the  sealing-wax  with  which  the 
glass-stopper  was  secured.  The  corner-stone  consisted  of  a  block  of  blue  marble,  in  which 
a  rectangular  excavation  had  been  made,  which  was  closed  at  the  top  by  a  marble  slab  sunk 
down  into  the  stone,  and  secured  by  common  mortar.  The  lime  used  appears  to  have  acted 
upon  and  corroded  the  sealing-wax.  The  corrosion  of  the  coins  is  ascribed  to  the  sulphur 
in  the  glue  or  sizing  in  the  paper. — Proceed.  Amer.  Phil.  Soc. 

Improved  Faucet. 

AMONG  the  patents  recently  issued  was  one  to  Charles  Cleveland,  of  Ashfield,  Connecticut, 
for  improvement  in  faucets,  which  will  be  of  no  small  value  to  the  public.  They  may  be 
used  iu  all  cases  to  which  an  ordinary  faucet  is  applicable,  and  also,  by  turning  the  spigot 
to  a  proper  position,  a  ventiduct  is  opened ;  through  which,  in  consequence  of  the  peculiar 
formation  of  the  aqueduct,  air  is  admitted  at  the  same  time  that  the  fluid  passes  through 
the  aqueduct,  thus  adapting  it  to  the  drawing  of  fluids  from  vessels  which  are  perfectly  air- 
tiyht;  a  matter  of  no  little  consequence  in  case  of  burning  fluids,  high  wines,  &c. ;  while  it 
will  be  found  of  still  greater  value  for  drawing  fermented  and  effervescing  fluids,  such  as 
beer,  mineral  waters,  and  the  like. 

Frictionless  Washing  Machine. 

IN  this  invention  of  Mr.  King,  the  inventor  claims  that  it  involves  "no  rubbing  rollers, 
dashers,  or  pounders,  to  wear  out  the  clothing,  but  a  simple  cylinder,  constructed  to  apply 
steam  beneath  the  suds  and  clothing,  and  out  over  them,  whether  the  cylinder  rotates  or  is 
stationary."  The  articles  to  be  washed  are  put  into  the  cylinder,  the  lower  half  of  which 
contains  suds,  and  the  upper  half  steam,  which  latter  has  a  constant  escape  at  the  top, 
raising  the  clothes  under  treatment  into  the  upper  half  of  the  cylinder.  As  the  cylinder  is 
occasionally  turned  over,  the  articles  have  their  position  changed,  being  alternately  in  suds 
and  steam.  The  steam  accomplishes  just  what  the  washerwoman  performs  with  her  hands : 
it  opens  the  fibres  of  the  fabrics,  and  allows  the  alkaline  matter  of  the  suds  to  neutralize  the 
oily  or  vegetable  particles  which  hold  the  dirt  to  the  goods ;  the  dirt  then  rinses  off  without 
rubbing,  and  the  continuous  steam  escape  carries  off  all  volatile  matter. 

Improved  Helve  Fastener  for  Axes. 

A  SIMPLE  and  ingenious  contrivance  for  fastening  helves  to  axes  has  been  recently  pa- 
tented by  H.  A.  and  J.  Bill,  of  Willimantic,  Connecticut.  The  socket  in  the  axe-head  is 
made  narrower  in  the  central  part,  the  side  of  the  socket  next  the  edge  being  convex.  The 
opposite  side  of  the  socket  is  made  straight,  or  nearly  so,  and  the  end  of  the  helve  is  made 
to  fit  the  socket  on  the  side  next  the  edge,  space  being  left  on  the  opposite  side  for  a  wedge- 
key.  The  extreme  end  of  the  helve  is  wider  than  the  central  part  of  the  socket ;  but  it  can 
just  "be  passed  through  when  the  wedge  is  out.  After  the  helve  is  entered  into  the  socket, 
the  wedge  is  driven  home,  after  which,  unless  the  wedge  is  removed,  the  axe  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated without  absolutely  tearing  it  off  the  end  of  the  helve. 

4 


60  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Correct  Labels. 

IN  the  report  of  premiums  awarded  at  a  late  exhibition  at  the  Royal  Botanic  Gardens, 
London,  we  were  gratified  at  seeing  certificates  awarded  for  "correct  labels."  This  is  a 
matter  worthy  the  attention  of  our  horticultural  societies.  Let  certificates,  or  honorable 
mention,  or  a  small  premium,  be  given  to  the  gardener  or  nurseryman  whose  labels  are  cor- 
rectly spelled.  There  is  great  room  for  improvement  in  this  respect ;  in  catalogues  also,  as 
a  general  rule,  the  blunders  are  frequent  and  ridiculous. — Phil.  Florist. 

Improved  Joints  for  Gas  and  Water  Pipes. 

THE  great  inconvenience  to  the  public  in  all  largely  populated  cities  and  towns,  arising 
from  the  continual  stoppage  of  the  highways,  by  the  laying  or  repairing  of  the  gas  and 
water  mains,  will,  we  are  happy  to  observe,  at  no  distant  day,  be  greatly  mitigated,  and, 
indeed,  to  a  great  extent,  removed.  This  important  desideratum  is  effected  by  a  valuable 
improvement  in  forming  the  joints  of  iron  pipes,  recently  introduced  and  patented  in  Eng- 
land, and  possessing  numerous  advantages  over  the  common  pocket-joint,  secured  with  junk 
and  lead.  The  plan  consists  in  casting  the  pipes  of  equal  diameter  from  end  to  end,  in  lay- 
ing which  they  merely  abut  against  each  other.  About  an  inch  from  each  end,  a  bevelled 
flange  or  feather  is  cast  round  the  outer  circumference,  forming  an  angular  ring,  and  when 
two  pipes  are  brought  end  to  end,  a  piece  of  web,  or  gasket,  woven  for  the  purpose,  is  satu- 
rated with  red  or  white  lead,  or  other  applicable  unctuous  matter,  and  drawn  twice  round 
the  space  formed  by  the  two  projecting  rings.  Over  this  an  iron  collar,  cast  in  two  pieces, 
and  having  grooves  to  admit  the  projecting  rings,  is  fitted  and  screwed  up  by  bolts  and  nuts 
through  lugs,  forming  a  perfectly  air-tight  joint.  At  a  glance  it  may  be  seen  that  numerous 
advantages  must  result  from  the  application  of  this  plan  by  all  the  gas  and  water  com- 
panies ;  perhaps  the  greatest  and  most  obvious  of  which  to  the  public,  from  its  general 
adoption,  will  be  the  saving  of  time  in  laying  the  mains  and  branches,  and  the  avoidance  of 
the  greater  part  of  the  nuisance  occasioned  by  such  works  under  the  present  system,  and 
inherently  combining  with  it  a  great  economy  and  saving  of  cost  to  the  companies.  This  is 
effected,  in  the  first  place,  by  less  excavation  being  required ;  man-holes  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  enable  the  men  to  get  at  the  joints,  and  the  operation  is  rapidly  completed  without 
the  danger  and  nuisance  of  fires  in  the  streets  for  melting  lead,  and  by  the  employment  of  at 
most  only  one-third  the  labor  required  under  the  present  system ;  while,  instead  of  skilled 
workmen,  any  laborer  who  never  before  saw  a  joint  may  be  taught  in  five  minutes  effect- 
ively to  screw  up  the  joints.  The  lead  used  under  the  present  plan  may  be  taken  on  an 
average  at  eighty-four  pounds  to  a  ton  of  main  pipe,  showing  a  saving  in  lead  alone  of  from 
15s.  to  16s.  per  ton.  A  still  further  advantage  and  saving  is  effected  by  the  superiority  of 
the  joint,  forming  almost  an  entire  prevention  of  leakage  and  waste ;  for,  while  there  is  every 
facility  secured  for  expansion  and  contraction,  the  perfection  of  the  joint  remains  unim- 
paired. This  manner  of  connecting  pipes  has  equal  applicability  for  the  conveyance  of  steam 
for  breweries,  distilleries,  dyehouses,  conservatories,  hothouses,  and  in  all  situations  where 
the  safe  conveyance  of  fluids  is  a  desideratum ;  and  may  safely  call  attention  to  its  great 
simplicity  and  efficiency,  its  capability  of  supplying  a  great  public  good,  and  removing  many 
public  annoyances. 

On  the  Manufacture  of  Terra  Cotta. 

THE  manufacture  of  terra  cotta,  a  comparatively  new  branch  of  business  in  the  United 
States,  is  conducted  in  New  York,  at  the  principal  establishment,  that  of  Mr.  Young's,  as 
follows : — The  material  used  by  Mr.  Young  is  one  part  New  Jersey  clay,  an  article  well 
known  by  all  the  potters  in  the  Middle  and  New  England  States ;  and  Long  Island  clay, 
one  part,  and  sand  from  Rockaway  Beach,  one  part ;  which  are  ground  together  in  a  common 
tub-mill,  with  one  horse  attached  to  a  sweep,  like  the  common  brick-clay  mill,  or  old- 
fashioned  cider-mill. 


AGRICULTURAL   MECHANICS   AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  ol 

"When  the  clay  is  worked  to  the  right  temper  for  use,  it  is  packed  away  in  the  collar,  where 
it  will  keep  just  moist  enough  to  mould  well.  When  a  new  design  is  furnished,  the  first 
process  is  to  mould  the  clay  into  the  desired  form,  with  a  pedestal  or  back,  if  designed  to 
tc-t  iu  the  wall,  or,  if  for  the  key  of  an  arch,  in  the  proper  form,  besides  the  ornamental 
part,  for  the  position  it  is  to  fill.  Now,  the  expense  of  this  process  would  never  allow  of  the 
article  being  used  as  a  cheap  building  material.  To  obviate  this,  a  plaster  mould  is  taken, 
which  is  formed  of  as  many  pieces  as  may  be  necessary  to  allow  the  article,  when  cast,  to 
be  removed  from  the  mould  with  facility.  Sometimes  these  plaster  casts  are  taken  in  five- 
and-twenty  different  pieces  to  one  mould.  When  thus  formed,  the  whole  is  placed  in  a  box 
of  suitable  size  and  shape,  so  that  when  liquid  plaster  is  poured  in,  it  forms  a  case  of  suffi- 
cient strength,  the  sides  being  two  or  three  inches  thick,  to  hold  the  various  parts  of  the 
mould  firmly  in  their  place.  The  original  laboriously-prepared  model  being  removed,  the 
workman  has  a  perfect  matrice  in  which  he  can  duplicate  his  designs  to  any  desired  extent. 
The  process  of  doing  this  is  to  have  the  matrice  in  its  plaster  case  on  a  table  before  him, 
with  his  prepared  clay,  which  he  takes  in  his  hands,  and  throws  and  presses  it  into  every 
part,  until  his  matrice  is  full,  the  plastic  clay  having  taken  every  form,  however  minute, 
whether  of  a  face,  or  leaf,  or  feather.  The  case  is  then  rolled  over,  and  lifted  off  of  the  mould, 
which  is  taken  away,  piece  by  piece,  from  the  article  formed,  which  is  left  to  dry  until  firm 
enough  to  handle,  when  it  is  taken  to  the  finishing-room  and  trimmed  and  repaired,  if  there 
are  any  imperfections,  and  then  taken  to  tlu-  .lr\inu;-r.n)in,  until  ready  for  the  kiln;  this  ia 
an  oven  nine  by  thirteen  feet,  and  ten  feet  high.  The  articles  are  set  in  this,  and  heated  by 
the  consumption  of  a  ton  of  bituminous  coal  a  day  for  six  days,  bringing  the  clay  to  a  white 
heat,  and  nearly  to  the  melting-point.  The  same  degree  of  heat  applied  to  a  kiln  of  brick 
would  iiu-lt  down  all  the  arches.  The  articles  in  the  drying-room  are  prepared  for  burning 
by  the  escape  heat  of  the  kiln.  When  well  burnt,  they  are  more  like  gray  stone  than  any 
thing  else,  and  may  be  used  without  paint,  though  that  is  generally  applied  to  produce  a 
uniform  color. 

The  difference  between  terra  cotta  and  stonework  prices  is  the  most  apparent  where  the 
amount  of  carving  is  the  largest.  Window  lintels  of  fancy  patterns,  with  carved-work  keys, 
corbels,  and  trusses  complete,  are  from  $12  to  $25,  or  about  one-third  the  price  of  stone. 

Cellar  Floors. 

THE  cheapest,  best,  and  most  durable  cellar  floor,  which  is  also  impervious  to  rats,  may 
be  made  in  the  following  manner: — Supposing  the  cellar  wall  already  laid,  with  a  sufficient 
drain  to  the  cellar ;  then  dig  a  trench  all  around  the  wall  on  the  inner  side,  a  foot  wide  and 
deep,  connecting  with  the  cellar  drain.  In  the  centre  of  this  trench  make  a  drain  by  stand- 
ing two  stones,  bracing  against  each  other,  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees ;  then  fill 
up  the  trench  with  small  stones,  to  within  two  or  three  inches  of  the  top ;  cover  these  stones 
with  a  layer  of  pine  shavings,  and  then  with  the  earth  thrown  out  of  the  trench,  levelling 
off  the  same  with  the  floor  of  the  cellar.  If  the  ground  of  the  cellar  should  be  gravel, 
nothing  further  will  be  required ;  but  if  clay,  make  it  perfectly  smooth,  and  strew  over  it  a 
coating  of  clean  gravel ;  one  load  of  thirty  bushels  will  be  ample  for  a  cellar  of  twelve  hun- 
dred square  feet.  The  cost  of  such  a  floor,  estimating  the  gravel  at  $1,  will  not  exceed  $8  ; 
the  cellar  will  be  rat-proof,  and  the  floor  smooth,  dry,  and  hard. — Rural  Intelligencer. 

Alarm  Bedstead. 

THE  above  name  was  given  to  a  newly-invented  bedstead  recently  exhibited  at  the  Agricul- 
tural State  Fair  of  Vermont.  Its  peculiarities  are  as  follows : — At  the  head  of  the  bed  is 
placed  a  common  alarm-clock,  which  can  be  so  arranged  as  to  give  an  alarm  at  any  hour 
required ;  but  should  the  votary  of  the  sleepy  god  be  unmindful  of  the  summons,  and  roll 
himself  over  preparatory  to  another  nap,  in  a  moment,  by  an  ingenious  contrivance,  one  side 
of  the  bed  is  dropped  upon  the  floor,  leaving  the  surface  of  the  bed  at  an  angle  of  about 
forty-five  degrees,  and  rolling  the  occupant  out  upon  the  floor  in  a  very  unceremonious  manner. 


52 


THE  YEAU-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 
Patent  Brick. 


THE  annexed  figures  are  views  of  an  improved  brick,  for  which  a  patent  was  recently 
granted  to  Levi  Till,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio.  The  nature  of  the  improvement  consists  in  forming 
each  brick  with  channels  or  grooves  upon  the  top,  and  with  projecting  conical  spurs  upon  the 
bottom  and  upon  one  of  its  ends. 

Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


Fig.  3. 


Fig.  1  shows  the  two  channels  or  grooves  a  a.  Fig.  2  represents  four  projecting  conical 
spurs  intended  to  fit  into  the  grooves  a  a — the  spurs  of  one  brick  fitting  into  the  grooves  a  a 
of  another,  and  vice  versd.  Fig.  3  is  a  side  view  of  a  brick,  showing  the  conical  spurs  b  b 
j^g  4  in  elevation.  Fig.  4  represents  a  small  spur  e,  intended 

only  to  keep*  the  bricks,  as  laid  in  the  wall,  at  such  an 
exact  and  uniform  distance  apart  as  shall  leave  the 
proper  space  for  mortar.  Fig.  5  shows  a  section  of 
wall  with  the  end  of  a  joist  h  laid  upon  it,  which  can 
be  done  by  the  carpenters  on  each  story,  as  soon  as  the 
bricks  are  laid,  a  a  and  d  d  show  the  ends  of  brick, 
and  b  is  the  half  brick.  A  piece  e  is  nailed  on  the  end 
of  the  joist  to  fit  into  the  channel  of  brick,  and  which  acts  as  a  tie.  Fig.  6  is  a  perspective 
view  of  three  of  these  bricks.  The  following  extract  from  the  specification  sets  forth  the 
advantages  claimed  for  this  brick : 

"It  will  be  perceived  at  once  that  in  bricks  made  upon  this  plan  the  improvements  will 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND   RURAL  ECONOMY. 


53 


consist — 1st.  In  the  greater  security  and  strength  of  the  walls  locked  and  bound  together  by 
this  device;  2d.  The  bricklayer  is  enabled  to  lay  several  courses  -without  the  use  of  the  line, 
and  with  much  greater  rapidity  and  accuracy  than  with  common  brick,  it  being  scarcely  pos- 
sible to  go  wrong ;  and  3d.  The  spaces  for  mortar  between  the  bricks  are  necessarily  uniform, 
exact,  and  equal." 

Fig.  5. 


These  bricks  united  together  form  a  continuous  chain,  very  suitable  for  the  construction 
of  domes  and  other  such  structures,  as  they  are  well  adapted  for  resisting  outward  thrust, 
and  they  can  be  united  by  any  "  bend"  which  is  possible  for  common  brick.  The  wall  cannot 
separate  while  there  is  sufficient  weight  on  the  top  to  keep  the  spurs  in  their  channels.  Such 
bricks  will  be  good  for  building  deep  shafts  in  mines.  They  may  be  also  used  for  drainage, 
the  spaces  between  the  courses  affording  a  free  passage  for  water. 

Papier-Mache  Huts. 

A  PAPIER-MACHE  manufacturer  in  England  has  submitted  to  the  authorities  a  model  hut 
of  that  material,  intended  for  camp  use.  The  papier-mache  pulp  is  mixed  with  rags,  the 
result  of  which  is  a  paper  plank  much  stronger  than  wood,  all  but  inflammable,  a  non- 
conductor of  heat  or  cold,  and  impenetrable  by  wet. 


Boring  for  Artesian  Wells. 

THE  following  is  a  notice  of  some  recent  improvements  in  the  machinery  for  boring  Arte- 
sian wells,  effected  by  Mr.  Kind,  of  Saxony : 

"The  first  improvement  by  Mr.  Kind  is  what  he  terms  the  free-fall  apparatus,  the  object 
being  to  release  the  chisel  at  any  moment  from  the  rods,  and  by  allowing  its  free  fall  to  do  its 
work  at  the  bottom  of  the  bore-hole.  This  apparatus  consists  of  a  pair  of  tongs,  capable  of 
laying  hold  of  a  bar  of  iron  in  which  the  chisel  is  fixed  ;  and  these  tongs  open  and  shut  by 
means  of  the  action  of  the  water  in  the  hole  on  a  disc  of  leather  during  the  up-and-down  motion 
of  the  rods.  The  operation  proceeds  as  follows : — The  rods,  to  the  lower  end  of  which  the 
free-fall  apparatus  and  chisel  are  attached,  are  lifted  to  the  height  requisite  for  the  subsequent 
fall  of  the  chisel ;  during  this  upward  motion,  the  water  in  the  bore-hole  presses  against  the 
upper  side  of  the  leather  disc  by  reason  of  the  resistance  it  meets  with  by  being  drawn 
through  the  water ;  but  the  moment  the  motion  of  the  rods  is  attempted  to  be  reversed  or 
lowered,  the  pressure  of  the  water  against  this  disc  is  also  reversed,  causing  it  to  slide  a  little 
way  on  the  rods.  This  motion  of  the  disc  is  made  to  effect  the  opening  of  the  tongs  holding 
the  end  of  the  chisel,  which  is  then  disengaged,  and  free  to  fall  without  the  rods  and  free-fall 


54  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

apparatus,  -which  then  follow  at  a  more  mpderate  rate  of  descent,  and  again  take  hold  of  the 
chisel  in  order  to  raise  it  for  another  blow.  Nothing  but  actual  experience  can  show  the  im- 
portant effects  accomplished  by  the  free  falling  of  the  chisel.  In  the  first  place,  it  enables  the 
great  mass  of  iron  rods  to  be  replaced  by  others  of  a  lighter  construction,  as  they  are  much 
less  severely  handled  in  this  than  in  the  old  process ;  wood  is  the  material  accordingly  em- 
ployed, "which,  by  reason  of  its  buoyancy  in  the  water,  is  comparatively  of  little  or  no  weight 
on  the  lever,  even  in  the  deepest  boring,  provided  water  be  present ;  the  labor  or  power  is 
consequently  greatly  diminished,  as  by  Mr.  Kind's  process  the  weight  to  be  raised  each  time 
is  merely  that  of  the  chisel,  together  with  the  &mall  amount  of  counterpoise  necessary  to 
keep  the  rods  down  in  the  water,  while  the  whole  weight  of  the  chisel  becomes  effective  in  its 
fall.  A  much  more  important  advantage  of  the  use  of  the  free-fall  apparatus,  however,  arises 
from  the  less  liability  it  occasions  to  those  serious  accidents  from  the  breakage  of  the  rods  in 
the  hole  always  attending  upon  works  of  this  nature  under  the  old  mode,  when  of  any  con- 
siderable extent.  This  will  be  readily  understood  from  what  has  been  stated  of  their  not 
having  to  sustain  those  severe  shocks  and  concussions,  and  also  from  their  always  being  in  a 
position  of  suspension  from  the  point  of  support  on  the  end  of  the  lever,  and  never  resting  on 
their  lower  end  in  the  bore-hole,  whereby  they  are  liable  to  be  buckled  up  or  broken  from  the 
superincumbent  weight  of  the  upper  on  the  lower  portion. 

"The  objection  to  the  old  system  of  continuous  rods  is  thus  very  correctly  stated  by  M. 
Degousee,  in  his  treatise  Guide  du  Sondeur — 'When  borings  are  very  deep,  the  weight  of  the 
rods  prevents  the  boring  tool  acting  by  percussion,  and  yet  there  are  no  other  means  of  pene- 
trating hard  rocks.  The  instrument  runs  the  risk  of  breaking  frequently  ;  besides,  to  act  by 
percussion,  the  instrument  must  be  raised  from  3  to  4  inches,  and  when  then  allowed  to  fall, 
is  subject  to  a  tremulous  motion  between  each  shock,  which  lashes  it  violently  against  the 
sides  of  the  bore-hole.  This  tremulous  motion,  repeated  from  12,000  to  15,000  times  per 
day,  and  during  many  months,  entails  the  deterioration  of  the  retaining  tubes ;  and,  if  the 
bore-hole  is  not  tubed,  makes  the  hole  oval  in  soft  places,  giving  rise  to  crumbling  in ;  and  the 
fragments  occasionally  press  angularly  against  the  tool  in  such  a  manner  that  the  rods  break 
by  the  efforts  necessary  to  extract  them.' 

"We  have  here,  accurately  described,  one  of  the  principal  causes  which  have  hitherto  pre- 
vented borings  of  very  great  depth  becoming  common,  the  breakage  of  the  rods  entailing  such 
serious  consequences  that  attempts  have  been  frequently  abandoned  after  a  considerable 
expenditure  of  labor  and  money.  Mr.  Kind's  free-fall  apparatus  remedies  this  objection  by 
avoiding  all  those  shocks  and  lashing  of  the  rods ;  and,  while  it  renders  the  operations  more 
likely  to  be  carried  to  a  successful  termination,  removes  one  great  cause  of  accident  and 
failure. 

"  The  core-boring  is  managed  by  having  a  sort  of  crown-tool,  which  cuts  all  round  the 
periphery  of  the  hole,  leaving  an  annular  space  and  solid  central  block  or  core,  which  core  is 
broken  off  and  brought  to  the  surface  by  means  of  a  particular  form  of  clack.  Instead  of 
bringing  up  powder  for  examination,  this  apparatus  then  can  produce  a  cylindrical  block 
of  the  rock  which  is  being  bored  through,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  specimen  cores,  giving  all 
the  indications  in  the  dips  of  the  beds  and  their  exact  character  that  could  be  obtained  by  the 
sinking  of  a  shaft.  This  operation  requires  considerable  care,  in  order  to  realize  to  the  full 
extent  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  exhibition  of  a  perfect  sample,  by  showing  the 
direction  and  amount  of  the  inclination  of  the  bed  or  strata;  that  it  is  effectually  accom- 
plished is  satisfactorily  established  by  some  cores  brought  up  from  depths  exceeding  1000 
feet,  as  well  as  by  the  public  accounts  of  the  numerous  and  very  extensive  works  that  have, 
during  the  last  10  years,  been  successfully  completed  under  Mr.  Kind's  system  and  direction. 

"  Mr.  Kind  has  also  successfully  applied  his  system  of  boring  to  the  sinking  of  shafts  of 
large  diameter,  and  in  certain  localities,  with  economy.  He  avoids  pumping  during  the  ope- 
ration ;  and  if,  as  is  most  frequently  the  case,  large  feeders  of  water  are  confined  to  certain 
beds,  he  stops  them  back  by  means  of  wooden  tubing.  When  a  comparatively  small  power 
only  is  required  to  keep  the  works  dry,  the  operation  is  carried  on  by  means  of  two  small 
engines,  of  from  10  to  12  horse-power  each — one  arranged  for  winding  up  the  rods  when  the 
tool  must  be  lifted,  the  other  for  boring. — Mining  Journal. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND   RURAL  ECONOMY. 


Mosquito  Window  Screen. 

THE  annexed  figures  represent  an  improvement  in 
window  screens  for  excluding  mosquitos  and  flies  in  sum- 
mer, when  a  portion  of  the  window  is  left  open  for  proper 
ventilation.  The  inventor  is  B.  B.  Webster,  of  Boston. 

DESCRIPTION. — Fig.  1  is  an  inside  view  of  a  window 
having   the   improved  mosquito   curtain  attached,  the 
lower  sash  being  partly  elevated  in  order  to  exhibit  the 
curtain.     B  is  a  roller  (moved  by  a  spring  in  boxes  A  A) 
around  which   the  gauze  curtain   is  wound  when  the 
window  is  closed.     The  spring  is  indicated  by  the  dotted 
lines  in  fig.  2  (a  perspective  sectional  view)  at  A.     C  is 
a  movable  bar,  that  may  be  easily  detached  from  the 
sash  D,  to  allow  the  window  to  be  easily  opened  when 
desired,  without  using  the  curtain.     C  C  (fig.  2)  shows 
this  bar  detached.     When  the  window  is  partly  open, 
the  space  between  the  glass  and  the  bottom  of  the  upper 
sash  is  effectually  closed  by  some  flexible  material  to  pre- 
vent insects  from  entering  the  room  in  that  way.     A  like 
insect  curtain  may  bo  applied  to  the  upper  sash,  it'  <  i  • 
The  common  mosquito  curtains  are  tiv.l   to  a  M-parate 
frame,  made  for  the  lower  sash  of  windows,  which  has 
to  be  removed,  and  the  curtain  frame  set  in.     This  in- 
vention is  certainly  a  neat  and  convenient  improvement  over 
the  common  kind.     This  curtain  has  only  its  small  spring 
and  roller-box  B,  secured  to  the-  window  sole  by  screws, 
and  the  bar  C,  to  which  the  upper  end  of  the  curtain  is  at- 
tached, clasped  upon  the  lower  part  D  of  the  sash,  so  that 
when  the  window  is  raised,  as  shown  in  fig.  1,  the  curtain 
is  drawn  up  and  covers  the  space,  to  prevent  the  ingress  of 
insects.     When  the  window  is  lowered,  the  springs  in  the 
roller-box  wind  the  curtain  by  self-action  on  the  roller  B. 
The  tension  of  the  springs  can  be  regulated  in  a  minute  to 
suit  any  window  to  which  a  curtain  is  attached. 


Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


The  Way  to  Transport  Logs. 

MR.  W.  S.  BOOTH,  of  Connecticut,  furnishes  to  the  People's  Journal  the  following  infor- 
mation, the  result  of  his  experience  in  regard  to  the  best  method  of  transporting  heavy  tim- 
ber from  remote  and  difficult  localities.  In  nearly  all  the  easily-accessible  localities  on  the 
Atlantic  border,  the  forests  have  been  cut  down,  and  now  the  supply  must  be  taken  from 
those  points  where  great  difficulties  in  the  way  of  transportation  have  to  be  overcome,  such 
as  mountains,  ravines,  &c.  The  method  at  present  in  general  use  is  to  slide  logs  down  by 
a  hand-spike  for  one  or  two  hundred  yards,  or  pull  them  by  team  and  dog-chain.  But  there 
is  great  danger  both  to  team  and  driver  by  the  latter  mode,  as  the  logs  acquire  increasing 
velocity  in  proportion  to  the  steepness  of  the  descent.  Mr.  Booth's  plan  is  to  provide  a 
simple  pole  of  any  flexible  wood,  say  five  inches  diameter  and  ten  feet  long,  and  attach  it 
firmly  as  a  tongue  to  the  log.  This  tongue  may  be  kept  in  place  by  means  of  a  notch  in  the 
log  and  a  couple  of  pins  on  the  tongue,  between  which  the  chain  is  made  to  pass.  The  fix- 
tures for  hitching  on  the  team  are  made  in  the  usual  manner. 

In  order  to  load  the  cart,  the  axle  is  placed  on  a  slope,  about  five  feet  from  the  third  part 
of  the  length  of  the  log ;  remove  the  nearest  wheel  by  pulling  out  the  fastening,  and  let  it  lie 
in  a  horizontal  position,  with  the  end  of  the  axle  resting  directly  on  the  middle  of  the  hub  of 
the  wheel,  in  the  manner  shown  in  fig.  1.  Then,  by  means  of  a  plank,  placed  on  the  axle  and 


56 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OP  AGRICULTURE. 


extending  over  the  wheel  to  the  under  side  of  the  log,  roll  on  the  log  with  a  cant-hook  or 
team  and  chain.  Finally  draw  on  the  wheel  with  your  team,  which  may  be  done  by  fasten- 
ing a  chain  around  and  over  the  spokes,  close  to  the  hub  of  the  wheel,  as  shown  in  fig.  1.  The 

Fig.  1. 


log  should  rest  on  the  axle  at  one-third  of  the  distance  from  the  end.  In  drawing  timber 
thus  trailing  on  the  ground,  the  greatest  difficulty  is,  that  the  log  does  not  follow  the  direct 
track  of  the  wheels,  but  inclines  to  one  side  or  the  other  of  the  track,  thus  lying  obliquely  along 
the  road.  To  remedy  this  we  use  two  chains — the  one  forming  a  noose  under  the  log  forward, 
and  as  close  to  the  axle  as  can  be  fastened ;  the  other  forming  a  noose  some  eight  or  ten  feet 
below,  and  connecting  the  two  together  in  the  manner  shown  in  fig.  2.  This  plan  will  eflfec- 

Fig.  2. 


tually  prevent  the  oblique  trailing  of  the  log ;  it  will  also  answer  where  two  logs  are  fastened 
at  a  time. 

Improved  Stump-Extractors. 

THE  Greenfield  Gazette,  Massachusetts,  contains  the  following  notice  of  the  working  of  a  new 
stump-extractor,  owned  and  operated  by  W.  W.  Willis,  of  Orange,  Massachusetts.  The  exhi- 
bition was  public,  notice  having  been  given  to  the  adjoining  districts,  and  a  considerable 
number  of  agriculturists  were  present.  "At  the  appointed  time,"  says  the  writer,  "the  hook 
of  a  stout  chain  was  placed  under  the  root  of  a  moderately-sized  stump,  and  it  was  turned 
out  with  as  much  apparent  ease  as  though  it  had  been  a  mere  log,  with  no  attachments  to 
the  ground.  Other  stumps,  of  still  larger  size  and  more  extensive  roots,  were  then  taken 
out ;  and  all  with  certainty,  and  without  the  slightest  confusion ;  and  the  time  occupied  in 
removing  each  one,  after  the  chain  was  applied,  not  exceeding  ten  minutes!" 

An  experiment  on  a  somewhat  larger  scale  was  then  tried  with  equal  success.  "An  enor- 
mous stump,  the  growth,  perhaps,  of  centuries,  was  selected,  and  a  larger  chain  made  fast, 
With  a  small  half-circular  spade,  room  was  made  under  one  of  the  roots,  and  a  stout  hook 
attached ;  the  chain  passing  from  the  hook  up  over  the  end  of  the  shears.  Nearly  the  whole 
surface  of  the  ground  about  the  stump  was  covered  with  the  stumps  of  a  later  growth  of 
young  pines,  whose  roots  penetrated  the  soil,  and  mingled  with  those  of  their  ancient  pro- 
genitor. The  stump  itself  was  between  two  and  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  sound,  as  were 
its  roots. 

"A  pair  of  stout  oxen  were  then  hitched  to  the  lever  and  driven  forward.     When  they  had 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  57 

advanced  some  three  or  four  rods,  the  chain  was  taken  up,  and  they  were  turned  back  -with- 
out any  unhitching,  the  roots  in  the  mean  time  cracking  and  making  a  noise  like  a  pistol 
exploded  under  water.  The  ground  gradually  rose  about  the  stump,  and  in  five  minutes  its 
gnarly  roots,  which  had  securely  laid  there  for  ages,  were  brought  to  light.  At  the  expiration 
of  ten  minutes,  the  old  hero  was  fairly  turned  over,  and  the  roots  on  the  upper  side  pointing 
to  the  heavens.  Upon  actual  measurement,  we  found  the  roots  extending  something  more 
than  sixteen  feet  from  each  side  of  the  stump. 

"The  experiment  was  one  of  the  most  astonishing  exhibitions  of  mechanical  power  that  we 
have  ever  witnessed.  The  machine  is  exceedingly  simple,  and  not  liable  to  get  out  of  repair." 

The  prices  of  these  machines  range  from  $125  to  $200,  including  town-rights,  which  brings 
them  within  reach  of  moderate  means,  and  cannot  but  be  a  good  investment  for  the  enter- 
prising farmer. 

An  improvement  in  machinery  for  extracting  stumps  has  also  been  recently  invented  by 
Edward  Vaughn,  of  Alliance,  Ohio.  "  The  bearing  of  the  screw  employed  in  this  stump- 
extractor  is  a  half  sphere  fitted  within  a  concave  plate ;  the  hub  of  the  sweep  for  working  the 
extractor  has  a  projection  resting  upon  anti-friction  balls,  and  the  screw  passing  through  a 
recess  is  so  arranged  that  the  friction  usually  attendant  on  operating  it  in  ordinary  stump- 
extractors  is  greatly  reduced,  and  at  the  same  time  the  screw  is  allowed  to  oscillate  and 
conform  to  the  line  of  pressure  when  out  of  a  vertical  line.  This  machine  is  made  with  a 
frame  to  be  drawn  on  wheels  to  the  field  where  the  stumps  are  to  be  extracted,  and  by  a 
peculiar  arrangement  the  wheels  can  be  attached  or  removed  at  pleasure." 

The  Michigan  Farmer's  Companion  thus  describes  a  new  stump-extractor  recently  intro- 
duced into  that  State  :— 

It  is  a  very  powerful,  effective  machine,  turning  out  solid  oak  stumps  three  feet  in  diame- 
ter with  as  much  ease  as  a  dentist  would  extract  a  molar.  Its  lever  power  is  the  screw. 
The  directions  here  given  will  enable  any  mechanic  to  make  one :  First,  there  are  two  bed- 
pieces  of  best  oak,  8  by  6  inches,  10  feet  long,  put  together  like  a  common  crotch-drag, 
spreading  10  feet  at  the  rear  end ;  the  cross-piece  is  inserted  2  feet  from  the  forward  end, 
and  just  behind  this  is  inserted  a  strong  bolt  with  a  nut  and  screw,  to  prevent  spreading. 
Three  posts,  G  feet  between  joints,  and  6  by  8  inches,  oak,  are  mortised  into  the  bed-pieces, 
forming  a  triangle;  the  hind  posts  are  8  feet  apart  at  the  foot,  measuring  across  the  frame: 
the  top  of  these  posts  are  let  into  a  head-block,  10  inches  thick,  18  inches  wide,  and  3 \  feet 
long,  made  of  the  toughest  oak ;  a  knot  would  be  better.  A  hole  is  made  through  this  block, 
3  inches  in  diameter  at  the  top  and  8  inches  at  the  bottom ;  through  this  is  passed  a  common 
cider-mill  screw,  4J  feet  long,  with  a  clevis  made  of  Swede's  bar  passing  through  the  lever 
holes  in  the  screw,  to  admit  two  holes  for  bolts  an  inch  and  a  half  thick ;  then  a  chain  made 
of  f -inch  iron,  4  J  feet  long,  with  a  ring  on  one  end ;  a  large  hook  on  the  other  for  hitching 
to  roots ;  the  nut  in  which  the  screw  works  is  let  firmly  into  the  sweep,  (like  an  old-fashioned 
cider-mill  sweep,)  to  the  end  of  which  a  horse  is  attached;  the  screw  is  lowered  sufficient  to 
hitch ;  the  horse  is  then  started,  and  the  stump  is  raised  out  with  great  ease.  Indeed,  it  was 
wonderful  to  see  with  what  power  and  ease  it  drew  into  pieces  a  solid  oak  stump ;  it  being 
so  firm  in  the  ground  that  it  came  into  parts  rather  than  yield  entirely  at  one  hitch.  The 
whole  cost  of  the  machine  is  $24. 

Patterson's  Compound-action  Clod-Crusher. 

A  SILVER  medal  was  awarded  at  the  recent  exhibition  of  agricultural  implements  at  Car- 
lisle, England,  for  an  improved  clod-crusher,  the  invention  of  Mr.  Patterson.  Its  novelty 
consists  in  the  employment  of  a  straight  axle,  with  a  series  of  eccentrics  upon  it,  for  the 
purpose  of  placing  each  disc  in  a  backward  and  forward  position  with  regard  to  its  neighbor. 
The  eccentrics  are  so  arranged  upon  the  shaft,  that  their  centres  shall  be  in  the  same  hori- 
l  plane,  or  equidistant  from  the  ground  line.  By  this  arrangement,  a  perfect  self- 
cleansing  action  is  obtained,  owing  to  the.  peripheries  of  the  discs  continually  crossing  and 
recrossing  each  other.  In  this  way  a  grinding  action  is  exerted  upon  the  clods,  which  re- 
duces them  to  a  fine  mould. 


58 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Portable  Steam-sawing  Machine. 


ONE  of  the  most  novel  and  ingenious  machines  for  sawing  trees  and  timber  has  been 
recently  invented  by  Mr.  S.  R.  Wilmot,  of  New  York  City.  It  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
a  steam  hand-saw.  The  handle  is  made  round  and  hollow,  and  has  a  steam  piston  fitted 
within,  to  which  the  saw  is  fastened.  Steam  is  admitted  at  the  back  end  of  the  handle, 
through  a  flexible  pipe  made  of  canvas  or  rubber.  The  rapidity  with  which  the  saw  is  made 
to  move  back  and  forth  is  astonishing.  The  principal  object  of  this  invention  is  to  cut  down 
trees  in  forests  or  swamps,  or  wherever  the  nature  of  the  ground  is  such  that  it  is  desirable 
to  have  a  very  light  but  effective  cutting  apparatus.  The  operator  takes  up  the  saw  by  the 
handle,  which  is  only  two  or  three  inches  in  diameter,  holds  it  against  the  base  of  the  tree, 
and  lets  on  the  steam.  The  next  thing  seen  by  the  spectator  is  the  tree  in  the  act  of  falling, 
so  quickly  has  it  been  cut  through.  Where  the  trees  are  very  large,  a  light  frame  is  employed, 
in  which  the  steam-saw  is  held  when  at  work.  The  extreme  portability  of  this  apparatus 
enables  the  operator  to  cut  up  a  tree  into  logs,  after  it  is  felled,  with  the  utmost  facility. 
The  boiler  is  of  sheet  iron,  and,  though  amply  strong,  is  easily  carried  about  by  one  man. 
The  flexible  steam-pipe  permits  the  saw  to  be  taken  from  tree  to  tree,  in  any  direction  around 
the  boiler;  the  only  limit  of  the  distance  being  the  length  of  the  hose.  This  apparatus,  we 
are  informed,  has  been  thoroughly  tested,  and  found  to  operate  with  the  most  practical  suc- 
cess.— Scientific  American. 

In  an  invention  of  Pliny  Young,  of  Milwaukie,  Wisconsin,  recently  patented,  the  saw  is 
made  to  cut  while  the  carriage  is  moving  either  way.  The  whole  apparatus  or  device  is  also 
self-acting,  the  log  or  timber  being  set  to  the  saw,  and  the  motion  of  the  carriage  reversed 
without  any  extraneous  aid  or  power  being  applied.  The  log  or  timber  may  also  be  set  at 
any  required  distance  towards  the  saw,  so  as  to  saw  stuff  of  any  required  thickness  by  merely 
altering  the  position  of  the  slides. 

Improved  Butter-worker. 

THE  accompanying  engraving  represents  a  section  of  an  improved  butter-worker,  recently 
invented  and  patented  by  Ezekiel  Gore,  of  Bennington,  Vermont. 

The  nature  of  this  invention  consists  in  the  employment  of  an  endless  revolving  sack  or  bag 
for  containing  and  confining  the  butter,  and  conveying  it  to  and  between  two  fluted  or  work- 
ing rollers,  and  through  the  water  in  the  tub  or  box  as  fast  as  the  rollers  operate  upon  it, 
until  it  is  thoroughly  worked,  washed,  and  seasoned. 


A  represents  the  box  or  tub  which  contains  the  water  for  washing  the  butter,  and  also 
supports  the  bearings  of  the  rollers  BCD.  The  box  A  is  made  in  two  sections,  so  that  its 
upper  part  may  be  removed,  and  also  the  rollers  and  sack,  when  it  is  desired  to  cleanse  the 
lower  part.  The  roller  B  is  made  perfectly  smooth,  and  has  its  bearings  at  the  back  end 
of  the  machine,  and  the  roller  C  is  fluted,  as  shown,  and  has  its  bearings  near  the  front  end 
of  the  machine.  On  and  around  these  rollers  the  sack  F  is  arranged  as  represented.  The 
roller  D  is  fluted  similar  to  C,  and  operates  in  concert  with  it,  but  is  prevented  from  touch- 
ing it  by  the  sack,  which  is  placed  and  revolves  between  it,  as  illustrated. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  69 

The  sack  carries  the  butter  between  the  fluted  rollers,  said  rollers,  as  the  butter  passes 
between  them,  effectually  operating  upon  it,  and  working  it  to  the  state  desired.  E  is  a  hop- 
per arranged  above  the  fluted  rollers,  as  represented ;  through  this  hopper  the  salt  is  intro- 
duced between  said  rollers,  which  work  it  into  the  butter  as  the  sack  feeds  it  between  them. 
The  suck  F  has  two  openings  d  d  for  the  insertion  and  removal  of  the  butter ;  the  butter 
cannot  escape  out  of  said  openings  while  the  working  and  washing  is  being  performed,  as 
the  cloth  forming  the  bag  is  made  to  over  and  underlap  at  the  places  where  the  openings  are 
formed.  There  is  cog-gearing  for  turning  the  fluted  rollers  in  opposite  directions,  and  a 
crank  for  turning  the  same. 

This  invention  has  certainly  the  merit  of  novelty,  and,  we  understand,  gives  good  satisfaction 
when  used  practically. — Editor. 

Dickey's  Patent  Butter-mould. 

THIS  is  a  small  square  form,  resting  upon  a  block,  the  face  of  which  has  the  impression  or 
print  to  be  transferred  to  the  butter.  Into  this  form  it  is  pressed,  after  being  weighed,  by  a 
small  square  wooden  spatula,  made  for  the  purpose.  The  doors  of  the  butter-form  are  then 
opened  by  hinges,  leaving  the  butter  on  the  print  block,  which  is  then  turned  up,  leaving  a 
good  impression  on  its  face.  The  square  form  is  also  a  great  improvement  as  regards  conve- 
nience for  packing  for  market. 

Method  of  Testing  Butter. 

THE  method  of  examining  butter  here  described  is  only  for  use  in  the  determination  of  its 
comnu'iviiil  value.  It  is  calculated  to  enable  a  comparison  of  several  samples  of  butter  to 
be  effected  ut  the  same  time.  The  following  instruments  are  required: — 

1.  For  measuring  the  butter,  a  cylindrical  glass  tube,  about  two  and  one-half  inches  long, 
and  two  lines  (two-tenths  of  an  inch)  wide,  open  at  both  ends,  is  employed.     It  is  ground  in 
a  conical  form  at  one  end,  and  flat  at  the  other.     Into  this  is  passed  a  cork,  attached  to  an 
iron  wire,  which  closes  the  tube  almost  air-tight,  but  so  that  it  can  be  readily  pushed  through 
it.     When  in  use,  the  cork  is  drawn  back  to  the  flat  end  of  the  tube,  which  is  then  filled  by 
sticking  it  into  a  mass  of  butter ;  care  must  be  taken  to  prevent  the  intrusion  of  air  between 
the  portions  of  butter.     A  mark  is  made  on  the  tube,  to  indicate  the  quantity  of  butter  to  be 
employed  in  the  examination. 

2.  A  graduated  tube,  five  and  one-half  inches  long,  two  and  one-half  lines  wide,  closed  at  one 
end,  and  ground  off  at  the  other,  is  divided  at  the  lower  portion  into  ten  equal  parts,  in  such 
a  manner  that  these  ten  parts  may  represent  exactly  the  volume  of  butter  contained  in  the 
other  tube  to  the  mark.     In  order  to  find  this  volume,  the  butter-measure  is  to  be  filled  with 
water,  while  the  stopper  is  placed  exactly  at  the  mark ;  the  water  is  then  poured  into  the 
tube  to  be  graduated ;  and  after  waiting  for  half  a  minute,  to  make  sure  that  all  the  water 
has  collected,  its  level  may  be  marked  with  a  file,  the  height  of  water  being  taken  to  its  lowest 
point  in  the  middle  of  the  tube.     The  space  below  this  mark  is  then  divided  into  ten  equal 
parts,  and  marked  with  a  file.     Another  file-mark  is  made  three  and  one-half  inches  above 
the  graduation. 

To  test  butter  by  means  of  this  instrument,  the  measure  is  to  be  filled,  as  above  described, 
by  inserting  it  to  a  little  above  the  mark.  This  is  effected  with  thin  pieces  of  butter,  by  in- 
serting the  tube  perpendicularly  into  the  butter  on  a  plate,  until  the  edge  of  the  tube  comes 
in  contact  with  the  plate.  The  tube  is  then  drawn  back,  and  the  stopper  pushed  down  until 
the  butter  projects  a  little  beyond  the  edge  of  the  tube;  and  this  operation  is  repeated  until 
the  tube  gradually  fills  up.  The  mouth  of  the  tube  is  then  closed  with  the  finger,  and  the 
cork  pressed  upon  the  butter  until  it  is  completely  united ;  the  cork  is  then  pushed  exactly 
to  the  mark,  and  the  projecting  portion  of  the  butter  scraped  off.  In  this  manner  the  pre- 
sence of  air  is  avoided.  The  butter-measure  is  then  put  over  the  open  end  of  the  graduated 
tube,  and  the  butter  pushed  out  of  it  by  the  stopper.  The  latter  is  then  filled  up  to  the  mark 
with  pure  anhydrous  ether,  in  which  the  butter  is  dissolved  by  shaking,  the  open  end  of  the 
tube  being  closed  by  the  finger.  In  about  half  a  minute  all  the  fat  dissolves  in  the  ether, 


60  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

while  the  impurities,  such  as  buttermilk  and  water,  are  seen  floating  in  the  form  of  flakes 
or  drops.  If  the  tube  be  then  left  standing,  all  these  impurities  settle  completely,  in  about 
twenty-four  hours,  to  the  bottom  of  the  tube,  forming  a  stratum,  the  thickness  of  which  may 
be  ascertained  by  the  divisions  of  the  tube.  Each  division,  as  may  be  ascertained  by  experi- 
ments conducted  in  other  ways,  corresponds  pretty  exactly  with  ten  per  cent,  of  impurities, 
whether  there  be  water  or  other  substances ;  and  as  half  degrees  may  be  easily  marked,  the 
quantity  of  butter  may  be  determined  to  five  per  cent.,  or  even  more  exactly. 

Middling  samples  of  butter  deposit  a  stratum  of  two  degrees ;  they  consequently  contain 
eighty  per  cent,  of  butter,  and  twenty  per  cenc.  of  impurities ;  in  bad  samples,  which  were 
still  regarded  as  salable,  the  stratum  was  not  more  than  two  and  one-half  degrees,  and  one 
sample  even  showed  four  degrees,  containing  consequently  only  sixty  per  cent,  of  butter,  and 
forty  per  cent,  of  impurities. — Polytechnic  Jour.  cxxx.  p.  374. 

Estimation  of  Butter  in  Milk. 

MARCHAND  has  suggested  a  new  process  for  the  analysis  of  milk.  He  employs  the  lacto- 
butyrometer — a  straight  glass  tube  closed  at  one  end,  and  for  nineteen-twentieths  of  its  capacity 
divided  into  three  equal  parts.  The  third  of  these — the  part  next  the  opening — is  graduated 
for  the  upper  three-tenths  into  hundredths,  which  are  continued  to  the  number  of  ten  above 
its  line  of  termination.  The  lowest  graduated  third  of  the  tube  is  filled  with  the  milk  to  be 
tested,  containing  to  each  ten  cubic  centimetres  one  drop  of  caustic  soda.  The  second  third 
part  is  filled  with  ether,  and,  after  careful  mixture,  the  third  with  alcohol  of  86°-90°.  The 
whole  is  again  well  mixed,  closed  with  a  cork,  and  placed  in  a  water-bath  heated  to  109°-4  F. 
It  is  kept  in  an  upright  position  until  the  thermometer  falls  to  86°  F.,  when  the  amount  of 
fatty  matter  collected  on  the  surface  of  the  liquid  is  determined  by  reading  the  degrees  or 
centesimal  divisions  which  it  occupies  from  below  upwards  to  the  lower  level  of  the  curve. 

Proportions  of  Cream  in  Milk. 

IN  some  careful  experiments  made  by  Dr.  Anderson,  of  Scotland,  the  quantity  of  cream 
obtained  from  the  first-drawn  cup  of  milk  was  in  every  case  much  smaller  than  the  last 
drawn ;  and  those  between  afforded  less  or  more  as  they  were  nearer  the  beginning  or  the 
end.  The  quantity  of  the  cream  obtained  from  the  last-drawn  cup  from  some  cows  exceeded 
that  from  the  first  in  the  proportion  of  sixteen  to  one.  In  others,  the  proportion  was  not  so 
great.  "  Probably,"  says  Dr.  Anderson,  "  on  an  average  of  a  great  many  cows,  it  might  be 
found  to  run  as  ten  or  twelve  to  one."  The  difference  in  the  quality  of  the  cream  was  also 
much  greater  than  the  difference  in  quantity.  From  this  it  appears,  that  the  person  who,  by 
bad  milking  of  his  cows,  loses  but  half  a  pint  of  his  milk,  loses  in  fact  about  as  much  cream 
as  would  be  afforded  by  six  or  eight  pints  at  the  beginning,  and  loses,  besides,  that  "part  of 
the  cream  which  alone  can  give  richness  and  high  flavor  to  his  butter." — Country  Gentleman. 

On  the  Making  of  Butter. 

THE  following  statements  respecting  the  manufacture  of  butter,  were  filed  with  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Worcester  (Mass.)  County  Agricultural  Fair,  at  their  last  exhibition  by  recipients 
of  premiums : — 

One  farmer  says :  "  My  mode  of  making  butter  is  to  strain  the  milk  in  the  pan  about  two- 
thirds  full,  letting  it  stand  thirty-six  or  forty-eight  hours  on  a  table  or  bench,  in  the  coolest 
room  in  the  house.  The  cream  kept  in  tin  and  stirred  daily,  and  churned  once  a  week,  the 
buttermilk  thoroughly  worked  out,  the  butter  is  then  salted  to  suit  the  taste,  the  next  day 
worked  out  again  and  lumped  for  market.  No  cold  water  or  artificial  coloring  or  sweetening 
is  used." 

Another  farmer  says :  "  My  manner  of  making  butter  is  to  set  the  milk  in  tin  pans  about 
half  full,  raised  from  the  shelf  on  two  narrow  sticks  the  thickness  of  a  board,  and  let  it  stand 
not  over  four  meals.  The  cream  should  be  taken  from  the  milk  while  sweet,  and  stand  not 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  61 

over  three  days,  and  stirred  every  day.  After  churning,  the  buttermilk  should  be  worked 
out  as  much  as  possible  before  salting.  No  washing  is  required  to  make  the  butter  keep  well, 
for  it  will  retain  its  flavor  better  without.  One  ounce  of  salt  to  a  pound  of  butter  is  sufficient. 
It  should  be  worked  over  the  second  or  third  day  after  churning." 

One  more  statement :  "  Our  mode  of  making  butter  is  as  follows :  Strain  the  milk  into  tin 
pans,  set  it  in  a  cool  place  to  stand  twenty-four  to  thirty-six  hours,  or  until  the  milk  is  slightly 
changed.  Then  take  off  the  cream,  set  it  in  a  cool  cellar  from  two  to  three  days  in  very  warm 
weather ;  in  cool  weather,  three  to  four  days ;  then  churn,  work  out  all  the  buttermilk  that  can 
be,  without  softening  the  butter,  before  salting,  then  salt  to  suit  the  taste ;  let  it  remain  for 
twenty-four  hours,  then  work  out  all  the  remaining  buttermilk,  press  it  firmly  into  jars,  or 
make  it  into  lumps,  as  the  season  or  the  market  may  require." 

Improved  Churfls. 

ALTHOUGH  a  very  large  number  of  patents  for  improvements  in. churns  have  been  granted, 
yet,  in  the  opinion  of  inventors,  perfection  has  not  been  attained  to.  A  patent,  recently 
granted  Ezekiel  Gore,  of  Bennington,  Vermont,  affords  some  assurance  for  this  assertion. 
In  the  process  of  churning,  it  is  desirable  to  have  some  means  of  producing  a  ceaseless  agi- 
tation among  the  oily  butter-globules  of  the  fluid  ;  also,  of  regulating  at  pleasure  the  resisting 
surface  presented  to  the  cream.  When  the  cream  to  be  churned  is  thin,  the  resisting  surface 
within  the  churn  should  be  greater  than  when  it  is  of  a  thick  consistency.  Again,  in  gathering 
the  butter  together  after  it  has  been  separated  from  the  other  milky  matters,  very  little  agi- 
tation is  required.  These  results  are  obtained  in  the  churn  by  making  the  dash-pins  with 
their  lower  ends  flat,  and  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  set  feather-edged,  to  present  the 
exact  amount  of  resisting  surface  required. 

Spain's  Atmospheric  Churns. — The  peculiar  feature  of  this  churn  consists  in  the  constant 
admission  of  atmospheric  air  during  the  churning  process,  and  the  opening  for  the  escape 
of  fetid  gas,  which  is  always  generated  at  such  times,  and  in  ordinary  churns  is  retained  to 
the  great  disadvantage  of  the  butter,  and  loss  of  labor. 

Roe's  Improved  Cheese-Vat. 

THE  peculiarities  of  this  improvement,  by  Mr.  T.  A.  Roe,  Ohio,  are  as  follows  :— 
The  outside  or  casing  of  the  vat  is  composed  of  wood,  inside  of  which  is  a  metallic  vat, 
of  nearly  the  same  shape ;  and  between  the  vat  and  casing  is  a  chamber  to  receive  water, 
that  surrounds  the  vat  on  all  sides.  Under  the  vat,  and  attached,  is  a  heater,  in  the  form  of 
a  cylinder,  inside  of  which  is  another,  so  as  to  form  an  annular  chamber  between  the  two 
cylinders  for  water.  The  inside  cylinder  forms  the  fireplace,  and  is  provided  with  a  door 
and  a  pipe  at  the  back  end  to  carry  off  the  smoke,  &c.  This  heater  is  connected  with  the 
water-chamber  of  the  vat  by  three  pipes,  two  of  which  pass  from  the  top  of  the  heater  at 
each  end,  and  one  from  the  bottom  of  the  heater,  extending  to  one  end  of  the  chamber.  By 
this  direct  connection,  the  heat  from  the  heater  is  communicated  to  the  water  in  the.  vat- 
chamber.  By  this  means,  the  milk  or  curd  is  subjected  to  a  uniform  temperature  of  any 
degree  required,  which  is  not  the  case  when  steam  is  used  for  heating  as  the  curd,  at  the 
place  where  the  steam  issues  into  the  chamber,  becomes  overheated,  and  other  parts,  by  the 
condensation  of  the  steam,  are  too  cold  to  coagulate  well,  and  thus  the  quality  of  the  cheese 
is  injured,  and  some  part  of  the  cheese  wasted. 

The  vat  is  provided  with  gates  to  draw  off  the  whey  or  water  as  may  be  required. 
There  are  several  other  devices  connected  with  the  vat,  as  facilities  to  its  use. 

Improved  Ice-Cream  Freezer. 

AN  improvement  in  ice-cream  freezers  has  been  recently  patented  by  Thomas  M.  Powell, 
of  Baltimore,  Md.  The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  constructing  ice-cream  freezers 
with  three  cylindrical  chambers,  two  of  which,  the  centre  and  outer  ones,  serve  for  the 


62  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

cream,  and  the  intermediate  one  for  the  ice.  By  thus  constructing  the  freezer,  and  sur- 
rounding it  with  ice,  and  filling  the  intonm-dintc  chamber  with  the  same,  the  cream  will  be 
exposed  to  three  freezing  surfaces  instead  of  two,  as  in  other  freezers,  and  will  be  more 
speedily  and  effectually  frozen  than  by  other  freezers  in  use. 

Solidified  Milk. 

u 

A  METHOD  of  making  solidified  milk,  as  adopted  with  success  by  Mr.  Blatchford,  of  Ar- 
menia, Dutchess  county,  N.  Y.,  is  thus  described  in  the  New  York  Medical  Journal  by  Dr. 
Doremus : 

"  To  one  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  of  milk  twenty-eight  pounds  of  Stuart's  white 
sugar  were  added,  and  a  trivial  portion  of  bicarbonate  of  soda — a  teaspoonful — merely 
enough  to  insure  the  neutralizing  of  any  acidity,  which,  in  the  summer  season,  is  exhibited 
even  a  few  minutes  after  milking,  although  inappreciable  to  the  organs  of  taste.  The  sweet 
milk  was  poured  into  evaporating  pans  of  enamelled  iron,  embedded  in  warm  water  heated 
by  steam.  A  thermometer  was  immersed  in  each  of  these  water-baths,  that,  by  frequent 
inspection,  the  temperature  might  not  rise  above  the  point  which  years  of  experience  have 
shown  advisable.  To  facilitate  the  evaporation,  by  means  of  blowers  and  other  ingenious 
apparatus  a  current  of  air  is  established  between  the  covers  of  the  pans  and  the  solidifying 
milk.  Connected  with  the  steam-engine  is  an  arrangement  of  stirrers,  for  agitating  the 
milk  slightly  while  evaporating,  and  so  gently  as  not  to  churn  it.  In  about  three  hours,  the 
milk  and  sugar  assumed  a  pasty  consistency,  and  delighted  the  palates  of  all  present.  By 
constant  manipulation  and  warming,  it  was  reduced  to  a  rich,  creamy-looking  powder,  then 
exposed  to  the  air  to  cool,  weighed  into  parcels  of  a  pound  each,  and  by  a  press,  with  the 
force  of  a  ton  or  two,  made  to  assume  the  compact  form  of  a  tablet,  (the  size  of  a  small 
brick,)  in  which  shape,  covered  with  tin-foil,  it  is  presented  to  the  public." 

The  doctor  adds  : 

"  Some  of  the  solidified  milk  which  had  been  grated  and  dissolved  in  water  the  previous 
evening  was  found  covered  with  a  rich  cream ;  this,  skimmed  off,  was  soon  converted  into 
excellent  butter.  Another  solution  was  speedily  converted  into  wine-whey,  by  a  treatment 
precisely  similar  to  that  employed  in  using  ordinary  milk.  It  fully  equalled  the  expectations 
of  all ;  so  that  solidified  milk  will  hereafter  rank  among  the  necessary  appendages  to  the 
sick-room.  In  fine,  this  article  makes  paps,  custards,  puddings,  and  cakes  equal  to  the  best 
milk ;  and  one  may  be  sure  it  is  an  unadulterated  article,  obtained  from  well-pastured  cattle, 
and  not  the  produce  of  distillery  slops  ;  neither  can  it  be  watered.  For  our  steamships,  our 
packets,  for  those  travelling  by  land  or  by -sea,  for  hotel  purposes  or  use  in  private  families, 
for  young  or  old,  we  recommend  it  cordially  as  a  substitute  for  fresh  milk." 

The  Committee  on  Public  Health  and  Legal  Medicine  of  the  National  Association,  to  whom 
this  subject  was  referred,  reported  that  they  traced  the  manufacture  of  the  article  from  the 
ndder  to  its  final  conversion  into  the  solid  tablet,  which  consists  of  nothing  but  the  solid  con- 
stituents of  pure  milk,  combined  with  nearly  an  equal  part,  by  weight,  of  white  sugar.  It 
has  a  light  yellow,  slightly-mottled  appearance,  is  of  a  very  firm  texture,  and  yields  readily 
to  the  knife  or  grater.  It  is  readily  and  perfectly  soluble  in  water,  and  when  so  dissolved,  in 
proper  proportion,  is,  in  fact,  milk,  with  the  addition  of  sugar,  from  which  cream  and  butter 
can  be  obtained.  The  objections  to  the  article  are  its  containing  sugar  and  a  flavor  some- 
what similar  to  that  of  boiled  milk.  The  latter  inconvenience,  it  is  thought,  will  be  obviated 
by  an  improvement  in  the  apparatus  for  manufacturing  it.  The  price  of  the  article  is 
twenty-five  cents  a  pound,  which  makes  five  pints  of  milk.  The  high  cost,  however,  is,  to 
some  extent,  more  apparent  than  real,  since  the  presence  of  sugar  renders  necessary  a  less 
amount  of  that  substance  in  cooking,  and  the  milk  is  of  a  much  richer  quality  than  that 
commonly  sold  in  cities. 

On  the  Extraction  of  Tallow  from  the  Tallow-Tree. 

THE  seeds  of  the  tallow-tree  (stillingia  sebifera]  are  picked  in  China  at  the  commencement 
of  the  cold  weather  in  November  and  December,  when  all  the  leaves  have  fallen.  The  seeds 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS   AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  63 

are,  in  the  first  place,  taken  to  the  building  where  the  process  of  making  the  tallow  is  carried 
on,  and  picked  and  separated  from  the  stalks.  They  are  then  put  into  a  wooden  cylinder, 
open  at  the  top,  but  with  a  perforated  bottom.  This  is  placed  over  an  iron  vessel  (about  the 
same  diameter,  or  rather  larger  than  the  wooden  cylinder,  and  about  six  or  eight  inches  deep) 
containing  water,  by  which  means  the  seeds  are  well  steamed  for  the  purpose  of  softening 
the  tallow,  and  causing  it  more  readily  to  separate.  The  furnace  has  four  or  five  iron  vessels 
in  a  row,  about  three  feet  high,  four  or  five  feet  broad,  and  eight  or  ten  feet  long. 

When  the  seeds  have  steamed  ten  minutes  or  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  they  are  thrown  into  a 
large  stone  mortar,  and  are  generally  beaten  by  two-  men  with  stone  mallets,  for  the  purpose 
of  detaching  the  tallow  from  the  other  parts  of  the  seed.  They  are  then  thrown  into  a  sieve, 
heated  over  the  fire,  and  sifted,  by  which  process  the  tallow  is  separated,  or  nearly  so,  al- 
though they  generally  undergo  the  process  of  steaming,  &c.  a  second  time,  that  nothing  may 
be  lost.  The  other  part  of  the  seed  is  ground  and  pressed  for  oil. 

The  tallow  now  resembles  coarse  linseed-meal,  but  with  more  white  spots  in  it,  and  derives  its 
brown  color  from  the  thin  covering  over  the  seed,  (between  it  and  the  tallow,)  which  is  separated 
by  the  pounding  and  sifting.  In  this  state  it  is  put  between  circles  of  twisted  straw,  five  or  six 
of  which  tire  laid  upon  each  other,  and  thus  forming  a  hollow  cylinder  for  its  reception.  "When 
this  straw-cylinder  has  been  filled,  it  is  carried  away  and  placed  in  the  press.  The  tallow  is 
d  out  by  means  of  wedges,  driven  in  very  tightly  with  stone  mallets,  and  passes 
through  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  pre<s  into  a  tub,  which  is  sunk  there  to  receive  it.  It 
is  nov.  ,11  all  impurities,  and  is  a  semi-thud  of  beautiful  white  color,  hut  soon  gets 

solid,  and  in  cold  weather  is  very  brittle.  Tin;  in-ide  of  the  tubs  which  collect  the  tallow  is 
sprinkled  or  du.-ted  over  with  a  fine  red  earth,  well-dried,  which  prevents  the  tallow  from 
adhering  to  the  MU.-S.  It  is  thus  easily  removal  in  a  solid  state  from  the  tubs,  and  in  this 
condition  the  cakes  are  exposed  for  sale  in  the  market.  As  the  candles  made  from  this  vege- 
table tallow  !i  i\  y  to  get  soft  and  melt  in  hot  weather,  they  are  commonly  dipped 
in  wax  of  various  colors,  as  red.  irreen.  and  yellow.  The  cake  or  refuse  which  remains 
al't«-r  the  laUoni  has  been  pressed  out  of  it,  is  used  for  fuel  or  to  manure  the  land,  and 
:ire  tlu>  other  parts  o;  :Vom  which  oil  is  extracted. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  this  tree  has  been  cultivat-- 1  in  South  Carolina  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years,  and  appears  well  adapted  to  the  climate. — Agricultural  Department,  Patent 
Office. 

On  the  Construction  of  Hot-beds. 

The  following  remarks,  relative  to  the  construction  of  hot-beds,  were  recently  made  at  the 
Farmer's  Club,  New  York  City,  by  J.  P.  Lowe,  Esq. :  — 

It  is  a  useful  practice,  and  iml-  deal,  to  Inve  the  necessary  amount  of  earth  col- 

lected in  a  he-.n,  say  latt  -r  ]>art  of  A?  r  it  in-iy  b»-  ready  for  use  when  required  in 

early  spring-  at  the  time  of  making  hot-beds.  This  heap,  during  the  winter  season,  in  con- 
sequence of  frequent  .ies  finely  pulverized,  and  not  being 
trodden  down.  <.r  in  a  -!ie  atmosphere  can  freely  circulate  through  the  mass, 
and  in  so  doing  deposits  ammonia,  \'c.,  vhich  will  prove  conducive  to  its  fertility. 

Next  in  order,  I  shall  speak  of  the  proper  covering  (  for  the  reason  that  this  is 

generally  provided  during  late  winter  as  preparatory  to  the  making  of  hot-beds.  Moss, 
hay,  and  refuse  material  are  frequently  but  injudiciously  made  use  of,  for,  during  the 
removal  and  replacement  of  such  substances  at  times  necessary  to  give  air  and  light  to 
plants,  small  portions  by  accident  fall  upon  them,  which  soon  undergo  decomposition ;  and 
the  plants,  being  too  tender  to  withstand  the  produced  effect,  very  often  droop  and  die.  Mats 
are,  doubtless,  much  better  as  a  covering  to  prevent  the  effects  of  frost  than  the  materials 
already  spoken  of;  for  the  objections  in  the  one  case  are  not  applicable  in  the  other,  and  the 
best  kind  as  well  as  the  most  easy  to  construct  are  those  made  by  almost  every  gardener. 
Two  men  accustomed  to  such  work  can  make  during  a  dny  from  six  to  seven  mats,  six  and 
a  half  feet  long  by  five  feet  wide,  and  the  mode  of  operation  can  readily  be  understood.  A 
coarse  frame  of  the  required  size  is  procured,  and  from  four  to  five  nails,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  mat  required,  and  at  equidistant  points  from  each  other,  are  driven  in  each  of  the 


64  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

end  boards,  about  one  and  a  half  or  two  inches  from  the  inner  margin.  The  frame  is  then 
rested  against  a  wall  or  other  convenient  place,  and  a  piece  of  strong  twine  is  made  fast  to 
the  first  nail  in  order  of  those  at  the  top  board,  and  is  then  continued  down  to  the  opposite 
nail  of  the  end  board,  and  there  made  fast;  the  twine  is  then  continued  upwards,  and 
brought  down  again,  without  being  secured,  for  the  putpose  of  measuring  a  length  twice 
that  of  the  mat  intended  to  be  made,  and  is  then  rolled  upon  a  short  piece  of  stick,  with  a 
slit  in  the  end,  in  which  the  twine  may  be  placed  to  prevent  its  unravelling,.,  when  it  shall 
have  been  wound  up  to  within  one  and  a  half  feet  or  two  feet  of  the  nail  of  the  lower  end 
board.  A  like  arrangement  of  the  twine  is  made  with  the  other  nails  in  succession.  Then 
one  man,  each  side  of  the  frame,  takes  a  small  quantity  of  straw  in  his  hand  from  a  heap, 
necessarily  near  by,  which  had  previously  been  arranged  evenly  for  such  purpose,  and  places 
it  over  the  nails  of  the  lower  part  of  the  frame,  permitting  the  ends  of  the  straw  to  pro- 
ject, say  three  or  four  inches,  beyond  the  side  line.  His  comrade  upon  the  opposite  does 
likewise,  and  these  are  looped  in  by  means  of  the  pieces  of  twine  already  spoken  of,  and  the 
operation  is  so  continued  until  the  mat  is  made. 

In  due  time  the  necessary  amount  of  horse-dung  should  be  saved ;  and  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  richness  and  heating  quality  of  this  manure  will  depend  much  upon  the 
food  given  the  horses  from  which  it  is  produced.  If  they  have  been  highly  groomed, 
a  considerable  part  of  their  bedding,  which  generally  accompanies  the  manure,  should  be 
mixed  with  it,  so  that  the  beds  afterwards  to  be  made  may  not  be  too  hot. 

The  use  of  spent-tan  is  frequently  desirable,  and  especially  so  where  it  can  be  procured 
cheaply.  Professor  Mapes,  speaking  of  this  material,  says:  "Gardeners  often  find  that 
their  hot-beds  lose  heat  before  the  season  is  sufficiently  advanced  to  part  with  their  use. 
By  mixing  with  the  horse-droppings  a  quantity  of  spent-tan,  they  continue  them  in  heat 
long  after  the  horse-manure  has  ceased  to  be  active;  and,  by  such  an  arrangement,  the 
slowly-decomposable  tan  is  rendered  an  efficient  manure  for  the  next  season's  operations; 
for,  when  properly  decomposed,  no  manure  is  more  rich  in  the  earthy  salts  than  the  decom- 
posed bark  of  trees.  The  large  quantity  of  carbonaceous  matter  resulting  from  its  decom- 
position renders  it  retentive  of  ammonia,  while  its  free,  loose  character  causes  soils, 
otherwise  too  compact,  to  be  free  and  fertile." 

In  regard  to  the  construction  of  the  frames  of  hot-beds,  it  may  be  well  to  state  that  the 
double-board  system  for  the  sides,  containing  a  space  of  confined  air,  which  is  one  of  the 
best  non-conductors  of  heat,  is  now  fast  coming  into  use,  for  by  its  means  there  is  a  more 
evenness  of  temperature  kept  up.  The  mistake  of  cutting  the  glass  for  the  sashes  square 
is  very  frequent;  I  will  quote  Prof.  Mapes  on  this  point,  as  his  explanation  is  very  clear. 
He  says: — 

" Sashes  should  never  be  made  with  square  ends  to  the  glass;  where  they  lap,  the  water 
will  remain,  sometimes  in  large  drops  or  globules,  forming  lenses,  the  foci  of  which,  from 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  destroys  plants ;  but  if  the  ends  of  the  glass  be  slightly  curved,  but  one 
drop  of  water  can  remain,  and  thus  the  joints  are  always  clean  and  free  from  the  objection 
before  named." 

The  best  position  for  a  hot-bed  is  that  which  will  give  it  a  south-eastern  aspect,  so  that 
the  plants  may  benefit  by  the  morning  sun.  Decision  being  made  as  to  the  location,  the 
frame  is  placed  upon  the  ground,  and  a  mark  made  around  its  inner  sides ;  the  earth  is  then 
generally  dug  out  to  a  depth  of  some  eighteen  inches.  The  manure,  having  been  previously 
well  intermixed,  is  placed  in  this  receiver,  and  continued  to  a  height  say  of  one  and  a  half 
feet  above  the  surrounding  soil,  or  higher,  as  in  the  case  of  preparing  a  bed  for  egg-plants. 
Indeed  the  height  will  depend  much  upon  the  quality  of  the  manure,  its  compactness  in  the 
bed,  as  well  as  the  temperature  required.  The  frame  should  then  be  placed  on  top  of  the 
bed,  and  more  manure  thrown  in,  but  leaving  a  space  between  it  and  the  glass  of  about 
eight  inches.  Before  putting  in  the  soil,  the  bed  should  be  covered  up  by  means  of  boards 
and  mats,  until  it  shall  become  sufficiently  heated.  The  mats  and  boards  are  then  removed, 
and  about  seven  inches  of  soil  placed  on  top,  which  should  be  made  very  even,  and  not  in 
a  slanting  direction  with  the  sashes;  for  in  such  case,  at  the  time  of  watering  or  heavy 
rains,  if  there  be  a  leakage  on  the  top,  the  streaming  of  the  water  would  be  hurtful  to  the 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  65 

plants.  The  sashes  are  now  slid  on,  and  the  mats  are  placed  on  top,  and  a  day  or  more 
suffered  to  elapse,  as  may  be  required,  so  that  the  soil  may  have  its  temperature  increased 
sufficiently  before  sowing  the  seed,  and  'become  rather  warm ;  this  will  have  a  tendency 
to  destroy  many  of  those  insects  that  feed  on  young  plants.  After  this,  the  covers  may 
be  taken  off  to  permit  the  escape  of  steam,  and  driljs  are  then  made  by  means  of  the 
garden  rake,  over  which  the  seed  is  scattered  broadcast,  and  the  rake  is  then  used  to  cover 
it  in.  Some  persons  prefer  not  to  make  drills,  but  scatter  the  seed,  and  then  sift  some 
fine  soil  over  it. 

Young  gardeners  should  make  use  of  a  thermometer  to  indicate  temperature,  which  may 
be  hung  inside  of  the  deeper  of  the  two  side-boards  of  the  frame,  so  that  when  a  person 
stands  in  front  of  the  bed,  it  will  be  opposite  to  him. 

From  the  time  of  the  seed  germinating  until  the  plants  arrive  at  maturity,  much  care  is 
needed,  for  a  very  slight  frost  would  be  likely  to  prove  injurious ;  but  during  mild  days  they 
should  be  permitted  to  have  plenty  of  fresh  air,  and  generally  a  slight  opening  to  let  out 
steam ;  for  if  the  bed  overheats  during  the  early  growth  of  the  plants,  they  will  grow  too 
rapidly,  and  consequently  be  very  tender. 

The  proper  temperature  of  the  inside  air  is  considered  to  be  from  45°  to  60°  Fahren- 
heit's thermometer,  when  positioned  as  described. 

After  the  plants  shall  have  somewhat  grown,  they  will  be  likely  to  require  watering,  and 
care  should  be  t;iken  that  the  apertures  of  the  rose  of  the  watering-pot  be  very  small,  so 
that  the  water  in  passing  through  may  fall  gently  upon  the  plants.  If  the  weather  happens 
to  be  very  cold  at  the  time  they  require  water,  it  will  sometimes  be  necessary  to  add  a  little 
hot  water,  to  take  the  chill  off  that  about  to  be  made  use  of.  Moreover,  during  cold  weather, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  water  at  noon,  or  soon  after,  but  if  mild,  this  may  be  done  immedi- 
ately before  sunset. —  Working  Farmer. 

Employment  of  Cotton  Waste  in  Hot-beds. 

AT  the  Berlin  Association  for  the  Promotion  of  Horticulture,  Prof.  Cock  made  a  commu- 
nication about  a  substitute  for  horse-manure  for  generating  heat  in  hot-beds,  which,  as  a 
productive  of  caloric,  is  far  superior  to  the  latter.  This  substitute  is  the  refuse  of  cotton- 
spinning  mills.  A  bed  prepared  on  the  previous  day  had,  when  examined  in  the  afternoon, 
a  temperature  in  its  interior  of  not  less  than  113°  of  Fahrenheit. 

Hay-caps. 

A  WRITER  in  the  American  Agriculturalist  recommends  to  fanners  the  use  of  hay-caps,  to 
be  prepared  in  the  following  manner:  Stout,  unbleached  sheeting  should  be  taken,  from 
thirty-six  to  forty-two  inches  wide;  the  latter  is  the  best,  which  should  be  cut  into  lengths 
of  forty  to  forty-five  inches.  To  make  forty  of  them  (and  no  extensive  fanner  should  have 
less  than  100)  would  require  a  gallon  of  linseed-oil,  which  should  be  simmered  with  four 
pounds  of  beeswax,  and  a  quart  of  japan  added  after  it  is  taken  from  the  fire.  When  cold, 
the  mixture  should  be  about  the  thickness  of  lard  in  summer ;  if  not,  more  oil  or  more  wax 
may  be  added.  The  cloths  should  then  be  payed  over,  to  use  a  sea  expression,  with  the 
hand  or  a  small  piece  of  shingle,  on  one  side  only,  and  then  dried  in  the  sun ;  when  dry,  the 
females  of  the  family  will  cheerfully,  and  in  a  very  short  time,  sew  into  each  corner  a  stone 
of  the  weight  of  about  seven  or  eight  ounces,  which  completes  the  affair. 

No  hemming  is  required,  as  the  wax  and  oil  will  keep  the  edges  sufficiently  firm. 

In  respect  to  their  economy  and  usefulness,  the  writer  says :  I  do  not  think  I  am  extrava- 
gant in  saying  they  will  pay  the  cost  in  one  season,  and  will  last  ten  years  if  taken  good 
care  of.  Within  a  few  days  we  have  had  one  entire  rainy  day,  when  my  neighbor's  hay  was 
thoroughly  soaked,  while  mine  was  as  as  safely  covered  as  if  it  had  been  packed  away  in 
the  barn.  My  manager  thinks  that  one-third  of  the  cost  of  some  new  covers  just  made  were 
paid  for  on  that  day. 

"  Large  covers,  made  in  the  same  manner,  to  cover  the  whole  of  a  load  of  hay,  with 
heavier  weights,  of  course,  would  also  be  an  admirable  protection  against  sudden  showers." 

5 


66  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Dederick's  Improved  Hay  Presses. 

Fig.  1. 


THE  annexed  engravings  represent  the  appearance  and  construction  of  an  improved  press 
adapted  for  packing  hay,  cotton,  hops,  hemp,  &c.,  for  which  two  patents  have  been  recently 
granted  to  Levi  Dederick,  of  Albany,  New  York.  One  patent  is  for  an  improvement  on  the 
doors  of  the  press,  and  the  other  is  for  an  improvement  in  operating  the  follower,  giving  it  a 
parallel  motion,  while  pressing,  by  toggle-levers. 

The  Doors. — A  is  the  case  or  box  in  which  the  cotton,  hay,  or  other  article  to  be  pressed  is 
placed.  It  has  a  trap-door  B  B,  and  a  side-door  C.  The  cotton  or  hay  is  placed  in  the  case 
through  the  top-opening.  The  side  door,  especially,  requires  to  be  very  securely  fastened  to 
resist  the  great  pressure  that  comes  upon  it.  This  door  is  secured  to  a  stile  D,  having  a 
small  round  tenon  at  each  end.  These  fit  loosely  in  recesses  in  the  top  and  bottom  pieces 
of  the  frame.  To  this  stile,  and  also  to  the  door  C,  are  secured  two  arms  or  battens  c  c,  the 
outer  ends  of  which  project  a  short  distance  beyond  the  edge  of  the  door  C.  E  is  a  stile 
attached  to  the  top  and  bottom  pieces,  like  the  one  at  D,  but  not  to  the  door.  This  stile  E  has 
recesses  d  d,  which,  when  the  door  is  closed,  fit  over  the  end  of  the  battens  c  c.  F  is  an  arm 
or  lever  attached  to  the  stile  E  by  a  pivot  when  the  door  is  closed ;  the  outer  end  of  this  arm 
or  lever  is  fitted  in  a  recess  in  the  stile.  The  door  C  is  thus  made  perfectly  secure;  the 
outer  ends  of  battens  c  c  fitting  in  the  recesses  d  d,  and  the  outer  end  of  the  bar  lever  fitting 
in  the  recess  /.  To  unfasten  the  door,  raise  the  outer  end  of  F  from  the  recess  /,  and  turn 
the  stile  E  around  till  the  end  of  the  battens  clear  the  recesses  d  d.  This  door  is  for  dis- 
charging the  compressed  material,  hay,  cotton,  &c.  The  top  door,  when  closed,  is  secured 
by  ^a  bar  G,  which  is  attached  by  a  bridge  to  the  front  edge  of  the  door.  The  bar  is  provided 
at  each  end  with  a  flange  h  to  catch  in  the  top  side-pieces  i  i  of  the  frame,  and  this  secures 
the  top  door  on  the  hay  or  cotton  when  the  case  is  full  for  pressing.  By  raising  the  lever  H 
to  a  vertical  position,  the  bar  G  is  turned  so  as  to  free  the  flanges  h  h  from  the  caps  i  i,  and 
the  door  can  be  opened. 

The  Levers. — The  follower  presses  horizontally  in  the  case  A ;  it  is  not  seen,  but  suffice  it 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


67 


to  say  that  the  inner  end's  of  the  levers  J  K  are  secured  to  it,  the  one  above  the  other. 
These  levers  are  connected  by  rods  N  at  their  outer  ends,  and  these  have  pivot-joints  passing 
through  the  levers.  L  M  are  other  levers  secured  by  pivots  to  J  K,  and  to  lugs  by  like  joints 
in  the  posts.  There  is  a  pulley  attached  to  each  side  of  the  follower  lever  K ;  below  the  ends 
of  the  connecting  arms  is  a  large  roller  0.  A  rope  R  is  secured  at  one  end  on  the  bottom  of 
the  frame,  then  passes  over  the  outside  pulley  at  N,  then  down  around  the  roller  0,  then  up 
and  over  the  nigh  pulley  N,  then  down  and  around  the  pulley  on  the  bottom  of  the  frame. 
By  pulling  on  this  rope,  by  winding  it  upon  a  windlass,  &c.,  the  upper  ends  of  the  levers  J  K 
are  drawn  down,  and  the  follower  thrust  forward,  pressing  the  hay,  cotton,  or  other  material 
with  great  force.  The  levers  have  a  quick  motion  and  exert  little  power  when  they  first 
commence  to  act,  but  have  a  slow  motion  and  exert  the  greatest  power  near  the  end  of  the 
stroke ;  this  is  the  kind  of  motion  required.  The  action  of  these  levers  is  parallel,  like  that 
of  the  joints  of  a  parallel  ruler. 

The  rope  P  is  connected  at  one  end  to  the  follower,  then  passes  over  a  pulley  on  the  top- 
scantling  of  the  frame,  and  down  over  another  pulley.  This  cord  is  for  drawing  back  the 
follower  and  elevating  the  levers,  when  the  cotton  or  hay  is  pressed  and  secured  in  bale. 
This  press  may  have  a  door  on  one  or  both  sides.  The  foregoing  engraving  represents  a  bale 
in  the  press,  bound  ready  for  removal  from  the  door  C,  there  being  another  such  door  on  the 
other  side,  so  that  the  bale  can  be  removed  from  either  side  of  the  press  at  pleasure.  B  B 

Fig.  2, 


68  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

are  the  upper  doors  represented  open,  ready  again  for  the  reception  of  the  hay.  J  K  are  the 
levers,  which,  being  drawn  down  by  the  system  of  ropes  and  pulleys  N  R  R,  press  the  follower 
0  forward  on  the  hay,  with  a  power  which  is  alike  simple  and  tremendous.  It  is  so  constructed 
that,  for  transportation  to  any  great  distance,  it  is  taken  apart,  (the  levers,  lever-connections, 
ropes,  and  pulleys  being  packed  securely  in  a  box,)  making  in  all  but  seven  conveniently 
handled  pieces;  and,  by  the  printed  directions  for  putting  up  and  operating  which  accompany 
each  press,  it  can  be  put  together  again  in  two  or  three  hours  by  any  two  farmers,  without 
the  aid  of  a  mechanic.  It  is  so  conveniently  portable,  that  it  can  be  moved  "from  one  field 
or  farm  to  another  by  a  pair  of  horses  or  oxto,  drawing  it,  as  they  would  a  sleigh,  upon  its 
own  shoes  attached  underneath.  It  is  operated  by  a  horse  and  capstan ;  the  horse  going 
round  eight  times  to  make  a  bale,  and  twice  without  changing  his  direction  to  draw  back  the 
follower.  With  two  men  and  a  boy  it  will  bale,  without  any  extra  exertion,  from  six  to  eight 
*  tons  of  hay  per  day,  according  to  the  number  or  size  of  the  press. 

Another  form  of  this  improved  press  is  designated  the  upright  or  vertical  press,  (fig.  2,  p.  67,) 
and  diifers  but  slightly  from  the  horizontal  already  described.  When  the  door  C,  which,  as 
in  the  cut  of  the  other  machine,  is  represented  open,  is  closed,  the  head  U  is  moved  over  to 
either  side  at  pleasure ;  the  hay  is  then  thrown  in,  and  when  the  box  is  full,  the  head  is 
moved  back  again  to  the  centre  of  the  press ;  the  power  being  then  applied  to  the  parallel 
levers  J  K,  operated  by  the  system  of  ropes  and  pulleys  N  R  R,  press  the  follower  B  up 
against  the  hay  with  the  same  simple  power  exercised  in  the  horizontal.  The  door  C,  and 
also  a  similar  door  on  the  other  side,  is  then  opened,  the  bale  is  bound,  and  the  ends  of  it 
being  relieved  by  releasing  the  end  of  the  bar  or  handle  D,  it  is  taken  out  from  either  side 
at  pleasure.  While  this  is  an  excellent  stationary  press,  it  is  also  a  conveniently  portable 
one,  as  (weighing  little  more  than  the  other  press,)  it  can  be  readily  shoved  up  a  couple 
of  planks  on  a  wagon,  or,  by  spiking  on  a  pair  of  runners,  it  can  be  laid  down  and  moved 
like  the  horizontal  on  the  ground.  The  horizontal  press  is,  of  course,  the  more  convenient, 
but  requires  some  care  in  tramping  in  the  hay  in  order  to  make  a  bale  as  nice  in  appearance  as 
that  under  ordinary  care  coming  from  the  vertical.  As  a  cloth-press,  one  of  these  presses  is  in 
use  at  the  Harmony  Mills,  Cohoes,  New  York,  and  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  they  can  be 
made  available  for  many  purposes.  One  that  can  press  500  pounds  of  hay  costs  about  $175, 
and  one  that  can  press  a  bale  of  200  pounds,  about  $100. 

A  great  advantage  attending  this  improvement  has  been  the  reduction  of  the  size  and 
weight  of  the  hay-press.  Presses  of  the  old  form  required  a  separate  and  entire  building  for 
their  accommodation,  the  posts  supporting  the  framework  being  ten  and  twelve  inches  square. 
The  size  of  the  same  posts  in  the  improved  press  does  not  exceed  five  inches,  all  the  other 
parts  also  being  propbrtionate.  Instead  of  being  obliged  to  build  as  formerly,  the  farmer 
may  now  order  a  hay-press  with  as  much  facility  as  a  mowing  machine  or  horse-power. 

Manny's  Hay-press. — In  an  improved  hay-press,  recently  patented  by  Pells  Manny,  of  Wad- 
dam's  Grove,  Illinois,  the  bales  are  pressed  into  a  square  form,  and  the  levers  act  so  as  to 
press  them  when  moving  both  forwards  and  backwards ;  that  is,  no  time  is  lost,  when  one 
bale  is  pressed,  in  returning  the  followers  to  the  point  where  they  commenced,  to  press  in 
the  box  a  second  bale  from  the  point  where  they  commenced  to  return. 

On  the  Manufacture  of  Cider. 

THE  following  article  on  the  manufacture  of  cider  is  communicated  to  the  Journal  of  the 
London  Society  of  Arts,  by  Mr.  T.  W.  Booker,  M.P. :— 

Mr.  Booker  states,  in  commencement,  that  in  a  recent  conversation  with  a  German  baron, 
the  proprietor  of  celebrated  hock  vineyards  on  the  Rhine,  an  opinion  was  expressed,  that 
many  varieties  of  the  common  apple  were  capable  of  producing  as  valuable  and  desirable  a 
beverage  as  the  hock  grapes,  if  a  different  process  of  making  the  liquor  were  adopted.  The 
process  recommended  by  the  baron  for  the  manufacture  of  hock,  and  which  he  considers 
applicable  to  the  manufacture  of  cider,  is  as  follows : — The  liquors,  after  the  fruit  is  pressed, 
are  strained,  so  as  to  separate  the  coarse  muss  from  the  liquor,  which  is  then  put  into  large 
vessels,  when  shortly  afterwards  fermentation  commences.  This  fermentation  is  watched 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  69 

with  the  utmost  care  and  attention,  as  every  thing  connected  with  the  future  quality,  rich- 
ness, and  value  of  the  wine  depends  upon  it ;  the  finer  muss,  that  remains  in  the  liquor  after 
it  has  passed  through  the  straining  apparatus,  drops  to  the  bottom  in  the  course  of  a  few 
days,  and  the  wine  becomes  perfectly  clear  and  transparent,  retaining  all  its  original  saccha- 
rine matter,  with  all  its  strength,  richness,  and  flavor.  At  this  critical  period,  xipou  which 
we  consider  the  quality  of  our  wines  depend,  we  adopt  the  process  of  racking.  This  rack- 
ing must  be  effected  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  any  part  of  the  liquor  coming  into  con- 
tact with  the  atmospheric  air ;  should  it  do  so,  fresh  fermentation,  in  all  probability,  will 
take  place ;  and  by  the  same  means,  the  like  causes  repeated  will  operate,  and  be  followed 
by  the  same  results — repeated  fermentation — until  the  flavor  and  richness  of  the  original 
liquor  are  destroyed,  and  the  liquor,  instead  of  becoming  wine,  would  become  as  worthless 
as  your  inferior  cider.  The  reason  for  this  Rhenish  caution  in  preventing  the  liquor  from 
coming  into  contact  with  the  atmospheric  air  during  the  process  of  racking,  is  this :  The  first 
fermentation  is  what  is  termed  vinous  fermentation,  and  results  in  the  liquor  subjected  to  it 
becoming  wine ;  if  repeated,  or  acetous  fermentations  are  allowed  to  follow,  the  vinous  and 
saccharine  properties  of  the  liquor  are  converted  into  acid,  and  the  wine  becomes  vinegar. 
Now,  the  atmosphere  is  the  laboratory  from  which  the  liquor  absorbs  the  chemical  agent 
which  produces  these  distinct  and  separate  fermentations.  And  now,  practically  to  apply 
those  observations:  one  fermentation  is  all  that  is  wanted  to  convert  the  juice  of  the  apple 
into  wholesome  cider.  The  plan  to  insure  this  is  as  follows: — First,  grind  the  apples  in  the 
cider-mill,  and  squeeze  the  juice  from  the  pulp,  as  is  done  at  present.  Second,  run  or  pour 
the  liquor,  after  being  squeezed  or  stniim»l,  into  a  vat,  capable  of  containing  three  or  four, 
or  even  more,  hogsheads.  This  vat  must  be  placed  in  an  elevated  position,  at  least  five  or 
six  feet  above  the  floor,  to  admit  the  hogshead  or  cask  in  which  the  liquor  is  to  be  ulti- 
mately secured,  to  be  placed  under  it.  At  the  bottom  of  the  large  vat  a  tube  is  inserted,  of 
from  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  in  diameter,  for  the  purpose  of  discharging  into  a  recep- 
tacle beneath  it.  While  the  process  of  fermentation  is  going  on,  the  top  of  this  tube  should 
be  corked  or  plugged  up.  When  the  liquor  in  the  vat  has  settled  or  clarified,  it  is  drawn  off 
into  the  receptacle  below,  retaining  all  its  original  saccharine  qualities.  The  operation  is 
now  completed,  ami  the  result  will  be  found  to  bo  a  liquor  wholesome  and  palatable,  full  of 
spirit,  richness,  and  flavor,  and  of  value  proportioned  to  the  description  or  sort  of  apples 
which  are  cultivated.  Our  firm  conviction  is,  that  the  difference  in  value  of  all  the  cider 
produced  by  these  simple  means,  over  and  above  that  produced  by  our  present  careless  and 
slovenly  method,  would  amount  to  tens  of  thousands  of  dollars  a  year,  and  would  be  so  much 
clear  gain  and  profit  to  all  those  who  make  cider. 

The  production  of  good  cider  depends  upon  the  description  of  fruit  of  which  it  is  made, 
the  season,  and  state  of  the  apples  when  they  are  crushed,  and  the  management  of  the  juice 
while  it  is  fermenting.  It  will  therefore  be  proper  to  consider  the  subject  under  these  three 
heads  separately : 

1.  The  kind  of  apple  which  makes  the  best  cider.  The  acid  which  gives  the  peculiar 
quick  and  sharp  feeling  upon  the  palate,  in  good  cider,  having  first  been  noticed  in  the  apple, 
although  it  exists  in  many  other  fruits,  has  been  termed  the  malic  acid.  It  may  not  be  amiss 
to  say,  that  it  is  the  due  combination  of  this  acid  with  saccharine  matter — namely,  the  sugar 
of  the  apple,  properly  fermented — which  is  the  object  to  be  aimed  at  in  the  manufacture  of 
cider.  In  the  selection  of  the  fruit  will  depend  the  proportion  of  malic  acid  contained  in 
the  liquor.  The  crab  has  a  much  greater  quantity  of  this  acid  than  the  cultivated  fruit ; 
and,  generally  speaking,  in  proportion  as  we  obtain  sweetness  by  culture,  we  deprive  the 
apple  of  its  malic  acid.  Hence  it  follows,  that  some  delicious  table  fruits  will  not  make  good 
cider ;  this  rule,  however,  is  not  invariable,  as  the  golden  pippin  and  some  other  fine  apples 
appear  to  contain  the  proper  admixture  of  acid  and  sweetness  which  is  desirable  in  the 
liquor.  Mr.  Knight  recommends  that  the  different  sorts  of  fruit  be  kept  separate,  and  con- 
siders that  only  those  apples  which  are  yellow,  or  mixed  with  red,  make  good  cider ;  and 
that  the  fruit  of  which  the  flesh  or  rind  is  green,  is  very  inferior.  He  recommends  that  the 
apples  should  be  perfectly  ripe — even  mellow,  but  never  decayed — before  they  are  crushed. 
Mr.  Booker  is  of  opinion  that  the  quality  of  cider  has  deteriorated  since  increased  attention 


70  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

lias  been  paid  to  orchards.  This  he  believes  to  be  owing  to  the  want  of  a  due  proportion  of 
the  peculiar  acid  which  is  found  in  the  greatest  quantity  in  the  wild  fruit,  and  suggests 
that  it  may  be  expedient  to  mix  a  certain  quantity  of  the  crab-apples  with  the  fruit  before  it 
is  crushed. 

2.  The  best  time  of  the  year  for  malting  cider.     As  Mr.  Knight  recommends  the  fruit  to 
be  perfectly  ripe,  even  mellow,  before  it  is  crushed,  the  process  of  making  cider,  if  this 
course  is  adopted,  can  only  happen  late  in  the  autumn.     As  it  is  difficult,  also,  to  manage 
the  fermentation  of  the  liquor  in  warm  weather,  it  is  better  to  defer  the  making  of  cider  to 
as  late  a  period  as  possible ;  if,  however,  the  liquor  can  be  put  into  a  cold  cellar  after  the 
first  fermentation  is  over,  the  manufacture  might  commence  earlier.     It  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  juice  of  unripe  fruits  ferments  more  quickly  than  that  of  those  which  are  ripe. 

3.  Fermentation  of  the  juice.     The  researches  of  scientific  men,  although  very  elaborate, 
have  done  very  little  in  throwing  light  upon  the  nature  of  fermentation :  it  appears  to  par- 
take,  in  a  measure,  of  the  vital  principle,  of  the  phenomena   attending  which  we  know 
nothing.     Many  curious  and  interesting  facts  have  been  discovered  during  the  investigation, 
but  none  of  which  appear  to  be  of  much  use  in  the  making  of  cider.     There  are  three  kinds 
of  fermentation,  or  rather  there  are  some  products  which  pass  regularly  through  three 
stages  of  fermentation — namely,  the  vinous,  the  acetous,  and  the  putrescent.     Other  sub- 
stances pass  at  once  to  one  or  other  of  the  latter  stages ;  gum  and  water  turning  to  vinegar 
without  forming  any  spirit,  and  meat  at  once  putrefying.     It  is  not  desirable  that  the  vinous 
fermentation  should  be  complete  in  the  manufacture  of  cider,  in  which  case  all  the  sugar  of 
the  apple  would  be  converted  into  spirit ;  this  never  does  happen  without  a  portion  of  vinegar 
being  also  formed,  the  acetous  fermentation  going  on  conjointly  with  the  vinous ;  as  when 
cider  frets  a  great  deal,  it  may  be  very  strong,  but  is  comparatively  of  little  value,  having 
lost  all  its  richness,  and  become  sour.    The  vinous  fermentation  stops  naturally  before  it  has 
run  its  course,  and  it  is  the  object  of  the  maker  to  avail  himself  of  this  property  in  the 
liquor,  and  to  endeavor  to  prevent  any  secondary  fermentation  taking  place ;  the  number  of 
schemes  which  have  been  suggested  to  prevent  this  shows  that  it  is  the  most  important 
point  to  be  attended  to  in  the  manufacture  of  good  cider.     Mr.  Booker  is  of  the  opinion  that 
a  hundred-gallon  cask  is  much  better  than  one  larger,  and  that  the  liquor  is  not  only  more 
easily  managed,  but  more  likely  to  be  good ;  it  may  be  that  cider  in  large  casks  becomes 
stronger,  but  it  is  not  so  frequently  rich  as  in  small  hogsheads.    Although  it  may  not  be  ap- 
parent, fermentation  commences  as  soon  as  the  juice  is  expressed  from  the  fruit ;    and  the 
sooner  the  cask  is  filled  and  allowed  to  remain  quiet,  the  more  regular  and  certain  will  be 
the  process.     What  should  we  think  of  the  brewer  who,  while  his  beer  was  working,  brewed 
another  quantity,  and  added  the  raw  wort  to  the  first  ?     Yet  this  is  constantly  done  in  fill- 
ing a  large  cask  with  cider ;  or  even  worse,  for  the  apple-juice  is  added  cold,  whereas  the 
wort  might  be  mixed  with  the  beer  while  warm.     It  would  be  greatly  better  to  keep  the 
liquor  in  open  tubs,  till  enough  be  obtained  to  fill  the  cask,  and  then  to  put  it  together  at 
once.     The  application  of  cold  will  check  fermentation  immediately.     "I  have  seen  liquor 
in  a  state  of  froth  boiling  out  of  a  large  jar,  suddenly  reduced  to  a  state  of  quiescence,  by 
pumping  water  upon  the  side.     This  fact  induced  me  to  cause  an  experiment  to  be  tried 
during  a  very  bad  season  for  the  cider-making,  the  weather  being  very  warm :  a  cask  of 
juice  was  rolled  into  a  brook  of  cold  water,  and  sunk  by  stones  attached  to  it ;  it  remained 
in  that  position  till  nearly  Christmas,  and  was  much  better  than  any  other  made  that  year. 
Perfect  stillness  is  very  desirable,  as  motion  is  found  to  excite  the  acetous  fermentation.     A 
bottle  of  wine  attached  to  the  sail  of  a  windmill  in  motion,  was,  after  three  days,  converted 
into  vinegar,  although  closely  corked.    When  a  second  fermentation  does  take  place  in  cider, 
there  is  very  little  hope  of  its  being  rich  and  good.     In  such  case,  I  should  recommend  its 
being  drawn  out  into  tubs,  exposed  to  the  cold  as  much  as  possible,  and,  after  being  thus 
flattened,  put  back  into  the  cask,  at  the  same  time  well  stirring  up  the  whites  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  eggs,  previously  mixed  up  with  a  portion  of  the  liquor ;  if  this  succeeds  in  fining  it, 
which  probably  it  will,  it  may  then  be  racked  into  a  clean  cask,  and  closed  as  much  as  pos- 
sible from  the  air.     It  is  probable  that  a  great  deal  of  mischief  is  caused  by  some  principle 
of  fermentation  remaining  in  the  cask ;  this  might  be  prevented  by  well  scalding  the  casks 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  71 

before  they  are  filled ;  or,  what  I  think  would  be  better,  by  washing  out  the  casks  with  clear 
lime-water.  One  large  piece  of  lime  put  into  a  hogshead  of  water,  and  allowed  to  settle, 
would  answer  the  purpose.  Some  brimstone  matches  burned  in  the  casks  would  have  a  ten- 
dency to  prevent  fermentation." — Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts, 

Krauser's  Patent  Portable  Cider  and  Wine  MilL 

THE  peculiar  feature  of  this  mill  is  an  arrangement  of  reciprocating  pistons,  which,  by 
their  alternate  action,  will  cause  a  quantity  of  apples  or  grapes  continually  to  advance  with 
irresistible  force  against  the  passing  teeth  of  a  rapidly-revolving  cylinder,  so  that  by  the 
action  of  the  latter  the  whole  fruit  is  at  once  reduced  to  pulp,  and  discharged  into  the  tub 
beneath  the  mill.  The  idea  intended,  and  which  is  thus  beautifully  and  effectively  reduced  to 
practice,  is  that  of  exactly  imitating  the  action  of  the  human  hand  in  holding  an  apple 
against  the  teeth  of  a  revolving  cylinder  until  it  is  entirely  reduced  to  pulp. 

On  the  Manufacture  of  Wine,  and  the  Cultivation  of  the  Grape  for  the 
Vintage  in  the  United  States. 

THE  following  article  on  the  already  important  branch  of  American  industry — the  manu- 
facture of  wine  and  the  cultivation  of  the  grape  for  the  vintage — has  been  prepared  from 
three  several  articles,  which  have  been  recently  published  in  the  Philadelphia  Horticultu- 
ralist,  Putnam's  Magazine,  and  Mansfield's  Railroad  Journal. 

The  cultivation  of  the  vine,  as  an  article  yielding  commercial  products,  has  only  recently 
commenced  in  the  United  States  ;  but  its  extension  is  so  rapid,  that  the  day  cannot  be  far 
distant  when  wine  will  be  classed  among  the  great  staple  productions  of  the  country.  In 
the  valley  of  Ohio,  taking  Cincinnati  for  a  centre,  within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles  are 
planted  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  vine-yards,  two-thirds  of  which  are  in  bearing.  The 
average  yield  will  not  be  estimated  at  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  gallons  of  wine  per 
acre,  which  will  give,  as  the  present  yield,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  gallons  of 
wine,  worth  from  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  gallon.  The  rapidity  with 
which  this  cultivation  increases  may  be  inferred  from  the  statistics,  which  show  that  last 
year  were  sold  in  Cincinnati  two  millions  of  grape-cuttings,  and  four  hundred  thousand 
roots ;  a  quantity  sufficient  to  plant  more  than  six  hundred  acres  of  vineyards.  These 
were  distributed  to  every  part  of  the  Union,  from  New  York  to  Missouri,  and  as  far  south 
as  Georgia  and  Texas.  The  average  prices  were,  for  cuttings,  two  dollars  and  a  half  per 
thousand,  and  for  roots,  forty  dollars  per  thousand.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  while 
the  increase  has  been  so  large  in  the  quantity  of  wine  manufactured,  the  demand  increases 
in  a  still  greater  ratio.  The  first  cultivators  found  considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining  a 
market  for  the  produce  of  their  vines,  but  now  they  have  a  ready  market  for  their  vintage 
at  good  prices.  In  addition  to  the  amount  under  cultivation  for  grapes  above  stated,  other 
parts  of  the  South  and  West  are  extensively  employed  in  the  same  manner.  At  Hermann, 
Missouri,  there  are  five  hundred  acres,  and  in  Indiana,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  Georgia  are  probably  as  many  acres  more. 

The  quantity  of  wine  made  in  the  United  States,  according  to  the  details  of  the  two 
last  census  returns,  is  as  follows  : — 

In  1840,  the  whole  amount  returned  was  124,733  gallons;  in  1850,  219,101  gallons; 
increase,  80  per  cent.  An  examination  of  the  following  table  shows  that  the  cultivation 
of  the  vine  does  not  succeed  in  some  States  where  it  has  been  already  attempted : 

In  1840,  Pennsylvania  produced  14,328  gallons  ;  in  1850,  25,990 

"        Maryland  "  7,855  «  '       «  1,431 

New  Jersey  "  9,416  "  "  1,811 

North  Carolina  "  28,752  "  "  11,958 

Indiana  "  10,265  "  "  14,055 

Illinois  "  474  "  "  2,997 

Kentucky  "  2,209  "  "  8,093 

Missouri  "  22  "  "  10,533 

Ohio  «  11,524  "  "  48,207 

Virginia  "  13,911  «  "  5,408 


72  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

This  table  seems  conclusively  to  show  that  the  culture  of  the  grape  is  losing  ground  in 
the  several  Atlantic  States,  and  increasing  with  great  rapidity  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio 
and  Missouri.  The  census  returns  for  1840  and  1850  give  the  following  aggregate  of  wine 
production  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina:  in  1840, 
74,264  gallons;  in  1850,  44,998  gallons. 

For  the  same  period,  however,  we  have  the  following  as  the  aggregate  production  of 
the  five  States  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  Missouri :  in  1840,  25,194  gallpns ;  in  1850, 
83,935  gallons.  A  low  estimate  of  the  wine  produce  of  the  entire  Ohio  Valley  for  the 
year  1855  would  be  600,000  gallons;  and  it  may  be  safely  predicted  that  the  production 
of  the  same  territory  in  1860  will  be  counted  by  millions  of  gallons. 

An  attention  to  localities  will  show  whereto  American  grape-culture  is  tending.  Thus, 
in  1840,  two-thirds  the  wine  made  in  Ohio  was  made  in  Richmond  county,  but  in  1850 
four-fifths  the  whole  was  made  in  Hamilton,  Butler,  and  Clermont  counties,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Cincinnati.  In  Kentucky,  most  of  the  wine  is  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Louisville  and 
Covington.  In  Indiana,  in  the  vicinity  of  Laurenceburg  and  Jeffersonville,  (opposite  Louis- 
ville.) These  places  are  all  in  the  space  of  100  miles  on  the  Ohio  River. 

It  is  an  interesting  question  how  this  increased  production  of  wine  will  affect  our  popu- 
lation, viewed  in  relation  to  the  subject  of  intemperance. 

By  the  census  of  1850,  it  appears  that  the  imports  of  foreign  wines  into  the  United 
States  for  that  year  amounted  to  little  over  six  millions  of  gallons,  while  our  home  manu- 
factures of  whisky,  ale,  and  spirituous  liquors  reached  the  enormous  sum  of  eighty-six 
millions  of  gallons  ;  one  quarter  of  a  gallon  for  each  person,  and  in  value  only  ten  cents 
per  year;  while  France  consumes  nine  hundred  millions  of  gallons  of  wine,  equal  to  25f 
gallons  to  every  man,  woman,  and  child  (of  either  sex)  in  her  population. 

These  facts  are  well  worthy  of  consideration,  especially  when  we  reflect  that  France 
sustains  the  reputation  of  being  a  most  temperate  country.  Indeed,  if  we  compare  the  vine- 
growing  with  the  non-vine-growing  countries  of  Europe,  we  find  that  drunkenness,  with 
its  carloads  of  evil,  traverses  the  non-producing  North  only,  while  the  South  furnishes  a 
prevailing  example  of  sobriety. 

In  regard  to  the  limits  within  which  the  culture  of  the  grape  for  commercial  purposes 
in  Europe  is  restricted  ; — The  cultivation  of  the  vine  is  confined  to  the  district  within  the 
parallels  of  Lisbon,  38°  42'  (sea-board,)  and  Titiacum,  (Caspian  Sea,)  46°  20',  making  a  range 
of  8°.  But  it  must  be  observed  that  there  are  large  districts  within  this  range  where  the 
vine  will  not  grow.  These  are  the  elevated  and  exposed  plains  of  the  interior.  In  Asia 
and  Africa,  the  vine  limit  runs  further  south,  to  about  30°,  but  hardly  as  far  north,  making 
in  all  about  12°  of  latitude. 

In  the  United  States,  the  vine  limits  are  El  Paso  in  New  Mexico,  latitude  32°,  and  Ann 
Arbor,  (Michigan,)  42°,  making  a  geographical  zone  of  about  10°.  But  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  there  are  large  districts  within  these  limits,  which,  on  account  either  of  the 
humidity  of  the  climate  or  the  height  of  the  land,  will  not  bear  vines. 

The  grape,  to  make  good  wine,  requires  a  temperature  of  at  least  67°  Fahrenheit,  in 
summer.  Hence,  the  grape  will  not  make  wine  to  profit  north  of  Cleveland ;  and  as  the 
northern  half  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  is  a  high  plain,  swept  by  lake-winds,  it  is  not 
at  all  probable  that  wine  can  be  made  profitably  north  of  the  centre  of  these  States. 
So  also,  the  vine  will  not  make  good  wine  in  a  very  hot  or  a  humid  climate.  The  culti- 
vation of  the  vine  for  wine  is,  therefore,  confined  to  a  very  small  district ;  and  in  the 
United  States  that  district  will  probably  be  found  chiefly  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and 
Missouri. 

Notwithstanding  the  adaptation  of  this  section  of  our  country  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  vine,  few  are  aware  how  difficult  a  matter  it  was  to  introduce  this  branch  of  domestic 
industry.  Many  years  were  spent  in  unsuccessful  attempts,  and  not  a  few  instances  of 
severe  loss  and  disappointment  to  the  early  cultivators  occurred,  before  success  was 
attained.  Although,  from  the  earliest  settlements  of  the  West,  various  efforts  were  made 
to  cultivate  the  vine,  both  by  importing  foreign  varieties  and  by  selecting  the  best  pro- 
ductions of  our  native  wilds,  not  one  of  these  early  vineyards  is  now  in  existence,  and 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  73 

no  one  has,  to  this  day,  in  any  part  of  the  United  States,  been  successful  in  obtaining  even 
a  tolerable  vineyard  from  any  foreign  grape.*  Thousands  of  individuals  have  tried  it,  on 
a  small  scale,  in  various  parts  of  the  Union ;  and  several  persons — as,  for  example,  Mr. 
Loubat,  Mr.  Longworth,  £c.,  of  great  experience  abroad  or  knowledge  at  home,  joined  to 
abundant  capital — have  tried  it  on  a  large  scale.  The  result,  in  every  case,  has  been  the 
same :  a  season  or  two  of  promise,  then  utter  failure,  and  finally  complete  abandonment 
of  the  theory.  The  only  vineyards  ever  successful  in  America  are  those  of  American 
grapes.  We  might  add  here  that  one  foreign  grape  has  been  successfully  acclimated  here, 
and  only  one.  The  "  Traminer,"  from  the  Rheingau,  a  small-berried  vine,  has  been  per- 
suaded to  thrive  here,  by  Mr.  Longworth.  But  this,  for  the  manufacture  of  wine,  is 
almost  valueless.  Nor  has  one  of  the  hundreds  of  nurserymen  and  amateurs  who  have 
been,  and  still  are,  industriously  striving  to  obtain  new  seedling  varieties,  yet  produced 
one  which  has  been  sufficiently  valuable  in  all  respects  to  come  into  general  cultivation. 

While  the  attempt  to  introduce  the  culture  of  the  grape  was  maintaining  a  doubtful  con- 
flict with  apparently  insurmountable  obstacles,  it  received  the  timely  aid  of  Mr.  Long- 
worth,  of  Cincinnati,  who,  after  spending  more  than  one  small  fortune  in  fruitless  attempts 
to  introduce  the  foreign  vine  and  vine-dressers,  obtained  and  proved  the  value  of  the 
Catawba  Grape,  which  now  constitutes  nine-tenths  of  the  vineyards  cultivated  in  the  West. 
This  is  a  native  grape,  obtained  from  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina.  In  the  manufac- 
ture of  wine,  Mr.  Longworth  has  rendered  to  the  country  no  less  signal  service ;  for,  with- 
out any  experience  to  guide  him  which  was  adapted  to  our  new  circumstances,  a  multi- 
tude of  vexatious  disappointments  and  losses  were  met  and  overcome.  Even  after  years 
of  successful  manufacture,  a  year  or  two  since,  through  some  untoward  circumstance,  he 
lost  by  bursting,  in  a  single  season,  thirty-six  thousand  bottles,  valued  at  one  dollar  per 
bottle — enough  to  have  ruined  any  ordinary  fortune.  No  wonder  then  that  all  the  vine-dress- 
ers of  the  country  regard  Mr.  L.  as  the  father  of  wine-culture  in  the  United  States ;  lie 
having  accomplished,  by  his  own  private  fortune  and  uutiring  enterprise,  that  which  must 
otherwise  have  failed  or  only  succeeded  by  slow  degrees.  Mr.  Longworth  is  still  extending 
his  arrangements  for  the  manufacture  of  his  •'  sparkling  Catawba,"  by  building  yet  other 
cellars,  where  the  process  peculiar  to  the  manufacture  of  this  wine  may  be  perfected.  His 
cellars  furnish  this  year  (1855)  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  bottles  of  the  "spark- 
ling," and  next  year  he  expects  to  increase  the  amount  to  two  hundred  thousand  bottles. 

The  "still"  or  "dry"  wines  are  the  kind  chiefly  made  by  other  cultivators;  indeed  no  vine- 
yard, however  small  the  cellarage  of  its  proprietor,  seems  to  be  without  its  casks  of  wine,  but 
the  manufacture  of  the  "sparkling"  requires  a  deep  cellar  with  large  tuns  for  its  fermentation. 

Great  efforts  are  being  made  by  the  most  enterprising  cultivators  to  produce  and  introduce 
new  varieties  of  the  grape,  but  at  present  none  have  been  sufficiently  tested  to  entitle  them  to 
a  very  prominent  place  in  general  cultivation.  Thus  far  the  Catawba  stands  unrivalled.  The 
Isabella  in  this  climate  ripens  its  berries  unequally;  and  the  "Cape"  is  even  being  dug  up  as 
not  worth  cultivation.  Mr.  Longworth,  Mr.  Buchanan,  Dr.  Mosher,  and  all  who  have  tried 
it  express  great  hopes  of  the  "Herbemont,"  and  it  is  forming  a  large  share  in  the  new  planta- 
tions now  being  made.  It  is  said  to  blossom  about  eight  days  later  than  the  Catawba,  and  to 
mature  its  fruit  several  days  sooner.  It  is  a  small,  nearly  black  berry,  growing  very  close  on 
the  cluster — very  sweet,  with  tender  pulp  and  thin  skin,  and  not  as  liable  as  other  varieties 
to  be  affected  by  the  "rof." 

*  Of  the  various  experiments  made  with  regard  to  cultivating  foreign  grapes  here,  we  will  mention  a  few.  Mr. 
Parmentier,  of  Long  Island,  established  a  vineyard  of  foreign  grapes  there,  and  was  finally  compelled  to  abandon 
it  M.  Loubat  planted  forty  acres  at  New  Utrecht,  L.  I.,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  imported  vines, 
and  they  throve  not,  neither  did  they  bear.  Mr.  N.  Longworth,  of  Cincinnati,  also  tried  a  variety  of  grapes  from 
Bordeaux  and  the  vicinity  of  Paris.  These  he  obtained  from  M.  Loubat's  vine-yard.  They  did  not  succeed. 
From  Madeira  he  imported  six  thousand  vines  of  their  best  wine  grapes;  these  were  rooted  up,  after  trial,  as  worth- 
less. Lastly,  he  procured  seven  thousand  vines  from  the  Jura,  and.  after  trial  of  five  years,  these  also  were 
thrown  away.  The  vine-dressers  of  Vevay,  la.,  attempted  the  culture  of  vines  from  Switzerland,  with  no  better  suc- 
cess. The  imported  vines  planted  in  the  early  vineyards  of  Pennsylvania,  Alabama,  and  Kentucky  all  died  after 
a  few  years.  And  yet  there  is  not  a  grape  of  any  reputation  to  be  found  in  the  United  States  (with  the  exception 
of  the  Catawba)  that  is  not  reputed  to  be  of  foreign  origin. 


74  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  most  approved  method  of  preparing  the  ground  for  a  vineyard  is  by  trenching  with  the 
spade  two  or  three  feet  in  depth  during  the  fall  and  winter,  previous  to  planting.  Cuttings 
are  mostly  used,  and  are  by  many  preferred  to  roots,  even  at  the  same  price ;  the  argument 
in  their  favor  being  that  the  roots  which  are  produced  from  the  foot  of  the  cutting,  when  once 
disturbed,  will  not  readily  grow  again,  and  these  lowest  ropts  are  for  the  grape  admitted  to  be 
the  most  important.  The  cuttings  are  planted  two  in  a  hill  in  the  place  where  they  are  in- 
tended to  remain;  and  if  both  grow,  one  is  cut  off  or  removed  to  fill  vacancies;  the  usual 
distance  being  about  three  by  six  feet  apart.  The  cost  of  trenching  a  vineyard  varies,  with 
the  nature  of  the  soil,  the  amount  of  stone  encountered  in  the  subsoil,  and  the  amount  of  under- 
draining,  from  sixty  to  two  hundred  dollars  per  acre ;  and  the  planting,  including  the  cost  of 
cuttings,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  dollars  more.  The  labor  required  during  the  first  three  years 
is  very  slight ;  thorough  hoeing  two  or  three  times  in  a  season,  and  spring  and  summer  pruning, 
are  all  that  is  necessary.  In  the  second  year  the  vineyard  is  supplied  with  stakes,  usually  of 
good  white-oak  heart,  costing  about  twelve  to  fifteen  dollars  per  thousand.  Locust  stakes 
are  better,  and  cost  about  double  that  sum.  The  common  practice  is  to  have  only  a  single 
stake  to  each  vine ;  although  some  very  successful  cultivators  use  two  stakes  with  two  "bows" 
to  each  vine.  The  "  bow-and-spur"  method  of  trimming  is  the  most  general  method,  although 
many  prefer,  instead  of  bending  the  branch  in  the  shape  of  a  "bow"  or  circle,  to  train  each 
vine  across  to  the  next  stake  in  the  row. 

The  great  enemy  of  the  vintner  is  the  rot.  Of  this  there  are  two  kinds ;  although  some 
persons  think  there  is  but  one,  with  a  slight  variation  in  its  manifestations.  The  first  makes 
its  appearance  in  the  form  of  a  spot  of  yellowish-brown  upon  the  berry,  and  is  called  the 
"spot  rot."  This  spot  rapidly  enlarges,  so  that  in  twenty-four  hours  from  its  first  appear- 
ance in  a  vineyard,  one-half  of  the  crop  is  often  blackened,  and  presents  the  appearance  of 
having  been  for  weeks  affected  with  decay.  The  other  variety  of  this  disease  first  shows  a 
slight  discoloration  under  the  skin  of  the  berry,  sometimes  in  veins  or  blotches,  and  has  hence 
derived  the  name  of  "blue  rot."  All  the  searching  and  experimenting  of  the  best  vine- 
growers  have  failed  thus  far  to  discover  aught  of  its  cause  or  remedy.  Some  have  in  despair 
given  up  the  attempt  to  make  any  discoveries  in  this  direction,  and  are  in  hopes  to  escape  the 
difficulty  by  finding  new  varieties  not  subject  to  the  disease. 

The  following  statistics  furnish  some  idea  respecting  the  products  and  profits  of  the  grape- 
culture  in  Europe  and  the  United  States.  In  1828,  the  aggregate  number  of  acres  devoted 
to  the  culture  of  the  vine  in  Europe  was  estimated  at  72,537,500  acres,  producing  1,574,680,000 
gallons  per  annum.  This  gives  an  average  per  acre  of  137  gallons.  According  to  a  careful 
French  estimate,  the  profits  of  vine-culture,  after  deducting  all  charges,  amounted  only  to  five 
per  cent,  on  the  capital  employed.  The  total  amount  of  capital  employed  was  estimated  at 
£200  per  acre ;  this  includes  the  price  of  land,  machinery,  improvements,  permanent  labor, 
etc.  In  regard  to  the  profits  and  products  of  the  vine  in  the  United  States ; — Mr.  Robert 
Buchanan,  one  "of  the  most  experienced  vine-growers  in  Ohio,  has  furnished  reliable  statistics, 
basing  his  estimates  on  the  cost  of  getting  a  vineyard  of  six  acres  under  thorough  cultivation 
and  bearing  at  Cincinnati,  and  upon  its  subsequent  produce. 

The  price  of  land  from  fifteen  to  fifty  miles  from  the  city  of  Cincinnati  is  estimated  at  $50 
per  acre: — 

Price  of  six  acres $  300.00 

Trenching  two  feet  deep 370.00 

Cuttings,  sodding,  and  planting 205.00 

Cutting  and  setting  14,500  hickory  stakes 490.00 

Labor  of  vine-dressers  and  attendants  for  first  year 231.00 

"  "  «         second    "    256.00 

Hauling  cuttings  and  contingencies 238.00 

Interest  on  capital 180.00 

Total  cost  of  six  acres 2,270.00 

Actual  capital,  per  acre 378.33 

This  estimate  from  experience,  it  is  found,  can  be  relied  on  by  those  wishing  to  plant  vine- 
yards for  profit. 

The  products,  according  to  a  careful  table  prepared  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  average  of  six  years, 
were  about  490  gallons  per  acre.  The  results  of  other  experiments  correspond  so  nearly 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  75 

with  this,  that  the  cultivator  may  rely  with  much  certainty  on  400  gallons  per  acre,  after  two 
yea ix,  provided  the  vineyard  is  well  cultivated  and  planted. 
The  following  table  gives  the  cost  and  profit  of  production : — 

Interest  at  7  per  cent,  on  a  vineyard  of  six  acres,  as  above $  158.90 

Cost  of  attendance  and  culture 360.00 

Taxes 10.00 

Cost  of  making  wine... 150.00 

Contingencies  for  machinery,  tools,  etc 50.00 

Cost  of  crop 828.90 

Average  product 2400  galls. 

"  price 2,400.00 

Nett  profit 1,512.10 

Profit  in  investment,  when  wine  is  $1.  per  gal 70  per  cent. 

"  "  "        75  cents   " 40      " 

«  «  «        50    "       « 16      " 

It  thus  appears  that  while  the  vine  is  unaffected  by  any  great  increase  of  insects,  parasites, 
or  other  causes  of  blight,  the  grape  may  here  be  cultivated  at  a  large  profit,  even  when  the 
wine  is  reduced  to  fifty  cents  per  gallon.  But  such  is  the  demand  for  pure  Catawba  wine, 
and  such  is  the  consumption  of  wine  in  this  country,  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  full  thirty 
years  to  come  wine  cannot  be  reduced  to  fifty  cents  a  gallon.  In  all  that  time  the  good  culti- 
vators must  realize  heavy  profits.  It  is  true  that  now  and  then,  as  in  the  drought  of  1854, 
there  will  be  a  failure  almost  of  the  grape ;  but  the  heavy  crop  of  another  year  will  more 
than  bring  up  the  average. 

There  must  \>efive  millions  of  acres  planted  in  vines  before  the  price  can  be  reduced  to  a  minimum 
in  the  United  States.  This  fact  is  enough  to  insure  cultivators  against  any  hazard  of  an  over- 
stocked market.  There  will  probably  be  600,000  gallons  of  Catawba  wine  raised  in  the  Ohio 
V:ilK-y  in  1855;  but  this  is  nothing  to  the  demand.  If  it  were  doubled  (which  cannot  be) 
every  yc.-ir  for  five  years  to  come,  the  market  would  not  be  overstocked. 

An  experienced  cultivator  of  the  vine  in  Kentucky  writes  as  follows : — 

"\Yine  can  be  made  as  cheap  in  Kentucky  as  it  is  in  France  or  Germany;  it  can  be  made  as 
cheap  as  cider,  and  at  fifteen  cents  per  gallon  it  will  pay  better  than  any  of  our  staple  pro- 
ductions. And  now  for  the  proof;  Say  that  an  acre  of  vines  will  average  400  gallons.  400 
gallons  of  wine,  at  fifteen  cents,  is  $60.  An  acre  of  our  best  land  in  hemp  will  average  six 
hundredweight.  600  weight  of  hemp,  at  $5,  is  $30.  Leaving  a  balance  in  favor  of  the  vine- 
yard, §30,  or  100  per  cent.  One  acre  of  corn  will  average  fifty  bushels,  worth  thirty  cents  per 
bushel.  50  bushels,  at  thirty  cents,  is  $15.  Leaving  balance  in  favor  of  the  vineyard,  $45. 
The  expenses  of  establishing  a  vineyard  will  be  balanced  by  the  cost  of  seeds  of  hemp  and 
corn  sown  annually,  making  all  things  equal  in  that  respect.  The  tillage  of  the  vineyard  and 
making  wine  is  not  so  laborious  nor  near  so  expensive  per  acre  as  the  tillage  and  labor  of 
securing  the  products  of  an  acre  of  corn  or  hemp.  If  we  could  get  one  dollar  per  gallon  for 
wine  when  ready  for  market,  or  fifty  cents  per  gallon  from  the  press,  what  a  source  of  wealth 
it  would  be !  Set  it  down  at  half  these  figures,  and  the  gold-mines  of  California  would  be 
poor  in  comparison.  Only  to  think  that  100  acres  in  vineyard,  the  products  at  fifty  cents  per 
gallon,  amounts  to  $20,000  per  annum!  A  man  having  five  acres,  which  he  could  manage 
himself,  would  find  them  more  profitable  than  a  Kentucky  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  with 
three  negroes  to  cultivate  it. 

Let  us  turn  from  these  pleasing  prospects  for  Kentucky,  and  look  at  the  annual  income 
France  derives  from  the  poorest  and  (for  other  purposes)  the  most  worthless  of  her  lands. 

The  actual  returns  from  the  departments  of  France  show  a  grand  total  of  about  924,000,000 
of  gallons  as  the  yearly  produce,  of  which,  in  round  numbers,  about  24,000,000  of  gallons 
are  exported.  It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  these  wines,  so  various  are  the  quali- 
ties and  prices ;  the  vintage  of  a  favorite  year,  in  some  districts,  will  command  double  and 
triple  the  price  of  those  preceding  or  succeeding.  Estimating  the  entire  crop  at  fifteen  cents 
the  gallon,  however,  we  find  the  net  amount  reaches  the  not  inconsiderable  total  of  $138,600,000. 
One  hundred  and  thirty-eight  millions  six  hundred  thousand  dollars !  And  this  from  wine 
at  five  cents  a  bottle !  A  sum  more  than  sufficient  to  pay  off  our  national  debt,  or  purchase 
Cuba,  or  buy  a  large  piece  of  South  America,  perhaps  enough  to  include  the  Amazon;  and 


76  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

all  in  a  single  year.  Here,  in  a  country  of  such  vast  extent,  embracing  every  climate,  with  hill- 
sides and  plains  favorable  for  the  cultivation  of  the  grape,  and  native  vines  overspreading  the 
forests  and  marshes  in  almost  every  State,  we,  professing  to  be  a  great  agricultural  people, 
so  far  have  closed  our  eyes  to  these  great  facts,  and,  except  in  a  few  instances,,  neglected  to 
avail  ourselves  of  the  most  fruitful  source  of  national  wealth  ever  within  the  reach  of  man. 


Manufacture  of  Wine  in  Georgia. 

THE  Southern  Cultivator  states  that  the  attjmpt  to  manufacture  wine  from  a  native  grape 
has  been  successfully  tried  by  Mr.  A.  Leary,  of  Munroe  county,  Georgia.  The  grape  is 
known  as  the  "  Warrenton,"  and  the  produce  is  at  the  rate  of  eight  hundred  gallons  per  acre. 
The  wine  resembles  the  Madeira,  and  is  high-flavored  and  mild. 


Improvements  in  the  Manufacture  of  Sugar, 

C.  HUSTINGS  COLLETTE,  of  London,  has  recently  obtained  a  patent  for  improvements  in  the 
manufacture  of  sugar,  the  specification  of  which  we  give  somewhat  in  full,  knowing  how 
important  a  manufacture  this  is  to  a  very  large  class  of  agriculturists. 

This  invention  consists  in  an  improved  mode  of  treating  cane-juice,  molasses,  beet-root 
juice,  and  other  saccharine  juices  and  syrups,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  sugar  therefrom, 
freed  or  separated  from  the  impurities  and  other  substances  with  which  it  is  mixed. 

It  has  been  for  some  time  known  that  the  yield  of  sugar  from  cane-juice,  molasses,  beet- 
root juice,  and  other  saccharine  juices,  is  smaller  than  it  ought  to  be;  and  the  cause  of  this 
small  yield  has  been  attributed  to  the  use  of  a  large  quantity  of  charcoal  to  clarify  the 
syrup,  whereby  a  considerable  proportion  of  sugar  becomes  absorbed,  notwithstanding  the 
most  careful  manipulation ;  the  molasses  produced  by  many  of  the  ordinary  processes  often 
containing  nearly  as  much  as  50  per  cent,  of  crystalline  sugar. 

For  the  purpose  of  avoiding  these  evils,  the  following  process  is  employed:  The  juices, 
molasses,  or  syrups  (obtained  by  any  of  the  usual  means  from  the  sugar-cane,  beet-root  or 
other  plants  containing  saccharine  matters)  are  introduced  into  the  defecation  pan,  together 
With  the  quantity  of  lime  or  lime-water  necessary  for  defecation.  About  30  or  40  per  cent, 
of  lime  is  sufficient  for  this  purpose.  As  soon  as  the  lime  has  produced  the  requisite  effect 
upon  the  liquid,  a  sufficientxquantity  of  superphosphate  of  lime  is  added  to  it  for  the  purpose 
of  neutralizing  the  lime,  usually  in  the  proportion  of  about  3  parts  of  the  superphosphate  of 
lime  to  100  parts  of  the  juice.  The  superphosphate  of  lime  may  be  used  at  4°  Beaume's 
hydrometer,  or  at  any  higher  degree ;  and  it  is  to  be  added  as  long  as  any  reddish  litmus- 
paper,  dipped  into  the  juice,  is  turned  blue.  Should  too  much  superphosphate  of  lime 
happen  to  be  added,  this  error  can  be  rectified  by  the  immediate  addition  of  as  much  lime 
or  lime-water  as  the  superphosphate  of  lime  in  the  solution  will  neutralize.  The  mixture 
will,  by  the  above  process,  become  thick  and  turgid,  and  must  be  filtered,  which  may  be 
done  in  the  ordinary  manner  through  filtering-bags;  and  the  filtered  juice  or  syrup  is  then 
to  be  concentrated  to  18°  Beaume,  when  it  will  again  become  turgid  or  thickened.  For  the 
purpose  of  separating  any  impurities  which  may  still  remain  in  the  juice  or  syrup,  super- 
phosphate of  lime  is  again  added,  so  long  as  litmus-paper,  dipped  in  the  juice,  is  turned 
blue,  after  which  the  mixture  is  again  passed  through  the  filter ;  and  the  filtered  fluid  thus 
obtained  must  be  concentrated,  so  as  to  produce  the  crystallization  of  as  much  sugar  as  can 
be  separated  in  this  manner,  and  the  vacuum  pan  and  crystallizing  tubs  may  be  used  in  the 
usual  way  for  this  purpose.  Sugar  refined  or  purified  in  this  manner  may  be  again  dissolved 
or  converted  into  syrup,  and  again  submitted  to  the  process,  for  the  purpose  of  further 
purifying  it. 

The  crystallized  sugar  thus  formed  is  then  to  be  separated  in  the  usual  way  from  the  resi- 
dual juice  or  syrup  with  which  it  is  mixed. 

From  this  residual  juice  or  syrup  a  further  quantity  of  sugar  may  be  obtained  by  the 
following  process:  The  juices  or  syrups  are  diluted  to  about  28°  Beaume  with  water  or 
with  some  sweet  juice,  (the  defecated  juice  of  beet-root  being  preferred,)  and  lime  or 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  77 

lime-water  is  added ;  and  about  half  as  much  as  was  used  for  the  first  process  will  generally 
be  sufficient  to  produce  the  requisite  defecation.  Heat  is  then  applied,  and  before  the  syrup 
boils  superphosphate  of  lime  is  added  until  the  syrup  ceases  to  produce  any  apparent  alka- 
line action  upon  the  test-paper;  and  by  these  means  the  phosphate  of  lime  will  be  precipi- 
tated. The  syrup  must  then  be  filtered  as  before,  for  the  purpose  of  separating  it  from  its 
impurities ;  after  which  the  filtered  juice  or  syrup  is  to  be  concentrated  and  crystallized  as 
before,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  from  it  a  further  quantity  of  sugar.  Centrifugal 
machines  may  be  used  for  separating  the  crystallized  sugar  from  juices  or  syrups. 

The  second  residual  syrup  obtained  by  this  last-mentioned  process  may  also  be  subjected 
to  the  same  process  as  that  just  described  for  treating  the  first  residual  syrup,  in  order  to 
obtain,  as  results,  a  further  quantity  of  crystallized  sugar,  to  be  separated  from  a  third  resi- 
dual syrup  as  before. 

In  the  same  manner  the  process  above  described  may  be  repeatedly  applied  to  each  resi- 
dual syrup,  which  may  remain  after  a  previous  process,  until  the  syrup  or  juice  operated 
upon  shall  be  exhausted  of  sugar,  or  as  much  so  as  may  be  economically  practicable. 

The  Tile-laying  Machine, 

HORACE  GREELEY,  in  a  recent  correspondence  with  the  New  York  Tribune,  states  "that 
the  tile-laying  machine  of  which  only  drawings  and  descriptions,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  have 
reached  our  country,  is  commending  itself  to  the  judgment  of  British  improvers.  This 
machine,  now  worked  with  movable  steam  instead  of  horse-power,  takes  up  its  position  at 
one  side  of  the  field  to  be  drained,  and  commences  the  first  drain  at  the  point  opposite  on 
the  other,  slowly  drawing  thence  to  itself  a  chain,  to  which  is  attached  an  apparatus  which 
cuts  a  mere  crease  from  the  surface  downward  to  the  required  depth,  at  which  it  makes  a  hole 
barely  larger  than  the  tiles,  which  closely  follow  on  a  string,  being  firmly  attached  to  the 
perforating  apparatus,  and  paid  out  from  the  starting-point  just  as  fast  as  required.  Thus 
each  foot  of  the  drain  is  perfected  the  minute  after  it  is  begun,  while  the  labor  of  throwing 
out  and  replacing  several  cubic  feet  of  earth  for  every  foot  of  drain  is  obviated.  Obviously, 
this  would  not  answer  in  a  rocky  nor  in  a  miry  soil,  though  in  the  latter  this  mode  of  cutting 
would  tend  to  give  firmness  to  the  earth  immediately  surrounding  the  drain,  at  least  for  a 
time.  . 

Machine  for  Thinning  Turnips. 

At  the  recent  Exhibition  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  (England)  at  Carlisle,  a  machine 
for  "thinning  turnips"  was  exhibited  by  Messrs  Garret  &  Son. 


This  invention,  shown  in  the  engraving,  is  designed  for  thinning  ont  the  plants  in  the 
drills,  leaving  only  small  bunches  at  regular  intervals,  varying  from  ten  to  eighteen  inches 
apart.  This  is  effected  by  means  of  a  wheel  which  revolves  at  right  angles  to  the  axis  of  the 
machine  when  in  motion,  to  the  outer  edge  of  which  are  attached  a  series  of  horizontal  seg- 
mental  knives  revolving  with  considerable  rapidity,  describing,  in  consequence  of  the  forward 


78  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

motion  of  the  machine,  a  sort  of  spiral  curve,  as  the  knives  travel  over  the  ridges.  By  this 
means  they  sweep  away  all  the  plants  in  the  intended  interval,  leaving  nothing  to  do  but  to 
single  the  plants  out  by  hand,  which  is  done  with  great  ease  and  rapidity  by  a  boy.  Five  or 
six  acres  may  be  thus  thinned  out  in  a  day. 

Steam  for  Agricultural  Purposes, 

b 

AT  the  late  Fair  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England,  a  premium  "of  £200  (one 
thousand  dollars)  was  offered  "/or  the  steam- cultivator  that  shall  in  the  most  efficient  manner 
turn  the  soil,  and  be  an  economical  substitute  for  the  plow  or  the  spade." 

In  view  of  the  great  attention  which  this  subject  is  exciting,  the  English  Agricultural 
Gazette  published  the  following  article,  addressed  to  the  "Committee  of  Award,"  in  which 
are  set  forth  the  alleged  advantages  of  the  steam-cultivator  or  digger  over  the  plow  or 
spade.  We  recommend  the  article  to  the  attention  of  American  inventors,  as  clearly  setting 
forth  the  requisite  ends  which  must  be  obtained  to  render  any  such  invention  practical  and 
successful. — Editor. 

"Turn  the  soil."  Mark  this  expression;  for  the  whole  character  and  efficiency  of  the 
machine  depends  on  this  point.  Break  up,  loosen  and  commingle  the  soil  as  much  as  you 
please,  in  preparing  a  seed-bed  for  any  crop,  but  if  weeds  and  grasses  be  left  still  green  on 
the  surface,  if  the  seeds  of  our  annual  infesting  enemies  remain  in  favorable  exposure  to  the 
vivifying  sunshine  and  feeding  dews,  your  tillage  will  be  utterly  abortive.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  ground  be  a  stubble,  bury  every  weed  and  withering  stalk,  and  you  promote  its 
decomposition  in  the  soil,  making  manure  of  what  would  otherwise  injure  as  well  as  encum- 
ber ;  if  it  be  a  sward  or  a  lea,  still  more  urgently  must  you  inter  every  blade  and  plant 
that  might  spring  up  among  your  intended  crop.  In  the  fundamental  operation  of  tillage, 
the  destruction  of  all  remnants  of  old  crops,  and  the  loosening  up  of  the  staple  for  a  succeed- 
ing one,  you  must  "turn  the  soil."  Was  it  not  for  this  very  purpose  of  burying  obnoxious 
vegetation,  and  opening  up  a  fresh  surface  of  earth,  that  plows  with  mould-boards  super- 
seded the  imperfect  scratching  instruments  of  yore  ?  Is  not  the  chief  fault  of  the  plow  itself 
that  it  does  not  completely  hide  all  surface  vegetation,  but  too  often  (especially  when  the 
plowman  is  blamable)  leaves  grass  or  other  living  growth  to  shoot  up  among  the  seams  of 
its  furrows,  and  defy  the  weeder  of  the  coming  crop  ?  For  many  tillage  purposes,  such  as 
autumn  cleansing  or  spring  grubbing,  no  such  inversion  is  needed;  but  in  the  first  and 
foundation-work  of  breaking  up  after  a  crop,  and  to  the  full  depth  of  the  intended  staple, 
you  must  "turn  the  soil."  Perhaps  an  instrument  able  to  stir  and  mix  every  portion  of  a 
deep  staple  might  be  made  to  bring  up  repeated  instalments  of  earth  long  buried,  and  thrust 
down  the  long-exposed  surface  to  take  its  place,  at  the  same  time  forking  out  root-weeds  and 
rubbish.  As  far  as  fertilization  is  concerned,  perhaps  a  frequent  commixing  of  soil  and  sub- 
soil might  suffice,  instead  of  alternate  exposure  of  each  upon  the  surface ;  but  the  considera- 
tion of  weeds  alone  inculcates  the  necessity  of  "turning  the  soil."  Therefore  we  maintain 
that  the  first  condition  of  the  society's  offer  is  well  chosen,  and  that  the  premium  will  be 
misappropriated,  in  the  opinion  of  practical  men,  if  given  to  a  machine  (no  matter  how  expert 
at  comminution)  that  cannot  entirely  bury  the  surface. 

Then  it  must  be  also  "an  economical  substitute  for  the  plow  or  the  spade."  If  there  shall 
be  an  engine  that  turns  over  furrows  effectively  at  less  cost  than  the  plow,  (first  expense 
included,)  although  it  may  be  incapable  of  any  other  labor,  give  it  the  prize.  And  should 
there  be  a  machine  unable  to  plow  at  all,  but  able  to  dig  in  as  perfect  a  manner  as  men  can 
with  spades,  if  it  will  perform  this  work  alone  more  cheaply  than  men,  it  is  entitled  to  the 
prize.  Plowing  ought  to  be  accomplished  for  less  money  than  by  horses,  and  digging  (though 
this  of  course  is  a  more  expensive  operation)  at  less  cost  than  by  men. 

The  judges  have  not  to  determine  whether  or  not  digging  a  la  spade  will  be  too  expensive 
for  the  farmer,  although  indispensable  to  the  market  gardener ;  whether  or  not  a  cheaply- 
digging  engine  would  not  inaugurate  miracles  upon  the  clays ;  but,  (useful  or  not,)  according  to 
the  terms  of  the  offer,  they  must  award  the  premium  either  to  an  engine  that  digs  more  econo- 
mically than  the  spade,  or  that  plows  more  economically  than  our  present  horse-plow. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


79 


Should  a  machine  be  produced  of  sufficient  versatile  powers  to  execute  both  shallow  work 
like  a  plow  and  deep  work  like  a  spade,  such  a  doubly-clever  contrivance  will  of  course  merit 
the  palm. 

Before  awarding  the  prize,  and  so  pronouncing  some  invention  to  be  an  "economical  sub- 
stitute" for  the  implements  with  which  to  break  up  and  invert  whole  ground,  not  merely  for 
the  grubbers  and  harrows  with  which  we  stir  and  pulverize  soil  already  broken,  let  the  judges 
well  weigh  this  point  of  "economy."  Besides  the  working  expenses,  they  must  calculate  the 
wear  and  tear  and  the  interest  of  the  first  outlay  in  purchasing  the  machine ;  and  on  the 
other  side  of  the  account  they  must  be  prepared  with  similar  estimations  of  the  charges  for 
food,  attendance,  depreciations,  £c.  attaching  to  horses  and  common  implements.  On  the 
credit  side  they  will  have  to  compare  the  excellence  or  inferiority  of  the  respective  operations, 
and  particularly  they  should  fix  a  money  value  upon  the  time  saved  in  the  performance  of  the 
work,  inasmuch  as  there  is  a  great  advantage  in  having  a  breadth  of  land  prepared  for  sow- 
ing in  less  time  than  usual,  though  the  acreage  expense  may  be  the  same;  and  any  means 
(without  incurring  any  neutralizing  disadvantage)  which  gives  the  husbandman  greater  com- 
mand over  his  soil,  and  more  independence  of  the  weather,  is  certainly  to  be  valued  jis  a  pecu- 
niary gain. 

Steam  Machinery  for  Cultivating  Land. 

THE  annexed  engraving  represents  an  English  invention,  patented  by  Mr.  John  Bethel,  of 
London,  for  adapting  steam  machinery  for  the  cultivation  or  digging  of  land  for  agricultural 
purposes. 

In  this  arrangement,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  engraving,  the  digger  is  placed  behind 
the  apparatus,  which  is  mounted  on  four 
wheel?,  and  is  intended  to  be  drawn  forward 
by  horses :  a  a  represents  the  boiler  and 
engine  supplying  the  power ;  b  b  the  lever 
frames,  at  the  outer  end  of  which  the  dig- 
ger c  c  is  located.  Motion  is  communicated 
fro'm  the  crank-shaft  d,  on  which  is  a  band- 
wheel  d,  from  whence  a  band  passes  around 
another  band-wheel  /  on  the  axle  of  the 
lever  arms  b  b.  Motion  is  by  means  of  this 
band  communicated  from  the  band- wheel/,  at  one  end  of  the  lever  arms  b,  to  a  similar  band- 
wheel/,  on  the  axle  of  the  digger- wheel  c,  at  the  opposite  end.  The  depth  to  which  the  prongs 
of  the  digger  enter  the  ground  is  regulated  by  raising  or  lowering  the  screw-shaft  r  by  means 
of  a  winch  at  its  upper  end. 


Fisker's  Steam  Plow. 

THE  London  Agricultural  Gazette  furnishes  the  following  description  of  the  construction  and 
operation/  of  a  new  steam-plow,  recently  invented  by  Messrs.  Fisker,  of  Stamfordsham,  Eng- 
land, and  exhibited  at  the  agricultural  fair  at  Carlisle,  June,  1855  : — 

"  The  whole  apparatus  is  novel,  and,  we  may  say,  uncommonly  promising.  Instead  of  a 
heavy  wire  rope  to  drag  the  plow  frame  by  main  force,  a  light  endless  hemp  rope,  only  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  thick,  communicates  power  to  the  plow  carriage,  which  we  may  call  locomo- 
tive, as  it  propels  itself  in  the  following  manner :  a  grooved  wheel  set  in  motion  by  proper 
spur-wheels  from  the  rigger  actuated  by  the  hemp  rope,  winds,  as  it  were,  along  a  strong  wire 
rope  laid  upon  the  ground ;  and  the  frame,  being  thus  carried  slowly  forward,  drags  plows  or 
other  implements  after  it.  The  hemp  cord  does  not  touch  the  ground,  but  is  held  up  at  every 
forty  yards'  distance  by  a  ;  horse,'  or  small  friction  pulley-frame,  about  three  and  a  half  feet 
high.  This  cord  travels  at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  per  hour ;  but  the  speed  being  reduced 
by  the  wheel-work  upon  the  plow  carriage,  the  latter  travels  only  two  miles  per  hour.  When 


80  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

two  plows  are  in  work  at  once,  having  the  draught  of  four  horses,  the  strain  upon  the  rapidly- 
running  cord  will  thus  be  less  than  half  a  horse's  draught.  We  were  informed  by  the  exhi- 
bitor that  a  four-horse  engine  is  sufficiently  powerful  to  work  two  plows,  and  that  with  four  hun- 
dred-weight of  coal  it  will  plow  four  acres  in  a  day,  the  expense  for  labor  being  only  that  of  two 
men  and  a  boy.  If  this  be  strictly  the  fact,  we  have  a  complete  invention  able  to  plow  light 
land  at  a  cost  of  say  3*.  per  acre.  That  it  is  not  far  from  the  truth  we  are  sure,  for  we  our- 
selves saw  one  plow  drawn  at  the  rate  of  at  least  two  miles  per  hour  when  the  engine  had  only 
seven  pounds  or  eight  pounds  pressure  upon  the  square  inch,  and  this  was  an'engine  of  six- 
horse  power  at  40  pounds  pressure.  To  be  sr:re,  the  land  had  been  previously  plowed,  pul- 
verized, subjected  to  the  trial  of  all  sorts  of  drills,  and  been  afterwards  well  trampled  by 
hundreds  of  people,  and  consolidated  with  rain,  so  that  the  possible  quantity  and  quality  of 
the  work  could  not  well  be  ascertained.  The  plowing  we  saw  was  respectably  though  roughly 
done,  but  there  was  one  point  really  performed — the  furrows  were  well  turned.  If  a  steam 
cultivator  can  invert  the  soil  thoroughly  and  cheaply,  we  may  put  up  with  a  little  imperfection 
in  the  straightness  of  cutting  and  evenness  of  laying.  The  method  of  anchoring  the  pulleys, 
and  the  arrangement  of  the  pulleys  and  ropes,  is  very  ingenious,  and  can  hardly  be  explained 
with  brevity.  The  anchorage  consists  of  a  plate  or  plow,  a  few  feet  in  length,  and  eight 
inches  only  in  depth ;  this  can  be  easily  drawn  forward  in  the  ground  without  the  trouble  of 
digging  holes,  taking  up,  setting  down  again,  &c.,  and  yet  it  presents  a  sufficient  resistance 
sideways  to  the  pull  of  the  ropes.  A  wheel,  pinion,  and  crank,  on  each  anchor  is  used  to  draw 
it  by  means  of  a  rope  towards  a  fixed  post,  when  it  is  required  to  be  shifted.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  ropes  about  the  anchored  pulleys  is  like  that  of  the  chains  in  a  travelling  crane, 
the  anchorage  being  shifted  forwards  at  intervals  without  altering  the  length  of  the  rope. 
The  plows  are  not  rigidly  attached  to  the  travelling  frame,  but  are  hung  by  short  iron  beams, 
which  form  levers,  having  a  slight  degree  of  play  up  and  down.  There  are  four  plows — two 
before  and  two  behind  the  carriage,  pointing  opposite  ways,  a  neat  lever  movement  lifting 
two  out  of  work  and  dropping  the  other  pair  of  plows  in ;  so  that  the  machine  can  plow  both 
ways  without  having  to  turn  round  at  the  land's  end." 


Boydell's  Steam  Horse,  or  "Traction  Engine." 

A  NEW  carriage  without  a  name,  but  which  is  described  as  a  sort  of  portable  railway  ma- 
chine, has  been  exhibited  in  London.  It  is  a  carriage  that  takes  its  own  railway  along  with 
it — rails,  plank-bearings,  and  all — and  keeps  putting  down  and  taking  up  its  track  as  it  pro- 
ceeds. This  strikes  one  at  first  like  the  idea  of  getting  into  a  basket  and  lifting  yourself  by 
the  handles,  but  the  editor  of  Chambers's  Journal  has  seen  the  machine  operate,  and  thus  de- 
scribes it : — 

"  It  is  evident  that  a  flat  deal-board  will  not,  weight  for  weight,  sink  so  far  down  into  a  bed 
of  mud  as  will  the  narrow  tire  of  a  cart-wheel.  It  is  evident,  too,  that  cart-wheels  may  have 
a  railway  tire  or  edge,  instead  of  an  ordinary  tire  or  edge :  and  that  a  line  of  rails  admits  of 
being  laid  down  upon  a  wooden  plank.  A  person,  likewise,  may  readily  conceive  the  idea  of 
laying  down  one  of  these  rail-planks  under  each  wheel ;  and  this,  indeed,  is  very  much  like 
what  is  ordinarily  done  in  the  construction  of  a  common  railway.  The  problem,  therefore, 
was  this :  to  construct  the  wheels  in  such  a  manner,  that  by  means  of  certain  mysterious-look- 
ing levers,  pins,  screws,  and  iron  arms,  these  railway-planks,  when  passed  over  by  the  wheels, 
should  be  taken  up  by  the  machinery,  and  laid  down  in  a  new  spot ;  and  this  problem  has 
actually  been  solved.  Each  wheel  admits  of  being  represented  as  consisting  of  a  circle  in- 
scribed within  a  hexagonal  frame  of  flat  boards,  each  furnished  with  railway-trimmings.  If 
the  hexagonal  frame  be  supposed  cut  or  divided  into  six  component  planks,  one  of  these 
planks  laid  down  beneath  each  carriage-wheel,  and  the  carriage  itself  pushed  forward,  there 
would  be  supplied  for  it  a  short  railway,  having  a  length  equal  to  the  length  of  each  plank ; 
and  the  carriage  having  run  on  to  the  extremity  of  the  rail-planks,  might  easily  be  transferred 
to  another  pair,  if  they  could  be  placed  in  due  opposition  with  the  last.  In  this  manner,  by 
means  of  two  sets  of  alternating  planks,  the  carriage  might  be  made  to  run  to  any  required 
distance.  Now,  this  is  just  that  which  is  accomplished  by  the  rotation  of  the  wheels  them- 


AGRICULTURAL   MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  81 

selves  in  the  carriage  under  consideration ;  only,  instead  of  the  alternation  of  two  pair  of 
planks  merely,  the  changes  are  played  on  no  less  than  six  pair,  one  pair  alone  being  in  plane 
contact  with  the  underlying  ground  at  one  time." 

This  machine  was  exhibited  at  the  recent  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society, 
Carlisle,  England.  Mr.  S.  W.  Johnson,  of  the  N.  Y.  Country  Gentleman,  who  witnessed  its 
operations,  speaks  of  it  as  follows : — 

"  It  seems  to  involve  a  valuable  principle,  and  excites  vast  interest.  I  did  not  see  it  in 
operation,  but  saw  a  one-horse  cart  with  wheels  rigged  on  the  same  plan,  which  was  pretty 
heavily  loaded  with  tiles,  and  driven  about,  backed,  and  turned  short,  over  ridged  and  recently- 
plowed  land,  and  its  action  was  very  good.  I  doubt  if  the  load  would  have  been  nearly  so 
easily  drawn  with  a  common  cart.  In  crossing  the  dead  furrows,  the  shoes  in  a  manner 
bridged  the  hollow,  not  allowing  the  wheels  to  run  so  low  as  they  must  have  done  otherwise. 
This  cart  is  of  course  mainly  intended  for  soft  or  plowed  land,  and  doubtless  it  will  not  be 
long  in  becoming  useful  and  used." 

Farm  Steam-Engine. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  Scientific  American,  writing  from  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  states  that  a 
portable  steam-engine  for  driving  a  grain-separator  and  thrasher,  has  been  constructed  in  that 
place  and  in  operation  since  the  5th  of  last  July,  thrashing  and  cleaning  from  five  to  six  hun- 
dred bushels  per  day.  It  is  capable  of  doing  more  than  this,  but  H.  Wade — for  whom  it  was 
built — says  that  this  is  excellent  work.  The  boiler  is  tubular ;  the  cylinder  is  of  six  inches 
bore  and  twelve  inches  stroke.  It  makes  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  revolutions  per  minute, 
with  steam  at  forty  pounds  pressure,  and  does  more  work  than  any  common  thrashing  machine 
driven  by  eight  horses.  It  is  placed  on  broad  tread-wheels,  four  feet  in  diameter,  is  easily 
drawn  from  place  to  place  by  two  horses,  with  the  boiler  filled,  and  is  very  economical  in  the 
use  of  fuel.  This  engine  is  capable  of  driving  various  agricultural  machines  and  sawing 
firewood  for  the  family. 

Improvements  in  Rotary  Spades  and  Diggers. 

Gibbs's  and  Mapes's  Rotary  Spade. — This  machine,  the  invention  of  Mr.  L.  H.  Gibbs,  of 
Washington,  and  Professor  Mapes,  consists  of  two  cast-iron  circular  plates,  about  two  inches 
apart ;  and  working  between  them  are  eight  stout,  narrow,  wrought-iron  teeth,  curved  some- 
what like  the  old-fashioned  cultivator  teeth.  These  teeth  are  hung,  and  have  a  trigger  to  throw 
them  out  as  the  machine  revolves.  A  yoke  of  oxen  are  sufficient  to  draw  the  machine,  and  as  it 
progresses  each  tooth  in  succession  is  pressed  into  the  earth  by  the  weight  of  the  machine : 
and,  when  the  weight  falls  upon  the  trigger,  the  tooth  is  thrown  out  with  its  load  of  earth, 
which  is  thus  mixed  and  pulverized  as  thoroughly  as  if  forked  over.  The  two  wheels  cut  a 
furrow  about  two  feet  wide  and  nine  inches  deep,  which  can  be  increased  to  any  desired  width 
and  depth.  It  requires  no  holding,  yet  is  provided  with  handles  so  fixed  as  to  throw  the 
machine  out  of  the  ground. 

Gibson's  Digging  Machine. — This  implement,  an  English  invention,  which  has  recently,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  come  into  use,  consists  of  a  number  of  cylinders,  of  about  three  and  a  half 
inches  in  diameter  and  six  inches  long,  revolving  on  a  fixed  axle.  On  each  of  the  cylinders  is 
cast  a  disc,  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  which  is  furnished  with  ten  teeth  or  prongs  of  mal- 
leable iron  or  steel,  of  a  curved  or  cat-claw  form,  springing  from  its  periphery,  and  which, 
partly  by  the  weight  of  the  implement  and  partly  by  the  strain  of  draught,  is  forced  into  the 
ground,  and,  as  the  implement  advances,  digs  or  forces  up  the  soil ;  in  fact,  each  prong  per- 
forms precisely  the  office  of  a  pick  or  hack  in  loosening  the  soil.  This  forking-up  or  loosen- 
ing of  the  soil  is  not  the  only  important  office  of  the  implement ;  but  from  the  curved  form  of 
the  teeth,  it  brings  all  roots  and  fibrous  matter  within  the  depth  of  its  operation  to  the  sur- 
face ;  thus  producing  a  clean  as  well  as  a  free  tillage,  or  at  once  acting  most  effectively  as  a 
grubber  in  bringing  up  root-weeds,  and  at  the  same  time  performing  the  most  important 
function  of  the  plow  in  aerating  the  soil.  The  implement  is  mounted  on  a  strong  frame, 

6 


82  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICc  LTi  uK. 

partly  of  cast  and  partly  of  malleable  iron,  and  furnished  with  a  simple  but  most  ingenious 
apparatus  for  regulating  the  depth  of  its  working  in  the  soil. 

Samuelson's  Rotary  Digger, — This  invention,  by  Mr.  B.  Samuelson,  of  Banbury,  England, 
consists  of  a  simple  frame,  running  on  two  wheels,  which,  in  their  revolution,  cause  a  series 
of  forks  or  prongs  to  loosen  and  pulverize  the  earth  to  a»  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches,  and 
over  a  width  of  three  feet.  Five  or  six  horses,  according  to  the  state  of  the  soil,  attended  by 
two  men,  are  able  to  work  over  five  or  six  acres  a  day.  As  the  prongs  coine  round,  they 
bring  up  the  soil  and  let  it  fall  backward  hi  a  well-pulverized  and  mixed  state ;  and  to  keep 
them  free  from  earth,  each  circle  of  prongs  works  between  a  corresponding  set  of  stationary 
clearing-teeth  on  the  frame.  This  machine  has  been  extensively  introduced  into  Scotland ;  and 
the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  awarded  it  a  silver  medal  after  a  thorough  trial  at 
Gloucester.  The  depth  of  entrance  of  the  prongs  is  adjusted  by  a  handle,  geared  to  a  pinion, 
working  in  a  segmental  tooth-rack  on  the  framework.  It  will  be  readily  apparent  that  this 
machine  will  pulverize  the  soil  more  effectually  than  the  plow  and  the  harrow.  The  only 
objection  to  it  is  the  great  amount  of  power  necessary  to  operate  it;  but  this  may  be  obviated 
by  reducing  the  width  of  the  machine  or  simplifying  the  machinery.  It  will  undoubtedly  be 
many  years  before  an  implement  of  this  sort  will  supersede  the  time-honored  plow ;  but  the 
principle  of  digging  the  soil  and  reducing  it  to  a  finer  tilth  than  it  is  possible  for  the  plow  to 
do,  is  fully  established.— Country  Gentleman. 


The  Plow.— An  Improvement  Wanted. 

IN  the  report  of  a  lecture  by  the  Professor  of  Agriculture  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
we  find  the  following  remarks,  which  contain  a  suggestion  well  deserving  of  consideration. 
To  indicate  and  point  attention  to  a  want  is,  at  all  events,  one  of  the  most  likely  ways  of  ob- 
taining a  supply. 

Although  the  necessities  of  man  compel  him  to  use  the  plow  in  preference  to  the  spade,  it 
is  admitted  by  all  that  the  work  done  by  the  two  implements  is  of  a  very  different  character — 
the  plow  leaving  the  soil  in  a  condition  far  less  suited  to  the  purposes  of  vegetation  than  the 
spade.  This  is  more  prominent  on  heavy  soils  than  on  light.  By  the  operation  of  the  spade 
the  soil  is  left  loose,  the  original  surface  with  its  weeds  and  exhausted  mould  being  completely 
buried,  and  a  fresh  surface  exposed.  But  the  plow  is  a  tool  of  a  rougher  nature.  It  is,  in 
reality,  a  wedge  forcibly  dragged  through  the  soil  at  a  certain  depth,  lifting  up  that  portion 
which  is  above  it,  at  the  expense  of  making  that  which  is  below  it  more  compact,  this  latter 
receiving  virtually  all  the  force  required  for  the  separation.  The  consequence  is,  that  more 
or  less,  according  to  the  soil,  this  lower  surface  is  compressed  to  such  a  degree  as  to  leave  a 
dense  and  compact  surface,  through  which  the  roots  of  plants  must  find  it  difficult  or  im- 
possible to  penetrate.  The  furrow-slice,  too,  instead  of  being  completely  inverted,  is  not 
turned  over  to  more  than  one-half  or  three-fourths  of  the  way ;  the  surface  weeds  are  imper- 
fectly buried,  and  the  soil  is  not  changed  to  the  same  extent  as  by  the  spade. 

The  great  desideratum  in  practical  agriculture  is,  therefore,  to  obtain  an  implement  that 
shall  have,  like  the  plow,  the  capability  of  doing  a  large  amount  of  work;  and  like  the 
spade,  of  doing  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  satisfy  those  conditions  which  we  consider  desi- 
rable for  the  purposes  of  successful  cultivation.  Many  implements  and  machines  have 
been  constructed,  and  much  skill  and  ingenuity  from  time  to  time  expended  in  the  endeavor 
to  realize  this  great  desideratum ;  hitherto,  however,  the  results  have  not  been  very  satisfac- 
tory. In  no  form  of  it  does  the  plow  cultivate  thoroughly ;  it  requires  to  be  followed  by 
roller,  or  harrow,  or  other  tools,  to  complete  the  work,  which,  after  all,  is  not  so  well  done  as 
by  one  operation  of  the  spade. 

What  we  want  is  not  flowing  so  much  as  cultivation,  or  that  process  of  disintegrating  and 
fitting  the  soil  which  the  farmer  by  necessity  performs  by  three,  four,  or  five  separate  opera- 
tions, and  then  not  so  effectually  as  the  gardener  accomplishes  in  one. — Country  Gentleman. 


AGRICULTURAL   MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  83 

Plowing.— Amount  of  Travel. 

THE  amount  of  work  required  on  a  given  surface  varies,  of  course,  -with  the  condition  of 
the  soil.  Certain  parts  of  the  vrork  may,  however,  be  accurately  calculated.  In  the  Soil 
of  the  South,  a  table  is  given  showing  the  space  travelled  in  plowing  an  acre,  with  a  given 
width  for  the  furrow.  These  calculations  are  approximations  to  the  truth,  but  not  quite 
accurate.  In  plowing  a  field  500  feet  square,  more  than  500  feet  must  be  "  travelled"  in  by 
the  team,  or  even  by  the  plowman.  The  team  must  travel  at  least  10  feet  at  each  end  beyond 
the  termination  of  the  furrow.  Taking  this  estimate  as  accurate,  and  supposing  the  field  to 
be  square,  (for  with  the  shape  of  the  field  the  number  of  furrows  and  the  "space  travelled" 
will  be  materially  changed,)  and  the  breadth  of  the  furrow  seven  inches,  the  distance  tra- 
velled by  the  team  in  plowing  one  acre  will  be  about  15f  miles  instead  of  14£,  as  in  the  table. 
With  a  "furrow-slice  14  inches"  the  travel  will  not  be,  of  course,  "seven  miles,"  as  given  in 
the  table,  but  something  more  than  7J,  and  so  on.  The  calculation,  thus  corrected,  may  be 
of  some  interest.  The  table,  as  given,  is  as  follows : — 

Breadth  of  furrow-slice.  Space  travelled  in  plowing  an  acre. 

7  inches 14J  miles. 

8  "     12i       " 

9  «     11         « 

10  "  9A  " 

11  «  9  « 

12  "  8i  " 

13  «  .„ 7*  " 

By  this  rate  of  calculation,  a  furrow  once  in 

2|  feet 3|  miles. 

3      "  :  2J      « 

Hall's  Side-Hill  Plow. 


THE  peculiarity  of  this  side-hill  plow  is,  that  the  beam  and  handles  together  turn  round 
upon  a  pivot  formed  of  the  top  of  the  standard.  The  share  has  a  straight  land-side,  two  feet 
ten  inches  long,  with  points  at  each  end  exactly  alike.  Suppose  you  are  turning  a  right- 
hand  furrow,  and  wish  to  change  to  the  left ;  you  give  a  rod  under  the  right  handle  a  little 
jog,  which  unlooses  a  catch,  and  you  walk  round  with  the  handle  in  your  hand  until  the 
beam  points  directly  the  other  way :  now,  pull  the  rod  and  close  the  catch,  stoop  over  and 
give  the  mould-board  a  flap,  and  it  turns  back,  bottom  up,  disclosing  another  under  it  exactly 
like  the  first,  also  bottom  up,  and  pointing  forward :  turn  this  also,  and  you  have  before  you 
a  perfect  plow — the  reversed  mould-board  lying  under  the  other,  quite  out  of  the  way,  and  the 
reverse  point  forming  the  heel  of  the  land-side.  The  length  of  beam  in  this  description  of 
plow  is  four  feet ;  handles,  four  feet  six  inches  ;  width  of  share,  nine  inches ;  length  from 
point  to  upper  angle  of  wing,  two  feet  nine  inches ;  length  of  wing  from  the  joint  to  upper 
end,  one  foot  seven  inches ;  height  of  standard,  one  foot  two  inches  ;  height  of  fin-cutter, 
nine  inches.  This  plow  was  invented  and  patented  by  L.  Hall,  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.,  and  is 
called  the  "  Patent  Hill-side,  or  Flat-land  Swivel-beam  and  Double-flapped  Mould-board  Cast- 


84  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

iron  Plow."  This  plow  can  be  operated  by  a  small  boy,  the  share,  which  rolls  under  in 
changing  from  side  to  side,  being  easily  shifted.  We  think  it  must  prove  to  all  interested  a 
most  acceptable  improvement. 

Plow  Cultivator. 

THE  accompanying  engravings  represent  an  improved  plow  cultivator,  or  horse-hoe,  re- 
cently invented  by  W.  S.  Hyde,  of  Ohio,  and  H.  Wright,  of  South  Byron,  New  York. 

Fig-  1. 


Fig.  1  is  a  perspective  view,  and  fig.  2  is  a  section,  showing  one  of  the  adjustable  wings 
connected  with  the  plow-shoe.  A  is  the  beam ;  B  is  the  plow-shoe  ;  D  D  are  two  adjustable 
cultivator  teeth  behind  the  shoe ;  and  C  C  are  the  adjustable  wings.  Infiff.  2,  c  c  represents 
two  slots  in  each  wing,  and  b  b  are  screw-bolts  to  secure  the  wings  in  these  slots.  The  wings 
C  C  are  flaring,  and  designed  for  hilling-up ;  consequently,  as  they  can  be  adjusted  by  the 
slots  c  c  and  the  bolts  further  in  or  out  on  the  plow-shoe,  they  are  rendered  fit  to  hill-up  high 
or  low,  and  made  suitable  for  narrow  and  wide  rows.  The  bar  which  connects  the  two  culti- 
vator teeth  D  D  has  bolts  which  also  work  in  slots  in  their  respective  legs,  and  they  swivel  at 
the  top ;  consequently,  they  can  be  set  near  and  wide  apart,  to  cut  as  close  to  the  rows  as 
may  be  desired. 

To  use  this  plow  cultivator,  the  ground  should  be  plowed  deep,  well  harrowed,  and  marked 
both  ways  with  a  good  marker.  As  soon  as  the  rows  can  be  seen,  commence  using  the  imple- 
ment. Take  off  the  wings  from  the  shovel,  and  do  not  use  them  while  the  crop  is  small.  Set 
the  teeth  to  run  as  near  the  hills  as  possible  ;  to  work  fast,  have  a  man  or  boy  follow  while 
crossing,  when  the  corn  is  small.  As  soon  as  the  corn  is  a  foot  or  more  high,  put  on  the 
wings,  and  set  them  level  on  the  lower  edge ;  and  as  the  crop  grows,  set  the  hind  teeth  nearer 
together.  To  hill-up  any  crop,  take  off  the  woodwork  to  which  the  teeth  are  attached,  and 
you  have  a  most  perfect  implement  for  hilling.  It  is  designed  for  corn,  cotton,  or  any  crop 
requiring  to  be  hoed. 

Mapes's  Lifting  Subsoil  Plow. 

THIS  new  implement  is  so  constructed  as  to  elevate  the  soil  for  a  short  distance,  but  from 
a  great  depth,  its  whole  force  being  upward  and  outward,  like  the  action  of  a  mole  on  its 
superincumbent  soil ;  and  although  the  greatest  width  of  the  plow  itself  is  but  eight  inches, 
still,  when  running  at  a  depth  of  fifteen  inches,  it  renders  the  soil  finely  divided  to  a  width 
of  four  feet  at  the  surface,  and  without  elevating  the  subsoil  or  turning  over  the  surface-soil. 
It  may,  therefore,  be  used  to  renew  old  meadows,  where  the  grass-roots  have  become  too 
compact  for  vigorous  growth ;  for  it  will  lift  the  sod  one  or  two  inches  with  a  foot  of  soil 
attached,  the  cut  through  which  the  plow  passes  closing  behind  it  in  its  course,  and  loosening 
the  soil  around  every  grass-root,  thus  giving  free  admission  to  atmosphere,  rains,  dews,  etc. 


AGRICULTURAL    MECHANICS  AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  85 

When  used  in  corn-culture,  it  may  be  run  through  in  striking  out  for  the  corn,  leaving  the 
soil  finely  pulverized  to  a  great  depth  immediately  where  the  roots  will  form ;  and,  after  the 
corn  is  ready  for  the  first  hoeing  or  cultivating,  this  lifting  plow  may  be  run  half-way  be- 
tween the  rows,  loosening  the  whole  distance,  and  causing  every  corn-plant  to  wave  as  it 
passes  along.  When  used  strictly  as  a  subsoil  plow,  it  is  moved  by  a  separate  team  following 
the  surface-plow,  and  entering  twelve  inches  below  the  bottom  of  the  surface-furrow,  under- 
cutting the  land-side  so  that  the  next  surface-cut  will  crack  down  to  the  subsoil  track,  and 
requiring  less  power  for  its  accomplishment,  while  the  turned  furrow-slice  on  the  other  side 
of  the  plow,  by  its  under-running,  is  slightly  lifted  and  rendered  pulverulent. 

Improved  Ditching  Plow. 

THE  peculiarities  of  a  new  ditching  plow,  invented  by  John  Lyon,  of  Farmington,  Iowa, 
consist  in  a  new  and  useful  arrangement  of  mechanism,  so  as  to  constitute  a  machine  for 
throwing  up  embankments  in  forming  roads  and  foundations  for  fences,  and  for  making  open 
drains.  Its  construction  is  as  follows :  To  a  triangular-shaped  frame  a  plow  is  attached, 
resembling  in  construction  an  ordinary  plow,  except  the  mould-board,  which  is  so  shaped 
that,  instead  of  turning  a  furrow  over,  it  merely  passes  under  the  soil,  and  raises  it  to  a  suffi- 
cient inclination  to  be  deposited  upon  an  endless  conveyor  as  fast  as  it  is  cut  up.  The  mould- 
board  has  one  of  its  side  edges  raised  slightly  higher  than  the  other,  so  that  the  dirt  will 
always  clear  the  frame,  and  fall  upon  the  endless  conveyor,  placed  behind  and  at  right  angles 
to  the  land-side  of  the  plow.  This  is  composed  of  slats  attached  to  two  endless  chains,  and  is 
thus  made  flexible.  The  connects  1  ^l.iN  are  arranged  upon  revolving  rollers,  and  move  in  a 
manner  similar  to  an  endless-chain  horse-power.  Guide-boards  are  also  attached  to  the  con- 
veyor, for  the  purpose  of  confining  the  dirt.  By  the  conveyor,  the  dirt  is  taken  from  the 
plow  and  deposited  in  the  place  di'Mred,  cither  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  road  or  founda- 
tions for  fences.  By  thus^receiving  the  dirt,  and  depositing  it  at  right  angles  to  the  plow,  a 
road  of  any  length  can  be  formed  with  great  ease  and  despatch.  By  raising  and  lowering  a 
lever  connected  with  the  attachment  of  the  plow  to  the  frame,  the  plow  can  be  adjusted  so 
as  to  cut  more  or  less  deep. 

The  operation  of  the  plow  is  as  follows :  As  the  machine  advances,  the  plow  enters  the 
ground  and  raises  the  soil,  which  is  forced,  as  the  operation  proceeds,  upon  the  endless  con- 
veyor, and  carried  by  the  same  as  it  revolves  at  right  angles  to  the  line  of  travel,  and  dis- 
charged at  the  end  of  the  conveyor  in  a  continuous  stream,  where  it  is  laid  either  to  form  a 
road  or  foundation  for  fences. 


Planting  Plow. 

THE  annexed  engraving  represents  a  planting  plow,  for  which  a  patent  was  granted  to  B. 
M.  Snell,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1  - 

The  nature  of  the  improvement  consists  in  constructing  a  planting  plow,  by  combining 
a  plow,  resembling  a  subsoil  one,  with  a  seed-dropping  apparatus,  operated  by  the  wheel  of 
the  plow,  for  the  purpose  of  depositing  the  seed  under  the  surface  in  the  soft  and  pre- 
pared bed. 

A  is  the  beam,  from  which  descends  the  stock  or  coulter-post  B ;  c  is  the  coulter ;  the 
share  is  secured  on  the  post,  B  ;  E  is  a  bar  extending  from  the  rear  of  the  share  and  united 
to  an  upright  F,  whose  upper  end  passes  through  the  rear  of  the  beam.  This  upright  is 
furnished  with  holes  and  a  pin,  by  which  the  plow  is  made  to  plant  deep  or  shallow,  as 
required. 

The  seeding-apparatus  consists  of  a  hopper  G  and  dropping-tube  H,  secured  by  a  strap 
I  to  the  upright  F  and  to  the  end  of  the  beam.  This  hopper  has  a  sliding  bottom  and 
hole  therein,  which  when  the  slide  is  forced  in,  an  opening  is  made  for  the  passage  of  the 
seed  into  the  tube.  On  the  back  of  the  hopper  and  dropping-tube  is  secured  the  axis  of  a 
pair  of  wheels,  k,  (one  shown,)  one  of  which  is  furnished  with  a  cam  or  angular  striker  that 
forces  in  the  slide  of  the  hopper  on  each  rotation  of  the  wheel. 


86  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


The  object  of  this  improvement  is  to  create  a  soft  bed  for  the  reception  of  the  seed  in  the 
earth,  •without  the  disadvantage  attending  the  open  furrow  made  when  the  soil  is  thrown  out, 
and  the  frequent  deposition  of  the  seed  on  a  hard  soil  or  bed,  and,  of  course,  disadvantageous^ 
to  its  growth ;  also,  to  obviate  a  difficulty  in  planting  corn  on  a  hill-side,  wherein  the  open  fur- 
row made  is  liable  to  create  a  wash  of  the  land  in  heavy  rains,  occurring  soon  after  planting, 
which  frequently  renders  replanting  necessary,  besides  the  loss  of  soil  where  most  needed. 
By  this  improvement,  all  the  properties  of  a  light  bed  and  retention  of  the  fertilizing  pro- 
perty of  the  manure  is  obtained,  particularly  where  such  as  guano  or  other  volatile  manure  is 
used,  as  it  is  not  thrown  to  the  surface,  as  would  be  the  case  if  the  ordinary  tine  or  small 
mould-board  planter  were  used. 

Various  Recent  Improvements  in  the  Construction  of  Plows. 

Williams' s  Lever  Plow. — This  improved  plow,  the  invention  of  Mr.  Williams,  of  England,  is 
built  on  an  open  rectangular  frame,  supported  by  two  fixed  front  wheels  and  a  rear  swivel- 
ling wheel ;  on  each  end  of  the  frame  are  vertical  guides  to  receive  the  ends  of  a  set  of  lever- 
beams,  which  have  attached  to  them  whatever  plows  or  cultivators  may  be  desired.  Pro- 
vision is  made  for  altering  the  depth  of  the  plow's  penetration,  by  means  of  chains  attached 
to  the  lever-beams,  and  passing  over  bearing  pulleys,  and  thence  to  a  lever-handle  at  the 
stern  of  the  plow.  By  turning  this  handle,  the  plowman  can  give  any  required  depth  of  cut, 
or  he  can  take  the  cultivating  parts  clear *out  of  the  ground.  A  front  frame-piece,  to  which 
the  chain-pulleys  are  attached,  has  a  cross  transverse  action,  so  as  to  give  the  cultivators  a 
power  of  deviating  from  the  straight  line  of  working. 

New  Subsoil  and  Trench  Plow. — At  the  recent  exhibition  of  implements  by  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society,  at  Carlisle,  England,  a  silver  medal  was  awarded  for  a  new  subsoil  and 
trench  plow,  invented  by  Cotgreave.  This  implement  combines  the  common  plow,  trench  plow, 
and  subsoil  plow  in  one,  and  is  capable  of  tilling  the  land  to  any  required  depth  from  ten  to 
eighteen  inches.  To  the  beam  of  the  plow  is  attached  a  foot  for  regulating  the  width  and  depth 
of  the  furrows,  to  which  are  affixed  revolving  discs,  acting  both  as  coulters  and  wheels  ;  this 
is  followed  by  the  part  resembling  the  common  plow,  to  be  again  succeeded  by  the  trench 
plow,  which  brings  the  soil  up  an  inclined  plane  to  the  surface ;  lastly,  the  subsoiler  comes 
into  operation,  pulverizing  the  subsoil  the  required  depth.  It  is  worked  by  four  horses. 

In  connection  with  this  plow,  there  was  exhibited  a  new  subsoiler,  invented  by  Lord  Beau- 
clerc.  The  subsoil  is  stirred  by  means  of  a  so-called  Archimedean  screw;  it  is  a  revolving 
iron  shaft,  of  about  a  foot  in  length,  on  which  are  spirally  arranged  a  number  of  stout  spikes ; 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  87 

the  axis  of  this  shaft  runs  lengthwise  of  the  plow,  and,  as  the  implement  is  drawn  along,  it  is 
set  in  motion  by  the  spikes,  which,  it  would  seem,  must  pulverize  the  soil  in  the  best  manner. 
Warlick's  Improved  Plow. — A  plow  improvement,  patented  April  4th,  1855,  by  Noah  War- 
liek,  of  Lafayette,  Alabama,  has  for  its  object  the  augmentation  of  the  strength  of  plows 
without  adding  to  their  weight,  so  as  to  make  them  better  adapted  for  operating  in  rough, 
stony,  and  rooty  lands.  It  has  a  Y-shaped  brace,  with  its  point  to  bear  on  the  ground  when 
required,  and  to  give  support  to  the  plow,  and  enable  it  to  be  used  as  a  crowbar  or  lever  with 
safety,  for  prying  up  stones,  stumps,  roots,  &c. 

Plow  Standards. — A  patent  has  been  granted  to  George  Easterly,  of  Heart  Prairie,  Wis- 
consin, for  a  peculiarly-constructed  plow  standard,  so  arranged  that  mould-boards  of  different 
sizes  may  be  secured  to  it ;  likewise,  shares  of  different  thicknesses,  to  adapt  it  for  plowing 
different  soils.  The  improvement  is,  therefore,  designed  to  make  one  plow  more  universal  in 
its  application  to  different  kinds  of  work. 


Plows  without  Plowmen. 

UPON  the  occasion  of  the  recent  presentation  of  a  plow  to  Hon.  H.  L.  Ellsworth,  of  In- 
diana, as  an  acknowledgment  of  services  rendered  to  American  agriculture,  Mr.  E.  stated, 
that,  in  all  his  farming  operations,  he  had  dispensed  witli  the  plowman  so  far  as  it  relates  to 
holding  the  stilts.  He  said,  "  For  years  no  one  has  held  my  plow  or  dropped  the  corn.  My 
plow-beam  obtains  its  .-u-i-linr-s  by  being  attached  to  an  axle  or  two  mole-wheels;  and  a 
wheel  of  eighteen  inches  diameter,  made  of  one  and  a  half-inch  board,  having  an  artificial 
finger  fastened  at  one  side,  that  dips  into  a  measure  of  corn  at  each  revolution,  deposits  the 
seed,  which  is  covered  by  the  next  furrow." 

Gang  Plow. 

THE  annexed  engraving  represents  a  gang  plow,  invented  by  G.  W.  IliMreth,  of  Lockport, 
New  York.  It  is  made  entirely  of  iron,  except  the  pole  to  draw  by.  The  main  frame  is  in 


'  -^- — _-^™ —  .^> -1— -    - 

the  form  of  a  triangular  ellipse  A,  for  the  purpose  of  shrinking  on  a  wrought-iron  band,  to 
make  it  of  any  desired  strength.  The  forward  end  of  the  said  frame  rides  on  an  axletree, 
connected  by  a  king-bolt  and  bolster-plates  D,  allowing  it  to  turn  freely.  The  pole  is  attached 
by  a  device,  which  the  driver  can  easily  change,  to  make  the  gang  run  more  or  less  to  land, 
which  pole  guides  the  whole  gang  with  precision,  by  the  off-horse  walking  in  the  furrow,  and 
it  requires  no  holding.  The  wheels  E  E  are  large,  and  can  be  easily  changed  so  as  to  carry 
the  plow  clear  of  the  ground,  in  moving  from  one  field  to  another,  and  also  to  run  the  poles 
B  B  B  any  desired  depth  in  the  ground,  from  one  to  six  inches,  cutting  and  turning  the  whole 
surface  clean.  The  gang  will  turn  round  without  being  touched  by  the  hand,  on  a  circle  of 
three  feet  radius,  and  by  lifting  the  rear  end  by  the  handle  F,  it  will  turn  at  right  angles. 
The  plows  are  made  strong,  and  ground  smooth,  and  are  made  on  a  sharp  angle ;  they 


88 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


draw  light  and  score  easy,  and  are  locked  to  the  frame  by  a  hook  tongue  and  groove  C  C  C, 
and  one  carriage-bolt,  which  bolt  is  the  weakest  part  of  the  fastening ;  and  in  case  of  run- 
ning hard  against  any  obstacle,  where  something  must  break,  the  bolt  will  break  first,  merely 
letting  the  plow  drop  off.  A  new  bolt,  costing  less  than  five  cents,  repairs  the  break  per- 
fectly. The  inventors  say  of  it : 

"  This  implement  is  designed  for  all  kinds  of  crop-plowing  or  summer  fallow ;  also  for 
plowing  corn,  oats,  and  barley  stubble,  and  fitting  land  for  seed  generally.  It.  is  a  good  im- 
plement for  covering  all  kinds  of  seed  sown  broadcast;  it  has  been  used  in  almost  every 
variety  of  soil,  and  has  given  universal  satisfaction.  It  is  well  adapted  to  the  soil  in  the 
Western  States  and  the  plantations  of  the  South.  It  works  first-rate  in  muck,  clay,  and 
gravel.  The  material  of  which  this  plow  is  made,  being  iron,  is  strong  and  durable ;  the 
wheels  are  large,  and  having  wrought-iron  spokes  and  tire,  are  strong  and  light ;  it  affords 
facility  for  changing  the  depth  of  the  plows,  and  changing  the  quantity  of  land ;  it  requires 
no  holding,  and  is  easily  turned  round ;  a  boy  that  can  drive  the  off-horse  in  the  furrow  can 
do  as  good  work  as  a  plowman ;  and  it  will  work  hard  land  that  cannot  be  worked  with  a 
cultivator.  The  shears  cut  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground,  and  turns  it  over ;  it  is  very 
convenient  for  carrying  off  loose  stones  from  the  field  while  plowing." 


Improved  Rotary  Cultivator. 

THE  annexed  engravings  represent  an  improved  rotary  cultivator,  the  invention  of  H.  M. 
Johnson,  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania. 

Fig.  1.  Fig.  2. 


Fig.  1  represents  the  machine  in  perspective,  and  fig.  2  represents  a  section,  the  nature  of 
which  will  be  shown  in  the  following  description : — 

It  is  only  within  the  past  three  or  four  years  that  this  class  of  agricultural  implements 
has  appeared  to  dispute  the  ground  so  long  occupied  by  the  ordinary  cultivator  in  general 
use ;  and  in  England,  where  so  much  attention  is  bestowed  upon  this  important  branch  of 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  89 

industry,  we  notice  the  very  general  introduction  of  the  rotary  cultivator.  This  improve- 
ment seems  to  present  some  advantages  which  are  worthy  of  attention ;  and  to  render  it 
more  clear  to  the  general  reader,  we  will  describe  its  construction : — 

The  frame  A  B  supports  three  sets  of  coulter  or  toothed  wheels ;  the  first  set,  a  a,  are 
merely  circular  rotary  coulters,  and  are  made  of  the  usual  plow  steel,  or,  for  general  pur- 
poses, of  cast  iron,  as  thin  as  is  consistent  with  due  strength  ;  they  are  bevelled  to  an  edge, 
and  at  the  height  of  the  bevel  are  slightly  thicker  than  in  the  interior  part,  to  lessen  friction. 
Their  distance  apart  may  vary  to  suit  the  soil  intended  to  be  cut  through. 

The  second  and  third  sets,  b  b  and  c  c,  are  so  placed  as  to  come  alternately  in  the  centre 
of  the  sections  made  by  the  first  set,  and  consist  of  a  coulter  precisely  like  those  of  the  first 
set  a  a  ;  their  edges  are  set  with  wings  or  knives  w  w,  projecting  laterally  at  such  an  angle, 
that,  as  the  wheel  revolves  and  advances,  they  descend  edgewise  with  the  least  practical  re- 
sistance, and  come  up  flatwise,  bringing  up  the  earth  from  the  bottom  of  the  cut. 

The  inclination  of  these  knives,  and  the  effect  of  their  position,  is  shown  \nfig.  2,  in  which 
the  lines  op  show  the  direction  of  the  plane  of  the  knives,  and  their  length  is  equal  to  the 
space  between  the  coulter  a  a,  so  as  to  cut  up  all  the  earth  as  the  machine  passes  over  it. 

The  advantage  of  the  circular  form  of  knife  is,  that  all  hard  substances,  such  as  loose 
stones,  are  pressed  one  side,  and  they  are  made  adjustable,  so  that  if  one  breaks,  it  may  be 
conveniently  replaced.  The  patent  provides  for  an  increase  of  the  coulters  or  wheels,  and 
also  for  the  attachment  of  the  cultivator  to  a  carriage,  whereby  it  may  be  raised  and  lowered 
at  pleasure  when  formidable  obstacles  are  presented ;  and  each  coulter  or  wheel  may  have  a 
separate  axle,  and  play  up  and  down  under  the  pressure  of  a  weight  or  spring,  thus  readily 
adjusting  itself  to  uneven  surfaces. 

Trial  of  Plows  at  the  Paris  Exhibition, 

DURING  the  progress  of  the  National  Exhibition  at  Purls,  during  the  past  summer,  a  trial 
of  the  various  plows  exhibited  was  made.  The  one  found  most  effective  was  an  English 
plow,  contributed  by  Messrs.  Howard,  of  Bedford,  England.  This  plow,  as  carefully  tested 
by  the  dynamometer,  on  clover  sod,  being  drawn  by  two  smartly-walking  horses,  turned  a 
furrow  ten  inches  wide  and  six  and  a  half  deep  with  a  medium  draught  of  only  one  hundred 
and  eighty-two  pounds,  or  a  little  more  than  half  its  own  weight,  (over  three  hundred 
pounds.)  There  are  a  good  many  men  who  could  draw  this  plow  at  that  gait,  and  almost 
any  two  men  could  easily  do  it.  There  were  no  plows  entered  from  the  United  States,  there 
being  none  on  exhibition  ;  but  one  from  Canada  was  tried,  and  did  good  work.  Most  of  the 
plows  entered  from  the  continent  proved  beneath  contempt,  as  was  to  be  expected.  Some 
of  them  required  over  quadruple  the  power  to  propel  them  that  was  exacted  by  the  winner ;  and 
one  from  Austria,  that  was  confidently  bragged  on  before  the  trial,  actually  twisted  around, 
broke  off,  and  gave  up  the  ghost,  in  light  clover  soil,  free  from  root  or  stone,  and  with  but  a 
single  span  of  horses  before  it. — New  York  Tribune. 

Knox's  Horse-Hoe. 

THE  construction  of  this  hoe  may  be  understood  by  conceiving  of  the  handles  and  beam  of 
an  ordinary  plow,  having  two  pieces  of  wood  running  backward  from  its  sides,  letter  A-fashion, 
at  a  point  near  the  place  where  the  horse  is  to  be  attached  to  the  beam.  At  the  point  of  the 
main  beam  in  which  these  two  sides  meet  is  a  cimetar-cutter  or  coulter,  the  office  of  which 
is  merely  to  enter  the  ground  and  steady  the  machine  during  its  action.  At  each  of  the 
other  extremities  of  the  two  arms  formed  by  the  letter  A  is  a  miniature  plow.  In  the  rear 
of  the  main  beam,  and  directly  under  the  handles,  is  placed  a  V-shaped  share,  point  for- 
ward. Upon  the  rear  of  the  wings  of  this  share  are  teeth,  each  tooth  being  about  three 
inches  long,  and  projecting  backward.  A  wheel  and  regulating  clevis  are  placed  upon  the 
front  of  the  beam,  to  which  the  horse  or  mule  may  be  attached. 

The  action  of  this  hoe  is  as  follows : — The  cimetar-cutter,  as  already  stated,  steadies  it ; 
the  miniature  plows  throw  the  soil  to  the  centre,  and  the  comb  again  distributes  it.  Let  it 


90 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


be  borne  in  mind  that  in  the  planting  of  corn  the  rows  should  be  straight,  and  the  horse- 
hoe  used  before  the  weeds  grow  too  large.  This  is  also  true  of  other  crops.  In  hoeing  corn, 
it  should  be  passed  down  the  side  of  one^  row,  and  then  above  that  of  the  next  in  order, 
through  the  length  of  the  field,  and  afterwards  crosswise  in  the  same  manner.  It  is  gene- 
rally used  with  the  mould-boards  side  in  for  other  crops  as  well  as  corn,  unless  it  be  de- 
sired to  throw  the  soil  against  the  plants,  flat  cultivation  being  now  more  generally  adopted. 
The  amount  of  labor  necessary  for  corn  cultivation,  when  the  common  plow  and  hand-hoes 
only  are  used,  deters  many  from  giving  this  important  crop  the  care  it  so  justly  deserves. 
By  the  use  of  this  hoe,  with  a  single  horse  or  mule,  it  is  stated  that  a  farmer  may  hoe  as 
much  corn  in  a  single  day,  and  do  it  as  well,  provided  the  rows  are  straight,  as  could  be  ac- 
complished by  twenty  men  by  means  of  ordinary  hand-hoes. 

Robinson's  Improved  Cultivator. 

THE  accompanying  engraving  is  a  perspective  view  of  an  improved  cultivator  invented  by 
J.  A.  Robinson,  of  Fremont,  New  Hampshire,  patented  February,  1855,  which  is  designed  for 
garden  or  field  cultivation,  and  particularly  adapted  to  drill-sown  wheat  and  other  small  grains. 
The  machine  or  implement  consists  of  cutters  attached  to  the  two  ends  of  a  yoke  of  such 
height  as  to  pass  over  the  tops  of  the  plants,  the  knives  being  adjusted  to  run  as  near  the 
plants  as  may  be  desired,  and  the  whole  being  made  to  travel  on  wheels. 

A  is  a  yoke  or  bow,  to  the  lower  ends  of  which  are  secured  the  cutters  B  B,  each  being 
allowed  to  swivel  around  the  point  a,  the  nut  b  serving  to  hold  them  secure  when  placed  in 
the  required  position.  By  this  method  of  adjusting  the  cutters,  they  are  made  to  cut  more 
or  less  distant  from  the  rows  of  plants. 


C  C  are  the  handles  for  guiding  the  machine.  They  carry  short  shafts  D,  on  which  are  the 
wheels ;  c  c  are  square-headed  pins  which  pass  through  the  lower  ends  of  the  handles,  and 
screw  into  the  end  of  the  yoke  bow,  which  allows  the  bow  a  limited  motion  to  make  the 
cutters  dip  more  or  less  beneath  the  surface ;  a  shows  another  square-headed  pin  which  passes 
through  a  slot  in  the  butt  of  the  handle,  (one  for  each  handle,)  and  also  screws  into  the  yoke 
A  the  length  of  its  slot.  The  yoke  is  by  these  pins  set  in  position  for  the  purpose  of  adjust- 
ing the  dip  of  the  cutters.  By  tightening  this  screw  the  cutters  are  held  in  place. 

A  device  is  employed  to  make  each  cutter  move  at  an  equal  distance  from  the  row  of  grain, 
or  whatever  it  may  be;  / is  the  guide  point:  it  is  held  over  the  centre  of  the  space  between 
the  points  of  the  cutters  by  a  bent  wire  //,  which  is  attached  to  each  arm  of  the  yoke,  and  is 
supported  by  a  chain  g  from  the  apex  f  of  the  yoke  A.  The  machine  is  used  by  wheeling  it 
forward  like  a  barrow,  the  guide-point  j  being  kept  at  the  exact  distance  from  the  row.  It 
will  be  observed  that  as  the  cutters  can  be  set  and  adjusted  to  any  distance  to  and  from  the 
plants,  the  weeds  and  grass  can  be  cut  up  very  near  the  rows. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  91 

Mr.  Robinson  informs  us  that  he  has  hoed  small  carrots  with  this  machine,  the  points  of 
the  cutters  being  1^  inches  apart,  and  he  walked  right  along,  hoeing  them  perfectly.  As  the 
cutters  are  adjusted  to  cut  a  little  more  than  half-way  to  the  adjoining  row,  the  work  is  done 
thoroughly,  no  unhoed  space  being  left  between  the  rows.  The  cutters  being  set  at  an  acute 
angle,  they  cut  the  weeds  easily.  They  can  also  be  adjusted  to  take  the  earth  away  from  or 
carry  it  up  to  the  rows. — Scientific  American. 

Two-Horse  Cultivator. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  New  York  Country  Gentleman  recommends  the  use  of  a  style  of 
cultivator  called  the  "two-horse"  cultivator,  and  constructed  as  follows:  You  want  nine  culti- 
vator teeth ;  or  you  may  have  less  or  more,  as  the  strength  of  your  team  may  be ;  you  can 
have  cast-iron  or  steel  teeth,  (the  latter  far  preferable;)  place  one  in  front,  the  others  oppo- 
site to  each  other;  have  the  teeth  about  eighteen  inches  apart  in  the  timbers,  and  a  drag 
tooth  in  each  hind  end  of  the  side  pieces.  This  is  to  prevent  a  track  being  left  by  the  two 
hind  cultivator  teeth.  This  must  be  rather  longer  than  the  old-fashion  crotch  drag,  and  flare 
at  the  ends,  or  else  it  will  work  rather  bad.  The  side  pieces  should  be  three  inches  by  five. 
The  teeth  must  point  exactly  ahead.  Have  a  hook  on  top  of  the  forward  end  to  hitch  your 
team  to,  and  not  exactly  at  the  end,  as  we  usually  do  on  harrows.  This  implement  will  do  the 
work  of  three  common  harrows  on  land  that  has  been  plowed  in  the  fall.  I  use  the  harrow 
once  or  twice  in  a  place,  then  go  on  with  the  cultivator ;  and  if  your  ground  is  dry  enough  to 
work  good,  you  get  well  paid  for  your  labor,  for  getting  in  wheat,  barley,  oats,  or  any  kind 
of  grain.  This  implement  is  far  before  the  common  harrow.  We  know  how  the  corn  culti- 
vator works  in  our  cornfields.  In  like  manner  does  the  two-horse  cultivator  work  for 
sowed  grain. 

/'.<•//,, nns  Cultivator. — This  does  not  differ  materially  from  other  cultivators,  except  in  the 
form  of  the  teeth.  These  are  made  in  two  pieces,  a  plate  of  cast  steel  being  firmly  bolted 
to  a  he:ivy  east-iron  shoulder  or  support.  This  steel  plate  is  reversible,  BO  that  wlu'ii 
one  end  is  worn  away,  it  may  be  turned,  and  the  other  end  forms  another  tooth  as  complete 
as  new. 

Lapham's  Patent  Cultivator. — This  invention  of  Seneca  Lapham,  of  Champaign  county,  Ohio, 
is  especially  adapted  for  working  among  corn  and  other  growing  crops ;  also  for  preparing 
land  for  wheat. 

By  means  of  two  long  levers,  one  connected  to  the  axle  or  shaft  which  supports  the  machine, 
and  to  which  the  wheels  are  hung,  and  the  other  to  the  tongue,  to  which  the  team  is  attached, 
the  cultivating  teeth  can  be  raised  or  lowered,  to  suit  the  unevenness  of  the  ground,  and  the 
machine  di rooted  independently  of  the  team,  by  the  person  driving  and  walking  behind. 
When  a  depression  or  elevation  renders  it  necessary  to  change  the  depth  of  the  teeth,  by  rais- 
ing the  lever  which  is  attached  to  the  axle,  the  teeth  are  lowered,  or  by  lowering  the  lever, 
the  teeth  are  raised ;  and  when  it  is  desirable  to  change  quickly  the  direction  of  the  machine 
to  avoid  an  obstruction  or  a  hill  of  corn  or  potatoes,  by  moving  the  lever  connected  with  the 
tongue,  the  cultivator  is  readily  turned,  without  the  trouble  and  delay  of  guiding  the  team. 
When  it  is  desirable  to  use  this  machine  for  cultivating  young  corn,  the  front  tooth  is  removed 
and  mould-boards  affixed,  which  will  prevent  the  earth  from  covering  the  corn,  while  the  teeth 
break  the  soil  and  destroy  the  weeds ;  or,  by  placing  the  boards  in  a  different  position,  earth 
may  be  thrown  around  the  corn. 

Suitable  devices  are  provided  for  retaining  the  levers  in  place,  and  for  rendering  their 
motion  easy. 

Improved  Rotary  Cultivator. — An  improved  rotary  cultivator,  patented  by  G.  B.  Fields,  of 
St.  Louis,  is  formed  in  a  cylindrical  shape,  with  cutting  plates  or  spades,  between  which  are 
interposed  clearing-boards  for  removing  the  earth  adhering  to  the  plates.  Behind  this  cylin- 
der is  arranged  a  rotary  harrow  sustained  above  the  ground  and  in  the  rear  of  the  cultivating 
cylinder,  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  and  pulverizing  the  earth  after  it  has  been  loosened  by 
the  plow. 


92  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Lichtenthaler's  Cultivator. 


THE  annexed  engraving  is  a  perspective  view  of  a  cultivator  recently  invented  and  patented 
by  Griffith  Lichtenthaler,  of  Limestoneville,  Pa. 

The  nature  of  the  improvement  in  this  cultivator  consists  in  the  peculiar  manner  of  attach- 
ing the  shares  to  the  beams,  whereby  they  (the  shares)  may  be  readily  adjusted  in  position, 
and  also  allowed  to  yield  to  any  obstructions  with  which  they  may  come  in  contact. 

There  are  two  beams  A,  secured  in  an  oblique  position  by  cross-ties  B  B,  which  are  attached 
to  uprights  a  on  the  beams.  The  oblique  position  of  the  beams  gives  the  usual  triangular  or 
harrow-shape,  the  front  ends  of  the  beams  being  nearer  together  than  the  back  ends.  C  C  are 
the  handles  or  stilts  attached  to  the  cross-ties,  and  D  is  a  reach  secured  to  the  cross-ties,  and 
having  a  swiveltree  E  attached  to  its  outer  end.  In  the  under  surface  of  each  beam  A  there 
is  a  longitudinal  groove  or  recess,  in  which  a  metallic  strip  F  is  fitted  and  secured  therein 
by  wedges  or  keys  c  which  pass  through  projections  d.  The  projections  pass  upwards  from 
the  strips  F  through  the  beams  A,  the  wedges  or  keys  being  driven  through  eyes  in  the  pro- 
jections above  the  beams.  Each  strip  is  perforated  with  holes  /,  as  shown.  The  shares  are 
represented  by  G.  Each  share  has  a  socket  formed  by  two  lips  g  g.  The  sockets  are  at  the 
upper  ends  of  the  shares,  and  have  holes  through  them.  The  shares  G  are  secured  to  the 
beams  A  by  placing  the  lips  g  g  in  the  recesses,  the  strip  F  fitting  between  the  lips,  and  in- 
serting a  metal  pivot  or  pin  through  the  hindermost  holes  of  the  lips,  and  through  a  corre- 
sponding hole  /  in  the  strip.  Wooden  pins  /,  are  passed  through  the  front  holes  of  the  lips,  and 
through  corresponding  holes  /  in  the  strips.  The  body  of  the  shares  are  set  nearly  at  right 
angles  with  the  beams  A  A,  and  the  dirt  is  thrown  by  the  shares,  as  the  machine  is  moved 
along,  towards  the  centre  of  the  machine.  In  case  of  the  shares  meeting  with  any  obstruc- 
tion, such  as  a  root,  stump,  stone,  etc.,  the  pins  being  formed  of  wood,  will  break,  and  the 
shares  G  will  turn  backwards.  By  this  arrangement  the  machine  is  prevented  from  being 
broken,  or  any  of  its  parts  wrenched  by  sudden  stoppages  arising  from  obstructions.  The 
shares,  by  means  of  the  sockets  at  their  upper  ends  and  the  perforated  strips  F,  may  be 
readily  adjusted  to  the  beams.  Shares  of  different  forms  may  also  be  applied  with  the  same 
facility,  provided  they  have  the  sockets  at  their  upper  ends.  The  shares  are  cast  iron,  with  a 
steel  blade  lying  in  the  hollow  part  of  the  share  extending  about  1  \  inch  below ;  this  steel 
plate  is  reversible,  so  that  when  one  side  is  worn  away,  it  may  be  turned  and  the  upper  edge 
put  down,  and  is  as  complete  as  new.  If  desired,  the  whole  machine  may  be  reversed,  so  that 
the  furrows  may  be  thrown  away  from  the  corn,  or  cotton,  or  whatever  it  may  be.  The 
advantage  this  cultivator  has  over  others  is,  that  the  farmer  is  enabled  to  do  more  work  in  a 
given  time  and  with  less  expense ;  inasmuch  as  it  finishes  the  row  as  it  passes  over  it,  and 
leaves  the  ground  in  a  proper  condition  to  receive  the  rain  and  retain  the  moisture  a  greater 
length  of  time,  leaving  no  large  furrows  to  conduct  the  water  away. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


93 


Snedeker's  Seed-Sower  and  Cultivator. 

THE  annexed  engraving  represents  an 
improved  seed-sower  and  cultivator  re- 
cently invented  by  James  H.  Snedeker, 
of  Bronson,  Huron  county,  Ohio. 

It  is  constructed  on  the  principle  of  a 
common  field-roller,  in  two  sections,  for 
facility  in  turning.  The  roller  is  covered 
with  lancet-shaped  cast  iron  teeth,  of 
such  a  form  as  to  penetrate  the  soil  easily, 
and  cut  in  pieces  the  lumps ;  these  pul- 
verize the  earth  thoroughly,  and  leave  it  in 
excellent  condition  for  the  seed.  On  a  cross-piece  of  the  frame,  behind  the  rollers,  is  a  set 
of  teeth  which  pass  between  those  on  the  roller,  and  keep  them  free  from  obstruction,  which 
otherwise  might  break  the  teeth  or  stop  the  machine.  Fastened  by  a  hinge  to  the  shaft  of 
the  roller  is  a  piece  of  timber,  into  which  are  fastened  cultivating  teeth,  which  stir  up  and 
mellow  the  ground,  and  also  act  as  drill  teeth :  this  set  of  cultivating  teeth  is  flexible,  and 
readily  adapts  itself  to  the  inequalities  of  the  ground. 

The  seed-box  is  fastened  to  the  frame  immediately  back  of  the  cap,  and  from  it  pipes  extend 
back  and  under  the  cultivating  teeth.  Back  of  the  seed-pipes  are  another  set  of  cultivating 
teeth,  which  penetrate  the  soil,  serving  to  render  it  more  mellow,  and  dragging  in  the  seed. 

The  drill  can  be  detached  from  the  machine  by  simply  unfastening  a  couple  of  hooks.  Tho 
cultivator  can  also  be  detached  at  pleasure;  and  when  desirable,  the  teeth  can  be  taken  from 
the  roller,  leaving  a  good  farm  roller,  such  as  every  farmer  should  have.  If  one  of  the  teeth 
should  become  worn  or  broken,  it  can  be  taken  out  and  replaced  by  a  new  one.  In  preparing 
corn  ground,  a  sufficient  number  of  teeth  can  be  taken  from  the  drill  or  first  set  of  cultivating 
teeth,  to  leave  those  remaining  in  the  proper  places  and  at  the  right  distances  for  dropping 
the  corn  as  required.  The  cultivator  can  be  raised  free  from  any  obstruction  by  the  foot- 
lever  attached  to  the  driver's  seat,  and  at  the  same  time  the  seed  shut  off. 

Potato  Digger. 


THE  accompanying  engravings  represent  an  improvement  in  machines  for  digging  potatoes, 
recently  patented  by  Galusha  A.  Bundy,  of  Lyndon,  Vt.,— fig  I  being  a  top  view,  and  fig.  2 
a  transverse  section,  of  the  mould-board.  The  same  letters  of  reference  indicate  like  parts  on 


94  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

both  figures.  This  agricultural  implement  is  in  many  respects  like  a  common  plow ;  it  has  a 
beam  A  and  handles  B  B,  united  to  an  inclined  bar  C,  to  which  the  scoop  or  plowshare  D  is 
attached.  The  scoop  is  formed  with  two  angular  mould-boards  a  a,  forming  an  angle.  The 
improvement  consists  in  providing  these  mould-boards  with  slots  d  d  tf,  arranged  in  vertical  di- 
rections, or  nearly  so ;  that  is,  standing  upwards  rather  than  horizontally.  The  planes  of 
these  slots  are  disposed  parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  plane  of  the  beam,  and  they  are  each 
made  to  extend  from  near  the  bottom  of  each  mould-board  to  near  the  top  of  the  game.  Through 
these  slots  the  dirt  passes  while  the  machine  is  used  in  plowing  through  or  digging  into  a  po- 
tato-field, the  potatoes  being  thrown  upon  each  side  of  the  furrow  and  left  in  full  sight.  This 
mould-board  works  through  the  earth  or  soil,  acting  like  a  seive,  raising  and  separating  the 
potatoes  from  the  earth,  and  leaving  most  of  the  earth  or  soil  in  its  place. 

There  can  be  no  question  about  the  simplicity  of  this  potato-digging  plow :  it  raises  the  po- 
tatoes and  leaves  them  only  to  be  gathered  up,  which  labor  can  be  performed  by  boys.  The 
claim  is  for  the  construction  of  the  potato  plow,  with  slots  standing  vertically  or  nearly  so,  and 
having  their  respective  planes  parallel  to  a  vertical  plane  passing  through  the  draught-beam. 
Digging  potatoes  is  a  severe  and  tedious  operation ;  any  machinery  to  obviate  the  manual 
labor  in  this  department  of  agriculture  should  be  welcomed  by  all  those  engaged  in  farming. 
\Ve  have  been  assured  by  Mr.  Bundy  that  it  will  turn  out  several  acres  of  potatoes  in  a  day, 
and  that  it  can  be  handled  with  as  much  facility  as  a  common  plow. — Scientific  American. 

This  machine  obviates  the  necessity  of  pulling  up  the  tops,  as  they  do  not  obstruct  the  ope- 
ration of  the  digger,  which  may  also  be  used  as  a  cultivator  for  ordinary  purposes. 

Ellis's  and  Gordon's  Excavating  Machine. 

THIS  improvement  of  Messrs.  Ellis  and  Gordon,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  consists  in  the  mode 
of  operating  the  excavating  machine  by  placing  it  within  the  circuit  of  an  endless  chain,  which 
passes  over  a  pulley  anchored  at  one  point,  and  over  or  around  a  capstan  at  another  point,  so 
that  the  machine  shall  form  a  part  of  the  endless  chain,  and  be  operated  forwards  and  back- 
wards by  it. 

Securing  and  Setting  Harrow  Teeth. 

THE  accompanying  figure  is  a  perspective 
view,  representing  an  improved  mode  of  securing 
and  setting  harrow  teeth,  for  which  a  patent 
was  recently  granted  to  E.  L.  Hagar,  of  Frank- 
fort, Herkimer  co.,  N.  Y.  The  improvement 
relates  to  a  new  method  of  securing  the  teeth 
in  the  frames  of  harrows ;  also  in  rendering 
them  capables  of  being  adjusted  from  a  vertical 
to  an  oblique  position,  and  set  to  any  depth  de- 
sired. A  represents  a  section  of  a  harrow-frame 
BE.  D  E  is  a  metal  casting  set  in  an  inclined 
recess,  cut  in  the  inner  edge  of  the  section  A. 

This  casting  is  provided  with  two  square  holes  a  b  in  its  lower  horizontal  portion  D — one  run- 
ning in  a  vertical  and  the  other  in  an  oblique  direction.  The  projecting  parts  B  E  of  the 
casting  form  two  grooves  F  G,  of  a  similar  shape  and  size  as  the  holes  a  b — one  of  which  runs 
in  an  oblique  direction  in  line  with  the  hole  a,  and  the  other  in  a  vertical  direction  in  line  with 
the  hole  b.  On  the  plate  B,  forming  the  back  sides  of  the  grooves  F  G,  tongues  c  d  are  cast. 
The  tongue  c  runs  at  right  angles  to  the  groove  F,  and  d  at  right  angles  to  the  groove  G.  These 
tongues  enter  notches  cut  in  the  sides  of  the  harrow  teeth,  and  aid  in  keeping  said  teeth  in 
place.  H  is  a  harrow  tooth.  It  is  made  square  or  many-sided,  eeeare  the  adjusting  notches 
or  traverse  grooves  which  are  cast  in  one  of  the  sides  of  the  tooth.  These  notches  receive 
the  tongues  as  represented.  The  tooth  H,  when  it  is  to  be  set  obliquely,  is  passed  through  the 
hole  a,  and  fitted  as  shown  in  the  groove  G,  and  when  set  in  a  vertical  position,  is  passed 
through  the  hole  b  and  fitted  in  the  groove  F.  I  J  is  a  clamp  or  elbow-shaped  screw-bolt 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


95 


which  passes  through  the  plate  B  of  the  casting,  and  also  through  the  harrow-frame.  This 
bolt,  as  it  has  a  hook  J  on  its  inner  end,  serves  for  locking  the  harrow  tooth  in  either  of  the 
grooves  of  the  casting ;  and  also  as  said  screw  passes  entirely  through  the  casting  and  frame  A, 
it  serves  for  locking  the  casting  firmly  to  the  frame  A.  There  is  a  nut  on  the  outer  end  of  the 
screw-bolt.  This  nut,  by  being  turned,  causes  the  hook  on  the  screw-bolt  to  bear  against  the 
tooth,  and  thereby  causes  the  parts  to  be  firmly  clamped  together.  The  screw-bolt  I  J  is  so 
arranged  in  relation  to  the  two  grooves,  being  between  them,  that  its  hook  J  serves  for  lock- 
ing the  tooth  H  in  both  the  positions  described. 

It  is  by  providing  the  casting  with  two  grooves — one  oblique  and  the  other  straight — that  the 
harrow  tooth  can  be  adjusted  from  a  vertical  to  an  oblique  position,  and  vice  versa;  and  pro- 
viding the  tooth  with  a  series  of  notches  e  e  e,  it  can  be  set  to  any  depth  desired. 

Making  harrow  teeth  adjustable  as  described  is  an  important  idea,  for  in  case  their  points 
are  broken  off,  they  can  be  sharpened,  and  the  teeth  lowered  so  as  to  stand  even  with  the 
others.  And  also  by  securing  the  teeth  to  the  frame,  as  described,  they  can,  in  case  they  are 
broken,  be  removed  with  ease  and  facility,  and  others  secured  in  their  places  with  like  facility. 

It  is  also  an  advantage,  in  connection  with  the  adjusting  arrangement,  to  have  the  teeth  ca- 
pable of  being  set  straight  or  oblique,  for  in  case  it  is  desired  to  harrow  shallow-plowed  soil, 
then  the  teeth  can  be  set  straight,  and  in  case  it  is  desired  to  harrow  soil  which  is  plowed  to 
a  greater  depth,  then  the  teeth  can  be  set  obliquely,  and  also  lowered  to  the  depth  desired. 
By  setting  the  teeth  obliquely,  they  enter  the  soil  more  readily. 


Improvements  in  Harrows, 

THE  accompanying  engraving  represents  a  form  of  harrow  devised  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Hanford, 
of  Walton,  N.  V.,  and  described  by  him  in  The  Country  Gentleman.  Mr.  H.  describes  its  con- 
struction as  follows : 

"  It  consists  of  two  V-harrows,  attached 
one  behind  the  other,  and  about  eighteen 
inches  apart,  as  represented  in  the  accom- 
panying cut.  The  frame  should  be  made 
of  three-by-four  white-oak  scantling,  but 
second-growth  white  ash,  or  very  solid 
blue  soft  maple  will  answer,  when  it  is 
desired  to  have  them  as  light  as  possible. 
The  forward  harrow  is  made  with  a  centre 
piece  framed  into  a  brace,  and  is  two  feet 
one  inch  from  the  forward  tooth  to  the 
inside  of  the  brace ;  the  brace  is  framed 
into  the  side  pieces  or  wings  on  either 
side,  and  forward  of  the  three  back  teeth. 
The  wings  are  Ji re  feet  five  inches,  from  the 
forward  to  the  hind  tooth,  containing  five 
teeth  in  each  wing,  and  one  forward  in 
the  centre  piece,  and  six  feet  three  inches 
across  the  hind  teeth.  The  hind  harrow 
is  made  in  the  same  manner  as  the  forward 
one,  except  that  the  brace  must  be  placed 
farther  back,  and  forward  of  only  two 
hind  teeth  on  each  side,  and  the  wings 
are  four  feet  ten  and  a  half  inches  from  the 
centre  of  the  middle  piece  to  the  hind 
tooth,  with  five  teeth  in  each  wing,  but 
none  in  the  middle,  and  set  in  such  a  manner  as  to  exactly  divide  the  space  between  the  for- 
ward teeth,  and  mark  three  and  three-fourths  inches  from  centre  to  centre  of  the  furrows  of 
the  teeth,  the  outside  teeth  of  the  hind  harrow  parking  within  the  outside  teeth  of  the  for- 


96  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

ward  one.  The  wings  are  united  to  the  middle-piece,  and  secured  by  a  band  shrunk  on  far 
enough  back  to  make  it  solid,  and  to  receive  a  half-inch  screw-bolt  through  the  wings  and 
middle  piece  forward  of  the  band,  and  the  nut  turned  up  snug.  The  teeth  should  be  made  of 
three-fourths  iron,  unless  the  ground  on  which  it  is  to  be  used  is  quite  rough  and  stony ;  then 
perhaps  seven-eighths  iron  should  be  used  ;  they  should  be  .about  eleven  inches  long,  and  the 
top  end  should  be  made  dovetailing  nearly  the  thickness  of  the  frame  down  to  a  size  to  receive 
a  burr,  and  a  good  screw  cut  on  it,  so  that  when  drove  the  end  of  the  tooth  will  come  the  thick- 
ness of  the  burr  above  the  frame.  The  holes  should  be  bored  with  a  bit  just  the  size  of  the 
screw  on  the  top  of  the  frame,  and  the  undor  side  beat  out  with  a  chisel,  to  exactly  fit  the 
tooth,  but  not  too  large,  especially  endwise  of  the  wood.  Put  the  tooth  in  its  place ;  then 
place  a  bar  of  iron  on  the  end  of  the  tooth,  with  a  small  square  hole  near  one  end  to  receive 
the  point,  and  drive  it  in  firmly  with  a  heavy  hammer,  striking  on  the  iron  bar  by  the  side  of 
the  tooth,  and  occasionally  striking  the  tooth  sideways  against  the  grains  of  the  wood,  to  make 
it  stand  firmly  in  its  socket.  Then  put  on  a  good  iron  washer,  and  screw  the  burr  on  tight. 
The  harrows  are  fastened  together  by  two  clevises  and  a  link ;  the  forward  clevis  clasps  the 
brace  and  reaches  forward,  and  is  attached  to  the  centre  piece  by  the  pin.  To  draw  from  the 
middle  piece  by  a  common  clevis,  inclines  to  lift  the  forward  harrow  too  much,  but  it  should  be 
used  with  one  similar  to  the  one  represented  in  the  cut,  placing  the  draft  one  and  a  half  inches 
above  the  top  of  the  harrow.  This  causes  them  to  draw  flat,  or  swim  fair,  as  it  is  sometimes 
termed,  while  they  hold  each  other  to  the  work.  And  by  means  of  the  clevis  joint,  in  the 
middle,  they  adjust  themselves  very  easily  and  quickly  to  an  uneven  surface  of  almost  any 
kind,  while  a  sod,  or  a  stone,  or  an  obstruction  of  almost  any  kind,  can  scarcely  get  more  than 
one  wing  from  the  ground  at  a  time. 

It  is  light  of  draft,  and  easily  handled  or  transported,  weighing,  as  mine  does,  but  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  pounds,  or  eighty  each.  I  am  satisfied  from  using  it,  that  it  will  do  more  work 
in  passing  over  the  ground  once,  than  any  common  single  harrow  that  I  have  seen  work,  will, 
with  the  same  number  of  teeth,  in  passing  over  the  ground  twice.  I  would  not  wish  to  disparage 
the  Geddes  harrow ;  it  is  a  good  one,  and  a  great  improvement  on  the  old  instruments ;  but 
there  are  some  objections  raised  against  it,  some  of  which  I  think  are  obviated  in  mine.  Some 
of  the  objections  that  have  been  made  to  it  are  these :  If  a  sod,  or  any  obstruction,  passes 
under  one  of  the  forward  wings,  it  raises  both  wings  on  one  side  till  it  has  passed  over; 
then  again  when  the  back  wing  meets  the  same  obstruction,  both  wings  on  that  side  are  again 
raised  until  it  is  passed  over  by  that  wing.  In  passing  lengthways  of  a  ridge,  the  joint  in  the 
middle  allows  it  to  adjust  itself  to  the  shape  of  the  ground  very  handsomely,  but  in  passing 
crosswise  of  ridges  or  over  a  hollow,  it  being  stiff  longitudinally,  it  cannot  shape  itself  to  the 
shape  of  the  ground,  and  can  touch  only  the  tops  of  the  ridges.  Or  if  an  obstruction  passes 
from  the  nose  under  the  centre  of  the  harrow,  it  immediately  raises  up  the  middle,  causing  it 
to  rest  on  the  extreme  ends  of  the  wings,  while  it  passes  in  this  position,  some  five  to  nine 
feet,  the  length  of  the  middle  pieces  and  the  obstruction." 

Mr.  Hanford  does  not  claim  any  patent  for  this  form  of  harrow,  but  wishes  that  all  should 
be  benefited  by  its  use. 

Ramsay's  Flexible  Harrow. — This  invention,  by  the  Messrs.  Ramsay,  of  Strabane,  Washing- 
ton co.,  Pennsylvania,  consists  of  thr.ee  separate  harrows  or  parts,  united  together  by  hinges 
or  hooks  and  eyes  in  such  a  way  that  the  implement  is  entirely  flexible,  and  adapts  itself  to 
the  inequalities  of  the  ground  traversed.  The  form  of  the  several  harrows  when  united  is 
that  of  a  right-angled  triangle,  the  leading  one  being  about  two  feet  square,  and  the  two  hinder 
ones  two  feet  three  inches  square,  thus  affording  a  sweep  of  about  eight  square  feet.  The 
teeth  are  so  arranged  that  no  one  travels  in  the  track  of  any  preceding  it.  Among  stumps, 
especially,  this  harrow  will  be  found  convenient,  as  but  a  small  part  of  it  needs  to  be  lifted  at 
at  any  one  time. 

Hill's  Combined  Harrow,  Roller,  and  Seed-Planter. 

A  PATENT  has  been  recently  granted  to  Daniel  Hill,  of  Harrisville,  Indiana,  for  a  machine 
which  combines  the  harrow,  seed-planter,  and  roller  in  one  and  the  same  construction.  The 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


97 


mode  in  -which  the  machine  operates  is  as  follows :  If  grain  is  to  be  sown,  the  seeds  are  dis- 
tributed from  a  hopper  placed  above  and  in  front  of  a  harrow,  which  immediately  passes 
over  it ;  but  if  grass-seed  is  to  be  sown,  the  seed  falls  from  a  rotating  cylinder  fixed  behind 
the  harrow,  on  the  ground  freshly  stirred  by  the  harrow,  and  the  roller,  which  is  attached 
to  the  end  of  the  frame  or  carriage  supporting  the  harrow  and  seeding  apparatus,  passes 
over  the  seeds,«,nd  completes  the  operation  of  planting.  Both  seeders  can  be  detached 
from  the  machine  at  pleasure,  and  the  harrow  and  roller  used  separately,  if  desired.  The 
roller  and  seeders  may  also  be  used  in  connection  or  separately  for  seeding  grass-land,  the 
distribution  of  grain  from  the  seeders  being  regulated  by  an  appropriate  apparatus.  The 
patentee  states  that  the  machine  will  work  as  much  ground  in  a  day  as  an  ordinary  harrow, 
and  is  no  harder  for  the  team ;  the  harrow  part  being  so  constructed  that  the  teeth  of  the 
harrow  may  be  depressed  or  elevated  at  will.  This  combination  of  agricultural  machinery 
is  said  to  be  simple  and  easy  of  construction,  and  may  be  kept  in  order  without  difficulty. 
It  comes  to  us  highly  recommended  by  various  county  societies  and  private  individuals. 

M^Gaffey's  Seed-planter. — A  patented  improvement,  made  by  J.  W.  M'Gaffey,  of  Syracuse, 
New  York,  April,  1855,  consists  in  the  use  of  a  tilt  apron  arranged  in  connection  with  a 
distributing  roller,  whereby  the  seed  and  manure  are  deposited  in  the  furrow  or  hill  at  the 
same  time. 


Hand  Seed-Planters. 

Wakefield'a  Seed-Planter. — The  accompanying  engraving 
represents  the  construction  and  arrangement  of  a  new  hand 
seed-planter,  the  invention  of  C.  A.  Wakefield,  of  Plainfield, 
Massachusetts.  The  illustration  represents  a  vertical  sec- 
tion of  the  implement,  with  the  plunger  out,  and  the  con- 
struction will  be  readily  understood  by  reference  to  the 
following  description: — 

A  is  the  hopper  or  box  containing  the  com ;  it  is  filled 
through  the  lid  a.  A'  is  a  guide  frame  in  front  of  the 
seed-box,  to  direct  the  up-and-down  movement  of  the  im- 
bedding plunger  C,  which,  in  its  double  movement  by  the 
groove  g  and  pin  /,  alternately  opens  and  closes  a  delivery 
slide,  which  works  in  a  groove  e  in  the  seed-box  at  its  bot- 
tom. This  slide  has  an  aperture  in  it.  As  plunger  C  rises, 
a  suitable  number  of  grains  of  corn  for  a  hill  is  conveyed 
through  the  passage  c  into  the  receiving  chamber  D.  In 
the  descent  of  the  plunger  C  when  planting,  the  delivery 
slide  is  drawn  back  to  take  in  a  fresh  supply  of  grain  from 
the  hopper,  and  hold  it  ready  for  another  delivery;  at  the 
same  time  the  plunger,  in  its  descent,  ejects  the  charge  of 
corn  previously  fed  down  into  D,  and  imbeds  it  at  the  "pro- 
per depth  in  the  soil.  The  plunger  C  opens  the  receiving 
chamber  D  by  pressing  against  the  back  plate  of  it,  which 
is  acted  upon  by  spring  E',  to  allow  the  grain  to  pass  out, 
and  also  to  close  said  chamber  again  when  the  plunger  is 
drawn  back,  so  as  to  retain  the  seed  fed  into  it  for  the  next 
hill.  G  is  a  flange  projecting  from  the  plunger  C  at  its 
bottom,  on  the  rear  side,  for  guiding  and  holding  the  grain, 
when  being  imbedded  between  it  and  the  short  front  plate 
H,  which  enters  the  ground  and  projects  from  the  broad 
stop-plate  I;  this  latter  plate  stops  the  further  entrance  of  the  implement  into  the  soil. 
The  side  flanges  project  from  the  front  plate  I,  and  serve,  in  conjunction  with  the  elastic 
back  plate  of  the  chamber  D  and  bottom  plate  H,  to  scrape  off  the  dirt  adhering  to  the 

7 


98  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

sides  and  edges  of  the  plunger  C,  when  it  is  drawn  out  of  the  ground  into  the  chamber  D. 
Any  suitable  device  may  be  used  for  gnaging  the  stroke  of  the  plunger  to  vary  its  depth  of 
hole  for  the  seed.  E  is  the  handle  of  the  plunger  C ;  it  is  placed  obliquely  to  the  plunger, 
and  is  used  by  the  operator  to  give  the  plunger  an  oblique  direction  into  the  soil.  The  im- 
plement is  carried  and  used  as  shown,  like  a  walking  cane,  requiring  no  delay,  and  is  easily 
operated.  The  person  using  it  steps  from  hill  to  hill,  striking  the  implement  into  the 
ground,  like  a  cane,  causing  the  short  front  plate  H  to  enter  the  soil,  the  ^top  plate  I  to 
bear  on  the  earth,  and  the  plunger  C  to  eject  the  corn  or  seed  through  the  bottom  of  the 
receiving  chamber  D,  and  force  it  to  its  required  depth  obliquely  into  the  ground,  after 
which,  by  raising  the  handle,  the  plunger  C  is  elevated  in  the  same  oblique  direction,  the 
stop-plate  I  answering  for  a  fulcrum  during  lateral  strain  upon  the  plunger  in  drawing  it 
out,  whereby  the  earth  is  shaken  over  the  seed,  and  covers  it;  the  scrapers  and  side  flanges 
also  scrape  back  all  soil  from  the  plunger,  making  it  fall  on  the  seed,  so  that  the  perfect 
covering  of  it  is  thus  fully  insured.  It  is  thus  more  certain  in  its  operation  than  if  it  made 
the  hole  for  the  seed  perpendicular,  and  carried  the  soil  up  instead  of  covering  each  hill 
with  the  implement  as  it  is  rising  out  of  the  opening  in  the  soil.  The  two  simple  motions 
of  this  implement  or  machine — only  pressing  down  and  lifting  it  up  like  a  walking  stick — by 
which  the  hole  is  made,  the  seed  fed  down  and  deposited,  the  seed-box  closed,  and  the  seed 
covered  by  the  soil,  makes  it  superior  to  those  hand-planters  which  require  a  number  of 
motions  to  accomplish  the  same  objects.  The  weight  of  this  implement  is  about  seven 
pounds,  and  its  cost  five  dollars.  The  editor  of  the  Scientific  American  states  that  he  was 
a  witness  to  the  planting  of  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  corn  with  one  of  these  planters  in 
twelve  minutes. 

Dana's  Hand  Corn-Planter. — Another  corn-planter,  the  invention  of  Charles  H.  Dana,  of 
New  Hampshire,  is  constructed  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  above-described  instrument,  and 
is  said  to  work  well.  The  internal  arrangements  are  such  that  when  the  planter  strikes  the 
ground,  a  slide  attached  to  the  handle  is  pressed  down,  which  opens  a  cavity  or  charger,  by 
which  means  the  desired  number  of  kernels  of  corn  fall  through  a  branching  groove  at  the 
bottom  of  the  machine  upon  an  iron  plate,  which  is  closed  upon  a  spade  which  pierces  the 
earth  and  makes  a  receptacle  for  the  corn.  On  lifting  the  machine  by  its  handle,  the  iron 
plate  opens  from  the  spade,  and  the  corn  is  left  in  the  ground.  Thus  a  man  will  plant  with 
accuracy  as  fast  as  he  chooses  to  walk  across  the  field. 

Hand  seed-planters  are  but  of  recent  date,  but  their  convenience  and  superiority  to  hand- 
planting  and  covering  with  the  hoe  have  given  them  an  extensive  circulation  in  a  very  few 
years.  One  man,  with  a  hand-planter  like  this,  especially  in  well-plowed  land,  will  plant 
four  times  as  much  corn,  rice,  beans,  pease,  &c.,  as  four  men  depositing  the  seed  by  the 
hand,  and  covering  with  hoes.  The  economy  of  such  an  implement  for  every  farmer  is  self- 
evident. 

It  has  been  also  asserted  that  the  use  of  these  hand-planters  is  advantageous  in  hastening 
germination,  and  for  the  following  reasons:  The  seed  is  forced  by  pressure  obliquely  from 
the  surface  of  the  ground  to  the  required  depth,  thus  insuring  the  immediate  absorption  of 
moisture,  by  bringing  it  into  perfect  and  hard  contact  with  the  soil  under  and  around  it, 
while  the  earth  falling  loosely  over  cannot  obstruct  the  coming  up  and  growth  of  the  blade. 

Barnharfs  Hand  Corn-Planter. — A  patent,  for  an  improved  corn-planter  (a  hand  imple- 
ment) has  also  been  granted  to  Andrew  J.  Barnhart,  of  Schoolcraft,  Michigan.  It  makes 
the  hole,  drops  the  seed,  and  cover  it  by  a  simple  operation.  A  small  hollow  cylinder  or 
piston  works  within  another  containing  the  seed;  by  one  stroke  downwards  this  hollow 
piston  makes  a  hole  by  taking  up  the  earth,  and  then  the  seed  drops  down ;  the  return  stroke 
deposits  the  earth  formerly  lifted  upon  the  top  of  the  seed,  and  covers  it. 

Wells's  Patent  Grass  Seed-sower. 

THE  object  of  this  invention,  by  Mr.  Wells,  of  Virginia,  is  to  facilitate  the  sowing  of  grass 
and  clover-seeds,  and,  at  the  same  time,  prevent  waste  by  unequal  distribution. 

The  machine  consists  of  a  narrow  box  or  trough  ten  feet  in  length,  with  a  zinc  bottom 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


99 


perforated  with  holes,  through  which  the  seed  is  shaken  by  means  of  a  sliding  rod,  operated 
by  hand  with  a  small  lever.  The  whole  is  made  quite  light,  so  as  easily  to  be  carried  by  a 
man  with  a  belt  across  the  shoulders. 

Andrews's  Broadcast  Seed-sower. 

A  MECHANICAL  contrivance  for  imitating  the  hand  in  sowing  has  been  recently  invented  by 
John  Andrews,  of  Winchester,  Massachusetts.  This  machine  differs  in  some  respects  from 
any  of  the  other  sowers  recently  invented.  In  most  of  the  machines  heretofore  contrived, 
the  g^ain  has  been  delivered  from  a  vibrating  tail-board,  from  which  it  was  suffered  to  drop 
upon  the  land  as  the  machine  advanced.  With  these  machines  a  very  narrow  strip  only  was 
sowed  at  a  time,  and  their  operation  was  consequently  slow  and  defective.  To  obviate  this 
inconvenience,  and  to  produce  a  machine  that  shall  imitate,  as  far  as  possible,  the  motion  of 
the  hand  in  sowing  grain,  is  the  object  of  this  invention,  which  consists  in  delivering  the 
grain  in  the  requisite  quantity  to  a  hollow  trough  or  scatterer,  which  is  caused  to  swing  back 
and  forth  round  a  fixed  centre,  by  which  means  the  grain  is  thrown  to  a  considerable  dis- 
tance upon  each  side  of  the  path  travelled  over,  and  the  sowing  is  performed  much  more 
rapidly  than  the  machines  heretofore  contrived  have  been  capable  of. 


Our  engraving  represents  the  sower  in  sectional  elevation,  and  with  a  separate  detail  of 
the  scroll  drum  for  swinging  the  distributor.  The  machine  is  carried  upon  a  pair  of  wheels 
A,  and  it  is  drawn  by  shafts  to  the  right.  The  grain-hopper  is  at  B,  near  the  seat  C  of  the 
driver.  From  this  hopper  the  seed  drops  down  through  a  tube  opening  at  its  lower  end  into 
the  expanding  trough-distributor  D,  having  a  sieve  at  its  extreme  end  for  the  seed  to  fall 
through.  The  distributor  is  carried  upon  a  fixed  stud  centre  F  as  a  swinging  joint.  The 
extreme  forward  end  of  the  distributor  carries  a  vertical  pin,  which  enters  a  zigzag  scroll 
groove  cut  in  the  periphery  of  the  drum  G  on  the  main  axle.  Thus,  as  the  drum  revolves, 
the  zigzag  action  upon  the  forward  end  of  the  trough  produces  a  widely-swinging  traverse 
of  the  discharging  end,  where  the  grain  falls  to  the  earth ;  a  rapid  vertical  shake  is  also 
given  to  the  distributor  by  an  undulating  piece  H  fast  to  the  frame,  and  having  a  stud  pulley 
of  the  distributor  bearing  upon  it. 

Brown's  Broadcast  Sower. — Mr.  Brown,  of  Lawnridge,  Illinois,  has  invented  a  machine 
for  sowing  seed  broadcast.  A  series  of  oblique  cups  are  placed  upon  a  rotating  cylinder 
underneath  the  hopper,  in  combination  with  a  distributing  plate,  which  convey  the  seed  from 
the  hopper  in  such  a  manner  that  it  is  sprinkled  with  perfect  regularity  and  evenness  over 
the  whole  ground  traversed  by  the  machine. 


Improvement  in  Corn-Planters. 

THE  annexed  engravings  are  views  of  an  improved  corn-planter,  recently  invented  and 
patented  by  William  Redick,  of  Uniontown,  Pa.     Fig.  1  is  a  perspective  view  of  the  machine, 


100 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


and./??.  2  is  a  section  of  a  side  elevation.     The  same  letters  in  the  description  refer  to  the 
same  parts. 


The  cams  are  arranged  on  the  axle,  the  markers  on  the  periphery  of  the  carrying-wheel, 
and  the  valves  at  or  near  the  bottoms  of  the  seeding-tubes,  with  their  several  operative  parts, 
for  the  purpose  of  causing  regularity  in  the  marking  and  dropping  of  the  seed,  however 
irregularly  the  motion  or  speed  of  the  machine  may  be. 

A  is  the  carrying-wheel  upon  which  the  machine  is  supported  and  drawn  over  the  ground 
to  be  planted  ;  B  is  the  axle,  fastened  to  th«  wheel,  so  as  to  move  with  it.  The  axle  extends 
out  each  side  of  the  wheel  a  suitable  distance,  and  is  provided  with  cells  at  regular  intervals, 
which  receive  from  the  hopper  and  carry  to  the  seeding-tubes  the  grains  to  be  planted. 
These  cells  are  provided  with  screws,  the  heads  of  which  fit  the  cells,  so  that  by  running  in 
or  out  of  these  the  depth  of  the  cell  will  be  increased  or  diminished,  so  as  to  carry  around 
only  the  regulated  quantity  of  grains  to  be  planted.  In  planting  check-rows,  each  alternate 
screw  is  raised  to  the  periphery  of  the  axle,  so  as  to  pass  through  the  hopper  without  receiv- 
ing any  grains  therefrom.  When  drilling,  all  the  screws  are  sunk,  so  that  every  cell  shall 
carry  out  its  quota ;  and  in  this  case  the  valves  in  the  tubes  are  hooked  in  the  second  or 
lower  hole,  so  as  to  remain  all  the  time  open.  C  represents  one  of  the  shafts ;  they  are 
curved  near  enough  together  at  their  points  to  suit  the  working  of  the  horse,  while  at  the 
axle,  where  the  teeth  or  shoes  are  arranged,  their  width  may  conform  to  the  distance  between 
the  rows  of  corn.  D  is  the  seed-box,  there  being  one  on  each  side  of  the  wheel  or  on  each 
end  of  the  axle — said  hoppers  diminishing  in  width  from  top  to  bottom,  where  they  are  open 
to  allow  the  grains  to  drop  into  the  cells.  E  is  a  tooth  or  shovel — there  being  one  in  advance 
of  each  seeding-tube — for  opening  up  a  furrow  into  which  the  corn  is  dropped,  the  earth 
falling  in  over  it  when  the  machine  passes,  as  in  ordinary  operations.  The  bottoms  or  lower 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL, EOXN'OMt. 

ends  of  the  tubes  fit  in  behind  these  teeth,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  accident  by  striking 
against  any  obstructions,  or  from  filling  with  dirt. 

a  a  a  a  are  four  cams  arranged  around  the  axle  B.  b  is  a  rod  having  its  lower  end  attached 
to  the  valve  d,  and  its  upper  end  pressed  up  against  the  cams  by  a  spring  c,  so  that  said 
spring  and  rod  opens  and  closes  said  valve  at  every  depression  and  swell  of  the  four  or  quad- 
ruple cam.  There  is  an  inclined  bottom  on  the  tubes,  made  of  spring  steel,  so  as  to  yield  should 
a  grain  be  caught  in  the  valve,  and  allow  it  to  be  thrown  out  when  the  valve  again  opens. 
The  markers  g  g  g  g,  of  which  there  are  four  on  the  periphery  of  the  wheel  A,  must  bear  such 
relative  positions  to  the  cams  as  that  they  shall  arrive  at  the  exact  point  where  the  seeds  are 
to  be  deposited,  after  making  due  allowance  for  the  time  that  the  seed  occupies  in  falling 
from  the  hopper  or  cylinder  to  the  valve. 

In  relation  to  the  construction  and  operation  of  this  machine,  Mr.  Redick  states,  in  his 
specification,  that  the  devices  which  he  uses  have  been  employed  before,  separately,  on  seed- 
ing-machines, but  not  combined ;  and  that  it  was  by  observing  the  defects  of  their  separate 
results  that  he  was  enabled  to  unite  them  to  produce  a  practical  operative  machine,  that  can 
lay  off  the  ground,  and  drop  the  seeds  at  the  marks  previously  made,  without  any  variation 
caused  by  the  unequal  speed  of  the  horse.  In  the  old  machines  the  variable  speed  of  the 
horse  caused  irregular  planting,  because  the  markers  had  a  variable  and  the  seeds  an  un- 
changed velocity.  "By  my  arrangement  of  the  cams,  valves,  and  markers,"  he  says,  "I 
have  brought  the  machine  practically  to  perfection  in  this  particular,  as  the  distance  that  the 
grains  have  to  fall  allows  the  markers  to  come  to  the  precise  point ;  and  should  the  markers 
vary  the  least  from  the  exact  point,  either- in  overreaching  or  falling  short  of  it,  the  operator, 
by  the  handles,  can  raise  up  or  draw  back  the  machine  to  bring  it  right." 

wick's  Corn-pi  njiti-r. — This  invention,  of  R.  W.  Fenwick,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  is  ex 
ceeding  simple,  and  apparently  etlVctive.  The  nature  of  the  improvement  consists  in  having 
the  seed-slide  turn  on  a  centre,  and  in  connecting  it  with  a  conical  valve  at  the  bottom  of  the 
planting- tube,  and  with  :i  sli'lin^-tiibe  which  t:ikes  up  dirt  fur  covering  the  corn.  When  the 
end  of  the  phiutin^-tulie  is  struck  into  the  pnmnd  the  valve  is  operated,  and  with  it  the  slide 
whereby  a  proper  quantity  of  seed  is  taken  from  the  seed-box  in  the  upper  part  of  the  imple- 
ment and  dropped ;  at  the  same  time  the  covering-tube  is  made  to  take  up  dirt  and  cover 
the  corn. 

Machine  for  Planting  Potatoes. 


THE  annexed  engravings  are  views  of  a  machine  for  planting  potatoes,  for  which  a  patent 
was  granted  to  Alexander  Anderson,  January,  1855.  Fig.  1  is  a  vertical  longitudinal  section 
through  the  middle  of  the  machine,  and/y.  2  is  a  perspective  view.  Similar  letters  refer  to 


*  o   r  • 

\    '   ' 

1.02  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

like  parts.  This  invention  consists  in  the  employment  or  use  of  an  endless  apron,  placed 
underneath  or  at  the  bottom  of  a  hopper,  and  provided  with  a  series  of  apertures,  which  will 
be  hereafter  fully  described ;  said  apertures  receiving  the  potatoes  of  a  suitable  size  for  seed 
and  conveying  them  to  the  discharge-spout,  through  which  they  fall  into  the  furrow  at  equal 
distances  apart ;  said  apertures  also  conveying  potatoes-  that  are  too  large  for  seed  to  a  knife 
at  the  bottom  of  the  hopper,  by  which  they  are  cut  of  a  suitable  size  for  planting.  The 
apertures  in  the  under  side  of  the  apron  receive  the  teeth  of  a  wheel  by  which  motion  is  com- 
municated to  the  apron. 

DESCRIPTION. — A  represents  a  rectangular  frame  supported  upon  two  wheels  B  B ;  and 
C  C  are  two  cheek-pieces,  between  which  an  endless  apron  D  is  placed — said  apron  passing 
around  rollers  a  a  at  the  front  and  back  ends  of  the  cheek-pieces.  The  front  parts  of  the 
cheek-pieces  rest  upon  a  rod  6,  which  passes  transversely  through  the  frame  A  and  cheek- 
pieces,  about  midway  between  their  upper  and  lower  surfaces ;  said  rod  also  attaching  the 
shafts  E  E  to  the  frame  A.  The  lower  surfaces  of  the  back  ends  of  the  cheek-pieces  rest 
upon  a  cross-piece  c  of  the  frame,  and  the  cheek-pieces  and  endless  apron  have  an  inclined 
position ;  C'  is  a  rod,  have  a  screw  thread  cut  on  its  upper  end.  This  rod  fits  in  a  plate  k 
on  the  ends  of  the  cheek-pieces,  and  the  rod  projects  downwards  a  suitable  distance  below 
the  cross-piece  c.  The  endless  apron  D  is  composed  of  a  series  of  rectangular  blocks  d,  the 
lower  surfaces  of  which  are  attached  in  any  proper  manner  to  a  belt  e ;  the  edges  of  the 
several  blocks  being  in  contact,  except  when  passing  around  the  rollers  a  a,  between  each  two 
of  the  blocks  a  circular  aperture  /  is  made,  one-half  of  the  aperture  being  in  the  edge  of  each 
block ;  consequently,  each  block  of  the  apron  has  a  semicircular  recess  in  two  of  its  edges, 
and  these  recesses,  when  the  blocks  are  attached  to  the  belt  e,  form  the  circular  apertures/. 
F  is  a  hopper  secured  to  the  upper  surfaces  of  the  cheek-pieces  C  C,  and  directly  over  the 
endless  apron  D ;  G  is  a  knife  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  hopper,  at  its  upper  or  elevated 
end ;  said  knife  passing  across  the  hopper,  and  just  above  the  endless  apron  D.  H  is  the 
furrow-share,  which  is  formed  of  a  tube  having  its  lower  end  cut  obliquely,  so  as  to  form  a 
point  to  enter  the  ground.  The  furrow-share  is  secured  to  a  frame  I,  the  front  part  of  which 
is  secured  by  eyes  g  g,  which  pass  through  the  ends  of  the  frame  I,  and  into  a  cross-piece  h 
of  the  frame  A.  The  back  part  of  the  frame  I  is  attached  by  a  chain  I  to  a  roller  J,  on  the 
back  part  of  the  frame.  K  is  the  covering-share,  which  is  attached  by  a  hinge  or  joint  to 
the  back  end  of  the  frame  I ;  a  chain  j  connects  the  covering-share  with  the  roller  I ;  L  is  a 
discharge-spout,  the  upper  end  of  which  is  placed  directly  under  the  elevated  and  discharge 
end  of  the  endless  apron  D.  The  spout  L  conveys  the  potatoes  into  the  tube  of  the  furrow- 
share  ;  M  is  a  ratchet  on  one  end  of  the  roller  J,  and  N  is  a  pawl  attached  to  the  frame — said 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  103 

pawl  catching  into  the  teeth  of  the  ratchet;  0  is  a  toothed  wheel  on  the  axle  P  of  the  wheels 
B  13.  The  teeth  of  this  wheel  fit  in  the  apertures  /  in  the  endless  apron  D. 

OPERATION. — The  hopper  F  is  filled  with  potatoes ;  and  as  the  machine  is  drawn  along,  mo- 
tion is  given  the  endless  apron  D,  by  means  of  the  toothed  wheel  0  gearing  in  the  apertures  /, 
in  the  under  side  of  the  endless  apron.  Potatoes  of  a  suitable  size  for  planting  will  fall  into 
the  apertures/,  and  will  pass  under  the  knife  G,  and  be  thrown  into  the  discharge-spout  L  as 
the  blocks  d  pass  around  the  roller  a,  at  the  upper  or  elevated  end  of  the  apron,  the  aper- 
tures being  widened  as  the  blocks  pass  around  the  roller  in  consequence  of  the  edges  of  the 
blocks  being  forced  apart.  Potatoes  that  are  too  large  for  planting  will  project  upwards 
above  the  surfaces  of  the  blocks  d,  and  will  be  cut  by  the  knife  G ;  the  top  portion  that  is 
cut  off  will,  if  small  enough,  enter  one  of  the  apertures/,  and  be  discharged  into  the  spout  L. 
If  not  made  small  enough  at  one  cutting,  it  will  be  again  cut  when  brought  to  the  knife,  the 
pieces  of  the  potato  remaining  in  the  apertures  are  of  course  discharged  as  the  blocks  pass 
around  the  roller  a.  The  potatoes  drop  into  a  furrow  made  by  the  share  H,  and  they  will  be 
dropped  at  equal  distances  apart,  the  distance  between  the  potatoes  being  regulated  by  the 
size  of  the  wheel  0.  The  larger  the  wheel  0,  the  nearer  the  potatoes  will  be  planted ;  and 
one  or  more  extra  wheels  of  different  sizes  may  be  placed  in  the  shaft  P,  and  put  in  gear  with 
the  apron,  as  occasion  may  require.  The  furrow  and  covering-shares  H  K  are  raised  from 
the  ground  by  turning  the  roller  J.  As  the  chain  ij  is  wound  around  the  roller  J,  the 
frame  I  is  raised,  and  will  act  against  the  lower  end  of  the  rod  C',  and  raise  the  cheek-pieces 
C  C  and  endless  apron  D,  and  the  endless  apron  will  V  thrown  out  of  gear  with  the  wheel  0, 
the  roller  J  being  prevented  from  moving  casually  by  means  of  the  pawl  N  and  ratchet  M. 
Thus  by  this  machine  the  potatoes  will  be  cut  the  required  size,  and  planted  at  equal  dis- 
tances apart  in  the  furrow.  There  is  no  uncertainty  attending  the  operation.  The  machine 
is  simple,  not  liable  to  get  out  of  repair,  and  is  economical  to  manufacture. 

Nixon's  Potato-planter  and  Seed-drill. — A  potato-planter  and  seed-drill,  recently  patented  by 
Mr.  William  Nixon,  of  Lincoln  county,  Canada  West,  is  constructed  as  follows : — The  hopper, 
or  box  for  containing  the  potatoes,  rests  upon  the  axle  passing  through  two  wheels,  with 
shafts  attached  to  the  axle  in  the  same  way  that  a  cart  or  gig  is  constructed.  A  horse  is  then 
put  before  the  planter,  in  like  manner  as  a  horse  is  placed  before  a  cart,  and  the  machine  is 
drawn  in  the  same  way.  The  seed-hopper  rests  upon  the  axle  and  wheels,  as  above  described, 
being  keyed  together,  and  fastened  to  a  cog-wheel  which  drives  a  horizontal  cog-wheel  that  is 
fastened  to  the  underside  of  the  cast-iron  seed-wheels.  When,  therefore,  the  horse  moves 
forward,  the  whole  machinery  is  set  in  motion.  There  is  a  round  bottom  to  the  hopper  that 
revolves  correspondingly  with  the  motion  of  the  animal  which  draws  the  vehicle.  In  this  bot- 
tom, or  revolving  platform,  there  are  holes  at  given  distances.  For  planting  in  hills,  you 
open  two  holes,  and  leave  all  the  others  shut  up;  and  in  this  case,  four  or  five  sets  are 
dropped  in  one  place,  whatever  distance  you  may  think  proper,  the  seed  being  cut  by  a  sharp 
knife,  placed  immediately  under  the  revolving  platform.  Some  might  prefer  to  cut  the  sets 
by  hand,  and  in  this  case  the  knife  may  be  removed,  or  the  potatoes  may  be  dropped  without 
being  cut.  If  drills  are  considered  preferable  to  hills,  the  two  large  holes  are  plugged  up 
with  leather,  sheeted  with  tin,  and  the  plugs,  made  of  the  same  material,  taken  out  of  the 
smaller  holes.  The  seed  is  then  poured  into  the  hopper,  the  horse  moves,  the  sets  are  cut, 
and  dropped  at  regular  distances.  For  planting  corn,  there  is  another  set  of  smaller  holes, 
by  means  of  which  corn  may  be  planted  in  hills  or  drills  upon  the  same  principle  as  the 
potatoes  are  planted.  For  fine  seeds,  such  as  onion,  turnip,  carrot-seeds,  etc.,  there  are  tin 
canisters  with  holes  suitable  for  sowing  such  seeds.  In  connection  with  the  other  wheels, 
there  is  a  seed-wheel,  by  which  the  whole  is  regulated. 

Underneath  the  planter  is  a  large  tooth,  like  that  of  a  cultivator.  This  tooth  makes  a 
suitable  place  for  the  seed  to  fall  into,  and  is  placed  in  front  of  a  hollow  sheet-iron  tube, 
through  which  the  seed  falls  to  the  ground ;  and  behind  the  tube  are  two  scrapers,  so  con- 
structed as  to  cover  up  corn  or  potatoes,  and  two  small  brooms  are  used  for  the  purpose  of 
covering  up  the  smaller  seeds  which  drop  from  the  tin  canisters.  To  this  part  of  the  planter 
there  is  a  set  in  the  rear  of  the  hopper,  by  means  of  which  the  drills  can  be  made  deep  or 
shallow,  as  the  farmer  thinks  proper. 


104  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

McFarlane's  Corn-Planter. 

THE  accompanying  engraving  is  a  perspective  view  of  an  improved  corn-planter,  the  inven- 
tion of  Mr.  J.  G.  McFarlane,  of  Newville,  Cumberland  county,  Pa.  The  object  of  the  invention 
is  to  make  the  furrow  deposit  the  seed  with  manure  or  plaster,  if  desired,  and  cover  the 
seed  with  earth — all  at  one  and  the  same  operation. 


The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  the  employment  of  a  self-acting  scraper,  working 
over  the  feeding  apertures  for  regulating  the  proper  number  of  grains  to  be  fed  into  the 
hill ;  it  also  consists  in  the  use  of  a  hanging  scraper,  by  which  the  groove  of  the  wheel  is 
always  kept  clear,  so  as  to  be  in  a  condition  for  facilitating  the  operation  of  the  wheel.  A  is 
the  hopper ;  it  has  a  division  for  corn  and  another  for  plaster  or  guano.  B  is  the  slide ;  it  is 
operated  by  a  spiral  spring  C  and  a  crank  D.  It  has  a  small,  round  aperture  1,  which 
receives  and  discharges  the  grains  of  corn  from  the  hopper ;  at  the  other  end  is  an  oblong 
slot  2,  through  which  the  guano  or  plaster  passes,  and  is  discharged  through  the  tunnel  E 
along  with  the  grain.  F  are  the  handles  ;  G  the  operating  wheel,  which  is  behind  the  de- 
positing tube  H.  The  wheel  has  a  grooved  periphery  and  flanges  at  each  side ;  these  cover 
the  seed  after  it  is  deposited.  1 1  are  projecting  pins  on  the  wheel  for  striking  on  the  drop- 
shoulder  of  the  crank,  as  the  wheel  revolves,  to  operate  the  slide  at  certain  intervals,  making 
the  hills.  Two  or  more  of  such  pins  may  be  used,  so  as  to  increase  or  diminish  the  number 
of  hills  in  a  row.  The  drill-tube  H  is  arranged  so  that  a  wooden  pin  can  break  to  relieve 
it  from  breaking  when  it  meets  with  a  sudden  resistance  from  some  obstruction.  J  is  the 
scraper  ;  it  acts  by  its  own  weight,  and  rests  in  the  groove  of  the  wheel,  to  keep  it  free  from 
dirt.  K  is  a  self-acting  scraper,  which  rests  by  its  own  weight  on  the  slide  B,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  more  than  the  proper  number  of  grains  from  passing  over  the  aperture  1 
at  once.  L  is  the  beam. 

This  corn-planter,  according  to  recent  improvements,  is  constructed  entirely  of  iron,  and 
is  simple  and  effective  in  its  arrangements.  At  the  Agricultural  State  Fair  of  Pennsylvania, 
1855,  the  machine  received  the  first  premium,  and  may,  without  doubt,  be  classed  among  the 
very  best  of  recent  agricultural  improvements. 

Improved  Hay-Knife. 

IN  an  improved  hay-knife,  patented  May,  1855,  by  Seth  Whalen,  of  West  Milton,  Saratoga 
county,  New  York,  the  knife  has  a  cross-head  handle,  and  the  blade  is  formed  with  a  bend 
near  the  handle,  so  that  it  stands  out  from  it  at  a  suitable  distance  without  a  shank,  the  blade 
being  simply  screwed  to  the  centre  of  the  handle.  This  method  of  constructing  hay-knives 
divides  the  applied  power  between  the  two  handles,  with  the  knife  in  the  centre,  economizes 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


105 


labor,  and  enables  the  operator  to  cut  with  greater  ease  and  more  facility  than  with  the  old- 
fashioned  hay-knife,  which  has  not  a  cross-head  handle.  The  knife  also  cuts  in  two  direc- 
tions, both  vertically  and  horizontally. 

The  claim  of  this  patent  sets  forth  the  nature  of  the  invention  clearly ;  it  is  as  follows : 
"  I  claim  attaching  a  blade  made  of  sheet-steel,  and  bent  at  its  upper  extremity,  so  as  to  stand 
out  from  the  handle  and  between  the  arms,  whereby  a  great  saving  in  time,  labor,  and  ex- 
pense in  making  hay-knives  can  be  effected,  and  an  equal  distribution  of  the  power  of  the 
operator  exerted  in  a  perfect  manner  upon  the  edge  of  the  knife,  causing  it  to  act  more 
effectually  upon  the  hay  than  the  ordinary  knife." 


Hand  Thrashing-Machine, 

AMONG  the  agricultural  machines  recently  introduced  into  England,  a  hand  thrashing- 
machine,  invented  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Ayrshire,  is  worthy  of  note.  We  present  two 
engravings  of  this  improvement.  Fig.  1  being  a  perspective  elevation  of  a  machine  in- 
tended to  be  worked  by  human  power,  and  fig.  2  a  corresponding  view  of  the  same  in 

section. 

Fig.  1. 


In  the  common  thrashing-machine,  the  essential  feature  of  the  separating  apparatus  con- 
sists of  a  cylinder  known  as  the  "drum,"  fitted  with  projecting  beaters,  placed  longitudinally 
upon  the  cylinder.  Such  a  revolving  drum  is  contrived  so  that  its  projecting  arms  shall 
strike  the  grain  as  it  passes  between  the  rollers.  Mr.  Wilson  substitutes  for  the  drum  a 
species  of  flattened  beater,  revolving  on  a  shaft,  and  giving  the  grain  two  distinct  thrashing 
blows  at  each  revolution.  This  beater  is  made  of  a  flat,  rectangular  board,  attached  to  a 
shaft,  as  delineated  \nfig.  2. 

This  thrashing-machine  possesses  the  advantage  of  being  worked  by  hand  as  well  as  by 
horse  or  steam  power.  A  single  attendant  can  accomplish  the  whole  process  of  thrashing. 
The  separation  of  the  grain  from  the  straw  is  effected  more  economically,  and  with  a  less 
expenditure  of  power  than  hitherto,  by  reason  of  the  unthrashed  grain  being  struck  on  both 
sides  alternately. 

The  framing  of  the  machine  is  an  ordinary  rectangular  erection,  having  a  platform  A  at 
one  end,  with  an  adjustable  seat  B  for  an  attendant,  who  feeds  the  unthrashed  grain  into  the 
machine,  and  at  the  same  time  aids  the  thrashing  action  with  his  feet.  He  accomplishes  the 


106 


THE   YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


latter  by  working  the  two  treadles  c,  which  are  linked  to  a  pair  of  cranks  on  the  winch-shaft 
D,  which  is  mainly  turned  by  a  separate  attendant.  This  shaft  carries  a  pulley  E,  from 
which  a  cross-band  F  passes  to  a  pulley  on  the  end  of  the  lower  fluted  feed-roller  G.  The 
same  shaft  also  carries  a  large  pulley  H,  from  which  a  band  passes  to  a  pulley  on  the  end  of 
the  shaft  of  the  upper  beater  J ;  this  shaft  having  upon  it  a  spur-wheel  gearing  with  a  similar 
wheel  on  the  shaft  of  the  lower  beater  M.  In  this  way  the  two  beaters  simultaneously  re- 
volve at  the  same  rate,  but  in  reverse  directions.  The  shaft  of  the  upper  better  has  also  a 
pulley,  with  a  band  passing  from  it  to  the  pulley  0  on  the  end  of  the  shaft  of  the  large 
upper  straw-clearing  cylinder  I.  The  lowei  roller  Q  is  similarly  driven  by  a  pulley  on  the 
bottom  beater-shaft,  by  a  band  passing  to  the  pulley  on  the  roller-shaft. 

Thus,  as  the  grain  is  fed  in,  it  is  drawn  forward  by  the  grooved  rollers  G  and  carried  into 
contact  with  the  pair  of  beaters  J  M ;  and,  as  these  beaters  revolve  at  a  high  rate,  they  alter- 
nately strike  the  grain  upwards  and  downwards.  Each  edge  of  the  beaters  crosses  the 


Fig.  2. 


horizontal  line  of  traverse  of  the  straw  to  a 
short  extent,  (variable  at  pleasure,)  so  that,  as 
the  unthrashed  straw  passes  along,  the  grain 
is  most  effectually  separated  or  struck  off  by 
the  alternate  and  opposed  actions  of  the  beater 
edges.  The  beaters  are  keyed,  so  as  to  work 
constantly  at  right  angles  to  each  other.  Hence 
the  two  beaters  work  into  each  other,  as  it  were, 
like  wheel-teeth,  and  subject  the  grain  to  a  most 
severe  thrashing  action.  As  the  grain  is  detached, 
it  falls  down  clear  of  the  machinery,  into  a  proper 
receptacle  at  the  bottom  of  the  casing  of  the  ma- 
chine ;  while  the  cleared  straw  passes  off  to  the 
back  of  the  machine,  between  the  constantly- 
revolving  rollers,  fig.  2. 


New  Turnip  and  Root-Cutter. 

THE  vegetable  cutter  for  which  the  prize  medal  was  awarded  at  the  recent  exhibition  of  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society,  Carlisle,  England,  is  constructed  as  follows: — 

It  is  fitted  with  an  improved  cutting-plate,  leaving  a  number  of  ledges  and  open  slits, 
through  which  the  dirt,  as  it  separates  from  the  roots,  falls  in  front  of  the  implement,  instead 
of  among  the  cut  pieces,  which  latter  is  a  serious  objection,  as  it  tends  to  encourage  scouring 
in  sheep.  The  ledges  retard  the  last  flat  piece  of  turnip  till  the  next  revolution  of  the  wheel, 
when  it  is  cut  into  the  proper  sizes.  It  has  thirty  sheep  and  four  cattle  knives,  so  as  to  cut 
either  for  cattle  or  sheep,  according  to  the  direction  in  which  the  fly-wheel  is  turned. 

Another  machine  for  which  a  prize  medal  was  also  awarded  was  one  for  reducing  turnips 
and  other  roots  to  pulp  preparatory  to  feeding. 

The  object  of  this  machine  is  to  introduce  a  more  profitable  method  of  feeding  animals,  by 
giving  them  minced  roots  mixed  with  straw  chaff  (cut  straw)  or  other  chaff,  or  meal-bran, 
or  linseed  or  rape-cake,  instead  of  the  old  method  of  feeding  them  sometimes  with  roots  only, 
and  sometimes  with  dry  food  only.  Animals  by  this  mode  of  feeding,  improve  faster  and  at 
considerably  less  expense  than  by  the  old  system.  The  same  inventors  exhibited  a  model 
of  a  steaming  apparatus  for  cooking  cut  straw  and  chaff. 


Improvements  in  Straw-Cutters. 

Gale's  Improved  Straw- Cutter. — In  an  improved  straw-cutter,  invented  and  patented  by 
Warren  Gale,  of  Auburn,  New  York,  the  nature  of  the  invention  relates  to  an  arrangement 
of  the  knife  (or  knives)  of  the  cutting  cylinder,  so  that  it  shall  cut  against  a  flange  (or  flanges) 
on  the  opposite  cylinder;  also,  in  combination  with  the  cutting  cylinders,  the  method  of 
arranging  the  mouth  or  throat  through  which  the  straw  is  fed  so  that  it  shall  govern  the  feed 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  107 

of  the  straw  to  the  cutters.  A  strong  straight  knife  is  attached  to  the  lower  cylinder,  and  a 
strip  of  hide  to  the  upper;  the  two  are  geared  together,  and  as  they  rotate,  grasp  the  feed, 
draw  it  forward  and  cut  it  off,  cutting  through  from  three  to  five  inches  of  feed  at  each 
revolution. 

Wick's  and  Simonton's  Straw- Cutter. — The  nature  of  the  improvement  consists  in  the 
employment  of  a  knife-cylinder  operating  in  connection  with  a  vibratory  bed,  whereby  eco- 
nomy of  power  and  superior  cutting  action  are  obtained. 

The  straw  to  be  cut  is  placed  in  the  feed-box,  and  a  rotatory  motion  given  by  means  of  a 
crank  to  the  kiiife-cylinder.  The  knives,  as  they  rotate,  cut  the  straw  which  passes  between 
their  edges  and  the  under  surface  of  a  bed,  which  vibrates  or  moves  forward  by  the  pressure 
of  the  knives  as  they  bear  against  it  while  cutting  through  the  straw — the  bed  returning 
backwards  as  the  knives  pass  it  by  the  action  of  a  spiral  spring — the  knives  and  bed,  by  their 
operation,  giving  the  proper  feed-motion  to  the  straw. 

The  straw-cutter  for  which  a  premium  was  awarded  at  the  recent  exhibition  of  agricultural 
implements  by  the  Royal  (English)  Agricultural  Society  was  possessed  of  the  following  pecu- 
liarities :  It  feeds  itself  by  means  of  tooth-rollers.  The  straw  is  kept  compact  by  a  lever  and 
weight  underneath,  which  act  on  the  mouth-piece  and  roller.  Two  convexly-curved  knives, 
attached  to  the  arms  of  a  fly-wheel  that  revolves  perpendicularly  to  the  feeding  trough,  per- 
form the  cutting,  and  it  is  adjustable  to  cut  any  needed  length. 

Clinton's  improved  Straw- Cutter. — The  following  are  the  peculiarities  of  a  new  straw-cutter 
recently  patented  by  Lyman  Clinton,  of  North  Haven,  Connecticut.  One  of  the  most  common 
arrangements  for  straw-cutters  is  the  combination  of  a  cylinder  or  arbor  carrying  lateral 
knives,  with  another  cylinder  covered  with  hide,  the  straw  being  clipped  by  passing  between 
the  knives  and  roller.  Mr.  Clinton  has  avoided  the  disadvantages  of  this  method  by  a  very 
ingenious  arrangement,  which  dispenses  with  the  hide-roller  altogether,  and  substitutes  in  its 
place  a  second  knife-cylinder.  The  knives  are  straight  and  mounted  on  narrow  shoulders  or 
wing.s,  and  on  the  periphery  of  each  wing,  just  behind  each  knife,  there  is  a  groove  or  rebate. 
The  arbors  are  so  geared  that  the  knife  edges  come  together  in  the  act  of  revolving,  like  a 
pair  of  shears,  and  cut  off  the  straw  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  as  fast  as  it  is  fed  in  between 
them.  The  edge  of  the  rebate,  behind  each  knife,  serves  as  a  fulcrum  on  which  the  ends  of 
the  straw  rest  during  the  act  of  cutting. 

Squire's  Straw-Cutter. — The  peculiarities  of  this  straw-cutter  patented  during  the  past  year 
by  G.  L.  Squire,  of  Chicopee,  Massachusetts,  are  as  follows: — It  has  two  shafts,  one  of  which 
receives  a  more  rapid  motion  than  the  other  ;  upon  one  is  placed  circular  or  disc  cutters,  but 
upon  the  other  both  circular  cutters  and  finger-plates.  These  finger-plates  act  as  follows : 
The  shafts  of  the  knives  have  to  be  made  long,  so  as  to  lay  in  the  straw  longitudinally  with 
the  shafts,  and  the  fingers  whipping  round  draw  down  the  straw  to  the  action  of  the  rotating 
knives,  which  thus  cut  like  circular  shears ;  the  cutters  can  be  set  by  nuts  at  any  distance 
apart,  so  as  to  cut  fine  and  coarse,  as  may  be  desired.  It  cuts  straw,  cornstalks,  &c.,  with 
great  rapidity,  and  the  cutters  can  be  sharpened  with  great  facility. 

Bennefs  Straw-Cutter. — A  patent  granted  during  the  past  year  to  J.  H.  Bennet,  of  Benning- 
ton,  Vermont,  relates  to  the  kind  of  straw-cutters  employing  a  straight  knife  set  in  a  lever, 
and  moving  in  the  arc  of  a  circle.  The  knife-stock  is  set  in  a  vertical,  oblong  slot  cut  through 
the  main  timber  of  the  frame,  and  working  on  a  pivot  in  the  slot.  By  this  arrangement  the 
knife  is  guided  and  kept  steady  while  operating.  There  is  a  flat  spring  arranged  over  the 
front  part  of  the  oblong  slot,  and  the  knife  is  so  bevelled,  that  when  its  lever  is  lowered,  it 
(the  knife)  bears  upon  the  upper  side  of  the  flat  spring,  while  the  under  side  of  the  lever  bears 
upon  its  top,  thereby  keeping  the  cutting-knife  close  up  to  the  steel  guard,  thus  making  it 
cut  in  a  superior  manner.  The  said  spring,  in  case  of  clogging,  yields  slightly,  and  its 
reaction  after  a  cut  assists  the  operator  in  raising  the  lever  which  operates  the  knife. 

Teddying  Machines. 

EVERY  farmer  should  own  a  teddying  machine.  This  contrivance  is  arranged  with  a  pair 
of  wheels  like  a  fc'ilky,  and  with  long  teeth  extending  from  a  false  axle  to  within  an  inch  of 


108  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  is  propelled  by  a  horse.  Three  or  four  hours  after  mowing, 
the  teddy  is  run  over  the  mown  grass,  and  by  its  action  every  blade  is  thrown  up  into  the 
air  and  falls  loosely  in  a  reversed  position,  suffering  free  circulation  of  air,  with  new  surfaces 
exposed  to  the  sun.  Six  acres  may  be  thus  tcddied  in  a  single  hour. —  Working  Farmer. 

"1 

Grain  and  Grass-seed  Headers  and  Harvesters, 


Steadman's  Clover-seed  Header. — The  above  engraving  illustrates  a  new  and  improved  clover, 
timothy,  and  other  grass  or  grain-seed  header  and  harvester,  the  invention  of  Mr.  T.  S.  Stead- 
man,  Orleans  county,  New  York.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  cut,  it  is  drawn  by  one  horse,  which 
walks  outside  of  the  part  of  the  field  intended  to  be  harvested.  Turning  continually  to  the 
right,  it  cuts  equally  as  well  as  when  turning  a  corner,  as  when  going  straight  ahead.  The 
seed-heads  are  gathered  by  the  comb,  cut  off  by  the  revolving  knives,  and  by  a  self-raking 
apparatus  attached,  thrown  to  the  rear  end  of  the  box.  By  detaching  the  intermediate  gear- 
ing-wheel, it  is  immediately  converted  into  a  three-wheeled  wagon,  and  can  be  driven 
wherever  wished.  By  pressing  down  one  or  both  of  the  levers  shown  on  the  rear  end  of  the 
box,  one  or  both  sides  of  the  comb  and  cutter  may  be  lowered  or  elevated  at  pleasure.  The 
peculiarity  of  the  machine  is,  that  it  cuts  and  saves  only  the  heads  of  the  grain  or  seed,  and 
by  an  extra  pair  of  wheels  it  can  be  applied  to  the  gathering  and  harvesting  of  any  kind  of 
grain  or  grass-seed.  It  will  cut  from  eight  to  twelve  acres  per  day  with  ease.  All  the  bolts 
in  the  machine  are  in  sight,  with  but  one  exception. 

Gage's  Clover  Gatherer. — The  peculiarities  of  a  machine  recently  invented  by  J.  S.  Gage, 
of  Dowagiac,  Michigan,  consists  of  a  cylinder  provided  with  a  series  of  toothed  bars,  so 
arranged  that  as  the  cylinder  rotates  the  teeth  are  projected  forward  in  front,  and  the  seed 
is  combed  from  the  standing  stalks  and  conveyed  into  the  interior  of  the  cylinder.  This 
machine  is  well  adapted  to  secure  the  seed  of  clover-fields,  which  are  intended  to  be  plowed 
in  for  fertilizing. 

Mowing  Machines  vs.  Scythes, 

LET  us  compare,  a  little,  the  two  modes  of  cutting  grass.  Day  laborers  hired  at  $1  per 
day  will  probably  mow  in  medium  grass  1£  acres  to  the  hand;  that  is,  it  will  cost  $5  or  $6 
to  mow  8  acres,  and  25  cents  each  hand  for  boarding  will  be  $1.50  more,  which,  added  to 
$5.50,  makes  $7  for  mowing  8  acres.  Now  hire  a  man  with  a  span  of  horses  and  a  machine 
to  cut  the  8  acres,  at  50  cents  per  acre,  and  he  will  cut  it  in  a  day,  $4.00,  and  $1.00  more 
will  pay  their  boarding,  making  in  all  $5.00,  and  the  grass  will  be  spread  better  for  curing 
than  a  man  will  spread  it  after  the  5  hands,  which,  in  the  estimate,  will  make  $3.00  advantage 
to  the  mower.  At  that  rate  the  machine  will  pay  for  itself  in  40  days'  mowing,  besides 
saving  so  much  hard  labor. — Ohio  farmer. 

Improvements  in  Reapers,  Mowers,  and  Harvesters. 

Russets  Mowing  Machine. — This  machine,  invented  by  Fisk  Russel,  of  Boston,  consists  of  a 
square  frame  mounted  on  two  wheels,  one  of  them  being  a  heavy  cast-iron  wheel,  from 


AGRICULTURAL   MECHANICS   AND   RURAL  ECONOMY. 


109 


which  the  motive  power  is  derived;  the  other,  a  secondary  wheel,  placed  in  the  opposite  side 
of  the  frame,  and  forward  of  the  main  wheel,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  that  side  of  the 
frame,  preventing  the  heavy  drag  of  the  knife-bar  on  the  ground,  and  effectually  obviating 
the  side  draft  of  the  machine.  In  connection  with  the  secondary  wheel  is  an  apparatus  for 
elevating  or  depressing  the  knife-bar.  By  means  of  a  lever,  the  driver,  while  sitting  on  the 
machine,  may  in  an  instant  raise  the  knife-bar  to  the  height  of  fifteen  inches.  It  is  thus 


-I  over  stones  or  other  obstacles  without  changing  the  course  of  the  team,  and  at  the 
proper  moment  is  lowered  to  its  former  position.  The  same  apparatus  admits  of  the  knife- 
bar  being  firmly  fixed  at  any  desired  point,  so  that  the  knives  may  cut  at  different  heights, 
leaving  the  stuhble  at  such  lengths  as  the  peculiar  surface  of  the  ground  or  other  circum- 
stances may  render  expedient.  Motion  is  given  to  the  knives  by  means  of  a  cam-wheel  placed 
on  the  same  shaft  with  the  pinion  connected  with  the  main-wheel,  requiring  only  one  set  of  gear 
to  obtain  any  desired  number  of  vibrations  of  the  knives,  from  35  to  48,  to  one  revolution  of  the 
main-wheel,  thereby  making  it  very  easy  to  graduate  the  speed  of  the  knives  to  the  natural  walk 
of  any  horse.  Each  knife  is  placed  upon  the  knife-bar  independent  in  itself,  moving  on  a  centre 
pivot  by  means  of  an  iron  rod  passing  under  and  attached  to  the  back  end  of  the  knives,  giv- 
ing them  an  oscillating  motion,  and  effecting  a  drawing,  circular  cut.  The  knives  are  double ; 
that  is,  they  have  a  cutting  edge  at  each  end,  and  by  removing  the  cap  which  secures  them 
in  place  while  at  work,  any  one  can  be  removed  and  another  substituted  in  its  place,  or  the 
ends  can  be  reversed  when  one  edge  becomes  dull.  This  machine  is  made  both  for  one  or 
two  horses. 

Dietz  and  Dunham's  Improved  Reaper  and  Mover. — At  the  recent  State  Agricultural  Fair  of 
New  Jersey,  Messrs.  Dietz  and  Dunham  exhibited  an  improved  mowing  and  reaping  machine, 
in  which  by  a  peculiar  construction,  motion  is  transferred  to  the  cutters  directly  from  the 
driving  or  ground-wheel  of  the  machine,  by  means  of  a  simple  lever,  and  without  gearing  of 
cogs,  shafts,  &c. 

Manning's  Reaper  and  Moicer. — In  this  invention  the  knives  have  a  rotary  motion,  and  are 
operated  by  small  cog-wheels  and  rope-pulleys.  The  horse  walks  behind  the  knives,  push- 
ing the  machine  before  him. 

Lupton's  Improvement  in  Harvesters. — A  patent  for  improved  grain  and  grass  harvesters 
was  granted  to  T.  W.  Lupton,  of  Virginia,  in  June,  1855.  The  arrangement  combines  rotary 
cutters  with  wire  fingers,  reel,  and  endless  receiving  aprons.  The  fingers  bend  the  grain  at 
an  angle  at  which  it  is  swept  and  cut  by  the  cutters,  conveyed  away  by  the  aprons,  and  de- 
posited on  the  ground.  The  aprons  are  dispensed  with  in  cutting  grass. 

Kroger' s  Improved  Harvester.— This  invention,  by  A.  E.  Kroger,  of  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  is 
intended  to  obviate  all  the  difficulties  which  have  hitherto  attended  the  use  of  these  machines 
on  rough  and  rocky  ground.  The  invention  accomplishes  this  as  follows  :— In  the  first  place, 


110  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

he  curves  up  the  fingers  a  little  in  front,  so  that,  on  meeting  an  obstruction,  they  will  be 
likely  to  rise  up  and  slide  over  the  same ;  secondly,  in  the  attachment  of  the  finger-bar  to 
the  frame,  he  employs  springs  in  such  a  manner  that  when  one  end  of  the  finger-bar  strikes 
a  stone,  the  bar  yields,  and  easily  glides  over  the  obstacle,  without  raising  the  whole  machine. 

Burgess's  Improved  Reaper. — An  English  reaper  has  be«n  recently  patented  in  the  United 
States,  (August,  1855,)  the  peculiar  improvement  of  which  consists  in  employing  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  Archimedean  screw  for  the  purpose  of  delivering  or  laying  oif  th,e  cut  grain  as 
it  falls  upon  a  platform. 

Ruffff's  Mower  and  Reaper. — This  machine  differs  from  most  others  in  the  fact  that  the 
horses  are  placed  behind  the  cutting  apparatus,  by  which  the  side  draught  is  avoided,  and 
the  driver  sits  behind  them,  guiding  the  machine  by  a  sort  of  rudder-wheel  underneath  his 
seat.  It  has  some  advantages  and  some  disadvantages  as  compared  with  others,  being 
somewhat  complicated,  has  much  more  weight  of  material,  occupies  more  space,  and  is  not 
so  readily  managed  in  turning  about ;  it  performs  its  work,  however,  most  creditably. 

Improvements  in  Maize  Harvesters. 

THREE  patents  for  machines  for  harvesting  Indian  corn  were  granted,  during  1854,  to 
James  S.  Burnham,  of  West  Jefferson,  Ohio ;  G.  A.  Bruce,  of  Mechanicsburg,  Illinois ;  and 
William  Lapham,  of  Salem,  Ohio. 

In  the  invention  of  Burnham,  the  machine  is  mounted  on  a  truck  frame,  the  cutters  being 
arranged  in  front,  in  connection  with  horizontal  reels,  which  receive  the  falling  stalks,  and 
lay  them  in  a  position  to  be  bundled. 

In  the  machine  of  Bruce,  the  stalks  are  severed  by  oblique  rotary  cutters,  placed  upon  the 
side  of  a  truck,  and  revolving  through  motion  communicated  from  the  wheels  of  the  carriage. 
As  the  stalks  fall  down,  they  are  caught  by  revolving  arms,  and  by  an  ingenious  arrange- 
ment deposited  in  bundles  upon  the  ground. 

The  invention  of  Lapham  was  for  an  improved  reel  for  collecting  the  stalks. 

An  intelligible  description  of  these  machines  cannot  be  given  without  engravings ;  they 
all,  however,  appear  to  answer  the  end  for  which  they  were  intended. 

Experimental  Trials  of  Mowing  and  Heaping  Machines. 

DURING  the  past  season,  numerous  experimental  trials  of  the  various  popular  mowing  and 
reaping  machines  have  been  instituted  by  various  agricultural  societies  in  different  sections 
of  the  country.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  reported  results  of  the  principal  experi- 
mental trials : — 

The  first  trial  we  have  to  notice  was  instituted  by  the  State  Agricultural  Society  of  Illinois, 
in  the  summer  of  1854,  to  test  the  respective  merits  of  Manny's  reaper,  and  Atkins's  self- 
raking  reaper,  $1500  being  proposed  as  the  premium.  The  last-named  reaper  is  distin- 
guished in  the  report  as  Wright's,  the  name  of  the  manufacturer.  The  trial  lasted  several 
days,  and  the  report  of  the  umpires  gives  the  following  as  some  of  the  results : 

Wright  cut  20T2ff2ff  acres  in  12  hours  and  55  minutes ;  Manny  cut  20T2<^  acres  in  10  hours 
and  3  minutes.  Time  consumed  in  reaping,  binding,  and  shocking :  Wright's  first  field, 
^iVff  acres,  bound  in  18  hours  and  25  minutes ;  Wright's  second  field,  4^'^  acres,  bound  in 
25  hours  and  30  minutes ;  shocked  in  4  hours  and  38£  minutes.  Manny's  first  field,  3T859^ 
acres,  raked  and  bound  in  25  hours  and  47  minutes,  (this  included  the  time  of  the  raker, 
who  stands  on  the  machine :)  shocked  in  4  hours  and  40  minutes. 

The  umpires  refused  to  decide  between  the  two  reapers,  declaring  the  contest  so  close  as 
to  render  it  impossible  to  say  which  was  the  best. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Westchester  (New  York)  Agricultural  Society,  a  trial  of  mow- 
ing machines  took  place  at  Bedford,  New  York,  June  15,  1855.  The  following  machines 
were  entered  for  trial : — 

Ketchum's  machine,  manufactured  by  Howard  &  Co.,  of  Buffalo,  New  York. 

Russel's  machine,  manufactured  by  R.  H.  Pease,  of  Albany,  New  York.  • 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  Ill 

Forbush's  machine,  sold  by  Griffing  &  Brothers,  New  York  City. 

Manny's  mower,  with  Adriance's  improvement,  manufactured  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 

Manny's  mower,  sold  by  L.  C.  Ball,  of  Hoosick  Falls,  New  York. 

Hallenbeck's  machine,  manufactured  at  Albany,  New  York. 

Allen's  machine,  of  New  York  City. 

Ketchum's  machine,  manufactured  by  T.  and  S.  Hull,  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York. 

Ketchum's  one-horse  mower,  manufactured  by  Ruggles,  Nourse  &  Mason,  Massachusetts ; 
sold  by  R.  L.  Allen,  of  New  York  City. 

The  following  is  the  official  report  of  the  judges.  From  the  exhibition  of  the  machines 
enumerated,  they  confidently  say  that  any  one  of  them  will  give  good  satisfaction  to  the 
farmers  of  the  country ;  but  as  each  and  all  possess  peculiar  excellencies,  we  will  specify 
them  under  the  following  heads : — 

1.  Operation  of  the  machines  on  fair  ground,  driven  at  first  by  the  same  driver  and  team, 
and  afterwards  by  the  exhibitors  themselves  or  under  their  direction. 

On  this  point,  your  committee  find  that  the  machines  of  Ketchum,  Hallenbeck,  Manny, 
and  Allen  are  of  equal  excellence. 

2.  The  lowest  and  smoothest  cut  of  each  machine. 

Your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  upon  this  point  there  is  no  marked  difference  in  the 
four  machines  just  mentioned. 

3.  Trial  on  rough,  uncleared  bottom. 

Your  committee,  on  this  point,  give  the  preference  to  Allen's  and  Russel's  machines. 

4.  Evenness  of  grass  as  left  by  the  machine  for  curing. 

We  find  that  the  machines  with  the  iron  cutter  bar  have  the  preference  in  this  respect. 
6.  Freedom  of  knives  from  clogging. 

We  are  of  opinion  that  the  machines  of  Ketchum,  Manny,  Hallenbeck,  and  Russel,  on 
account  of  the  finger-caps  not  reaching  back  to  the  finger-board,  are  least  likely  to  clog. 

6.  Amount  of  power  required  to  perform  a  given  amount  of  work. 

Your  committee  think  there  is  but  little  difference  in  this  respect  between  the  machines 
of  Hallenbeck,  Manny,  and  Allen. 

7.  Facilities  of  transportation  from  one  field  to  another,  and  for  escaping  obstructions  in 
the  field. 

We  believe  that  Manny's  machine  has  advantages  over  any  other  in  this  respect. 

8.  Durability  and  simplicity  of  construction. 

We  believe  Ketchum's  and  Allen's  the  most  durable,  and  Hallenbeck's  the  most  simply 
constructed  machines  exhibited. 

9.  Cost  of  machines : — 


Manny's,  made  by  Adriance $120 

Manny's,  made  by  Ball 115 

Russel's 125 

Allen's 120 

Ketchum's 120 


Ketchnm's,  made  by  Hull $120 

Hallenbeck's 106 

Forbush'a 120 

Ketchum's  one-horse  machiues ,..,  95 


Your  committee,  in  this  report,  have  included,  under  the  term  of  Ketchum's  machine, 
that  of  Hull  and  the  one-horse  mower  manufactured  by  Ruggles,  Nourse  &  Mason;  and 
also  where  Manny's  is  spoken  of,  they  mean  to  include  the  machine  manufactured  by 
Adriance,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  by  Ball,  of  Hoosick  Falls,  New  York. 

The  committee  of  the  Munroe  County  (New  York)  Agricultural  Society,  appointed  to  re- 
port on  the  trial  of  mowing  machines,  instituted  at  Rochester,  June  27,  were  united  in  the 
opinion  that,  of  the  eight  machines  exhibited,  the  Ketchum  machine,  and  the  Manny  with 
Wood's  improvement,  were»the  best  on  the  ground,  but  were  divided  in  opinion  as  to  which 
of  these  two  was  the  best ;  but  a  majority  finally  decided  in  favor  of  the  former,  believing 
that  that  machine  cut  the  closest  in  the  ground,  while  the  latter  was  the  easiest  for  the 
team  and  for  adjustment  over  uneven  and  stony  surfaces.  The  side  draught  was  also  light, 
while  in  the  former  machine  it  was  quite  heavy. 

The  first  premium  the  committee  award  to  the  Ketchum  machine,  and  the  second  premium 
to  Manny's  machine  with  Wood's  improvement. 

The  third  premium  is  awarded  to  Wheeler's  machine,  of  Cayuga  county.     This  machine 


112  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

cut  with  shears,  and  performed  good  work,  having  an  adjustable  beam,  and  so  arranged  as 
to  have  little  or  no  side  draught. 

At  the  trial  instituted  by  the  State  Agricultural  Society  of  New  Jersey,  at  Newark,  July, 
1855,  Ketchum's,  Allen's,  Whitenack's,  Manny's,  Forbush's,  and  Deitz  &  Dunham's  machines 
were  used,  and  all  worked  well,  though  each  had  their  favorites. 

The  machine  called  Whitenack's  seemed  to  be  the  favorite  with  the  largest  number.  Mr. 
Dunn,  a  large  farmer  of  Hunterdon  county,  says  he  used  one  of  these  machines  all  last  sum- 
mer without  grinding  the  knives ;  that  it  will  cut  from  six  to  eight  acres  a  day  of  grass, 
without  worrying  man  or  horse ;  that  it  ruiio  light  and  is  easily  handled,  and  does  not  get 
out  of  repair.  He  cut  ten  acres  of  oats  a  day,  quitting  at  five  o'clock.  The  cost  of  this 
machine  was  $130  as  a  mower,  and  $150  as  a  reaper. 

The  lightest  machine  is  that  of  Dietz  &  Dunham,  weighing  five  hundred  and  seventy-five 
pounds,  complete.  This  is  a  new  machine,  and  runs  with  a  different  motion  from  the  others, 
the  movement  of  the  knives  being  operated  by  a  cam-wheel  instead  of  a  crank. 

At  the  trial  of  mowing  machines  in  competition  for  the  premium  of  $600  offered  by  the 
State  Agricultural  Board  of  Massachusetts,  the  result  seemed  to  be  in  favor  of  Manny's  ma- 
chine, in  competition  with  Ketchum's,  Russel's,  and  Allen's.  The  horses  of  both  the  latter 
appeared  to  labor  much  harder  than  with  the  other  machines,  and  the  report  says — 

"  There  was  a  necessity  for  an  additional  heavy  man  to  assist  in  managing  Allen's  ma- 
chine, which  was  looked  upon  as  a  great  drawback.  The  second  mode  of  trial  was  by  allow- 
ing each  competitor  to  cut  a  single  swath  through  the  field  and  back  again,  and  then 
examining  the  ground,  after  the  hay  was  removed  by  a  horse-rake.  In  this  trial,  the  ma- 
chine of  Manny  showed  a  closer-cut  swath,  and  evidently  was  considered  by  the  spectators 
generally  as  the  best  machine." 

At  a  trial  of  mowing  machines,  instituted  by  the  Hampden  (Massachusetts)  County  Agriciil- 
tural  Society,  June  29th,  1865,  four  different  machines  were  entered — Hovey's,  Russell, 
Manny's,  and  Ketchum's. 

In  the  trial,  Hovey's  machine  failed,  after  a  short  time,  from  an  accident,  and  was  with- 
drawn. Russel's  machine  finished  its  work  in  good  time,  but  in  an  unsatisfactory  manner. 
In  relation  to  its  performance,  the  committee  state:  "  It  is  not  requisite  for  us  '  to  point  out1 
the  reasons  of  the  failure ;  but  several  farmers  expressed  the  opinion  that  raking  after  such 
mowing  would  '  extract  teeth'  too  fast  to  be  either  easy  or  profitable.  The  fault  may  have 
been  in  an  inexperienced  team  or  in  inexperienced  driving,  and  not  at  all  in  the  machine.  Wo 
can  only  say  that  the  opinion  of  most  seemed  to  be  that  if  we  must  have  such  mowing  by 
horse-power,  farmers  would  better  put  their  fist  to  the  'thole,'  and  drive  the  'heel  wedges'  a 
little  longer." 

The  comparison,  then,  was  narrowed  down  to  two  machines — Manny's  and  Ketchum's.  Of 
these  the  committee  report  as  follows:  "It  would,  perhaps,  be  difficult  to  say  which  did  its 
work  best.  If  difference  there  were,  most  of  the  committee  thought  it  in  favor  of 
Ketchum's  mower.  The  work  done  by  the  latter  certainly  had  a  most  elegant  appearance ; 
but  it  should  be  remarked  that  the  lot  that  fell  to  this  machine  was  the  more  feasible,  as 
Manny's  lot  was  marred  by  a  fence  and  also  by  a  random  swath  of  its  rival ;  the  horses, 
also,  attached  to  Ketchum's  patent  were  said  to  be  more  accustomed  to  the  work,  a  considera- 
tion of  no  small  importance.  Whether,  after  these  considerations  are  duly  weighed,  a 
verdict  of  better  work  should  be  given  in  favor  of  this  machine,  is  perhaps  a  matter  of 
doubt.  But  distinctions  without  a  difference  are  needless.  They  both  did  well.  If  all  our 
meadows  could  be  shorn  of  their  velvet  covering  as  handsomely  as  either  of  these  lots,  the 
age  of  '  whetstones'  might,  without  regret,  be  suffered  to  pass  away ;  they  would  have 
4  shown  their  grit'  long  enough. 

"  Thus  much  upon  the  work  of  the  two;  but  there  are  other  considerations  of  importance. 
Ketchum's  machine  seems  much  more  simple;  Manny's  invention  seems  complex,  at  least  to  one 
whose  knowledge  of  mechanics  extends  not  much  beyond  the  hoe-handle  and  flail.  Some 
of  the  committee  expressed  a  doubt  whether  they  were  deep  enough  in  gudgeons  and  screws 
to  put  such  an  apparatus  in  working  order,  even  if  it  were  sent  to  them.  It  is  an  obvious 
remark  that  the  greater  the  complexity,  the  greater  the  danger  of  getting  out  of  repair,  and 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  113 

the  greater  the  expense — important  items  for  farmers  who  must  use  these  machines.  Each 
machine  is  represented  to  have  its  peculiar  merits.  Manny's  patent  is  accompanied  by  a 
reel,  designed  to  give  an  inclination  to  the  grass  favorable  to  easy  cutting ;  it  has  also  a  side 
wheel,  which  would  seem  to  aid  in  diminishing  the  side  draft.  On  the  other  hand,  Ketchum's 
mower  boasts  of  some  features  which  are  claimed  to  be  equally  valuable.  It  has  a  curve  or 
arch  under  the  main  beam  which  is  said  greatly  to  facilitate  the  escape  of  the  previous 
swath  (if  of  swath  we  may  speak)  under  the  machine.  It  was  remarked  by  many  during 
the  trial  that  owing  to  this  or  other  reason  this  one  of  the  four  competitors  seemed  to  clog 
less  than  the  others.  The  advocates  of  this  machine  also  plead  that  placing,  as  this  patent 
does,  the  knife-finger  in  a  line  with  the  axle  of  the  carrying-wheel,  gives  it  an  advantage  in 
reaching  the  bottom  of  furrows  and  other  depressions  across  which  it  passes ;  as  when  the 
wheel  sinks  the  knives  must  sink  also,  and  there  seems  to  be  some  reason  in  the  claim. 

"  With  regard  to  the  weight  of  the  several  machines,  we  cannot  accurately  speak.  That  is 
a  consideration  of  far  less  importance  than  the  requisite  power  of  draft;  with  regard  to  this 
we  had  no  opportunity  of  judging,  except  from  the  appearance  of  the  horses  employed. 
They  seem  to  give  in  every  case  an  involuntary  testimony  to  the  fact  that  mowing  has  not 
yet  ceased  to  be  hard  work.  In  behalf,  therefore,  of  the  animals  on  which  we  propose 
henceforth  to  throw  the  labor  of  mowing,  we  send  in  to  the  manufacturers  a  most  respectful 
and  earnest  petition  that  mowing  machines  may  in  some  way  be  made  of  easier  draft ;  that 
in  saving  the  men  we  may  not  murder  the  horses.  There  seemed  to  be  no  great  difference 
between  Manny  and  Ketehum  in  this  respect.  The  expense  was  also  understood  to  be  about 
the  same.  If,  then,  the  question  were  narrowed  down  simply  to  this:  Which  of  the  two 
would  you  purchase,  if  either?  probably  most  or  all  of  the  committee,  from  what  they  saw 
this  day,  would  incline  in  favor  of  Ketchum's  improved  mowers  of  1855,  but  not  Ketchum's 
mower  of  1854,  which  is  said,  like  some  crops,  to  have  been  a  failure." 

The  committee  further  suggest  that  a  very  desirable  improvement  in  mowing  machines 
would  be  an  arrangement  whereby  two  horses  or  one  may  be  employed  upon  them  at 
pleasure.  "We  are  satisfied,  from  what  we  have  seen,  that  two  horses,  such  as  live  with 
most  farmers  in  this  vicinity,  would  find  ample  employment  with  a  single  cutter." 

Trial  of  Reapers  and  Mowers  at  the  French  Industrial  Exhibition  of  1855. — The  final  trial  of 
all  the  reaping  and  mowing  machines  of  the  Exhibition  came  off  on  the  2d  of  August,  and 
is  thus  reported  in  the  Paris  Constitutionnel: — 

There  were  ten  machines  in  the  Exposition;  nine  of  them  were  sent  out  by  the  Imperial 
Commissioners  to  the  place  of  trial,  about  forty  miles  distant  from  Paris ;  this  was  a  field 
of  oats,  of  about  fifteen  acres,  standing  up  well,  and  divided  into  lots  or  pieces  of  about  an 
acre  each,  by  swaths  being  cut  through  at  a  given  distance  parallel  with  each  other,  each 
piece  being  numbered,  and  one  machine  allotted  to  each  piece.  At  the  beat  of  the  drum, 
three  machines  started  off  together.  J.  S.  Wright,  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  managed  by  his 
agent,  Mr.  Jewell ;  Patrick  Bell's  machine,  by  Mr.  Fourent ;  and  a  machine  from  Algiers. 
These  machines  were  calculated  to  do  their  own  raking  by  machinery.  Wright's  machine 
cut  his  piece  in  twenty-four  minutes,  Bell's  in  sixty-six  minutes,  and  the  Algiers  machine  in 
seventy-two  minutes.  The  raking  or  discharging  of  the  grain  from  all  of  the  three  machines 
was  badly  done,  the  grain  being  much  scattered  in  its  delivery  upon  the  ground,  Wright's 
doing  much  the  best.  The  cutting,  however,  was  well  done.  The  mechanical  movement  of 
the  automaton  raker  of  Wright's  machine  was  truly  wonderful.  The  operation  of  the 
machine  was  highly  successful.  Bell's  machine,  by  Fourent,  did  the  cutting  and  gathering 
of  the  grain  in  a  very  neat  manner ;  the  grain  was  delivered  freely  to  one  side  of  the  ma- 
chine for  the  binders.  After  the  jurors  had  carefully  noted  the  trial  thus  far,  the  signal 
again  was  given,  and  off  started  three  other  machines,  J.  H.  Manny's,  of  Rockford,  Illinois, 
managed  by  Mr.  Mabie ;  Bell's,  by  Croskill ;  and  a  French  one-horse  reaper.  Manny's  cut 
its  piece  in  twenty-two  minutes;  Bell's,  by  Croskill,  and  the  one-horse  French  reaper,  both 
failed  to  cut  their  pieces ;  while  Manny's  did  its  work  in  the  most  exquisite  manner,  not 
leaving  a  single  stalk  ungathered,  and  it  discharged  the  grain  in  the  most  perfect  shape,  as 
if  placed  by  hand,  for  the  binders.  It  finished  its  piece  most  gloriously.  Again,  after  the 
jury  had  taken  further  notes  of  the  trial,  the  signal  was  given,  and  three  other  machines 


114  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

started  off  on  the  contest,  Hussey's  reaper,  by  Dray;  M'Cormick's,  by  M'Kenzie;  and  Bell's, 
by  Perry.  Hussey's  machine  cut  its  piece  in  thirty  minutes,  M'Cormick's  in  twenty  minutes, 
and  Bell's  failed  to  finish  its  piece.  Hussey's  machine  did  its  work  remarkably  well,  cutting 
clean  and  smoothly,  and  leaving  the  grain  in  the  track  of  the  machine  in  good  condition  for 
the  binders.  This  machine  was  conceded  to  be  too  heavy  and  laborious  for  the  team,  and 
leaving  the  grain  in  the  track  of  the  machine  was  found  to  be  an  objection,  as  it  necessarily 
needed  to  be  bound  and  removed  as  fast  as  the  machine  did  its  work,  in  order  that  the 
machine  could  pass  around  a  succeeding  time ;  yet  this  machine  is  unquestionably  a  good 
one,  and  it  may  be  used  to  great  advantage,  as  it  would  likely  prove  durable,  being  very 
strongly  made.  M'Cormick's  machine  performed  its  task  well,  cutting  a  close  and  even 
swath;  but  the  raker  or  attendant,  who  performed  the  labor  of  discharging  the  grain, 
seemed  to  be  very  much  strained,  being  obliged  to  ride  backward  upon  the  machine  at  one 
end  of  the  reel,  having  to  reach  fully  across  the  entire  width  of  the  machine  with  a  longs- 
handled  rake  to  gather  the  grain  and  lay  it  off  of  the  machine.  The  horses  on  this  machine 
were  much  troubled  by  a  strong  lateral  pressure  against  their  shoulders,  occasioned  by  the 
tongue  of  the  machine.  This  reaper,  on  the  whole,  is  much  too  cumbersone  and  heavy  for 
two  horses.  However,  it  has  proved  itself  vastly  superior  to  any  of  the  inventions  of  the 
Old  World;  and  from  the  fact  of  its  success  heretofore,  particularly  at  the  London  Exhibi- 
tion in  1851,  it  elicited  a  good  deal  of  admiration  and  curiosity.  The  contest  was  now  fairly 
narrowed  down  to  three  machines,  Manny's,  Wright's,  and  M'Cormick's.  But,  on  starting, 
Wright's  again  broke  down,  and  left  the  struggle  exclusively  to  the  two  machines — Manny's 
and  M'Cormick's. 

The  two  machines  were  then  to  be  changed,  in  presence  of  the  jurors,  from  the  capacity 
of  reaping  to  that  of  mowing.  Manny's  made  the  change  in  one  minute ;  M'Cormick's  in 
twenty  minutes,  with  three  men.  Each  machine  made  one  cut  through  the  field  and  back — 
Manny's  machine  doing  the  best  of  two.  Then  the  change  was  made  again  for  reaping,  and 
in  the  same  time  respectively  as  before.  Then  both  machines  were  taken  into  a  wheat-field. 
Manny's  machine  cut  three  swaths,  and  with  an  ease  of  action  and  perfection  of  work  which 
fairly  placed  it  far  beyond  any  further  competition,  though  M'Cormick's  reaper  cut  two 
swaths,  and  in  a  workmanlike  manner.  Even  if  the  two  machines  were  equal  as  to  the 
quality  of  work,  yet  it  was  observed  Manny's  would  have  the  advantage  of  being  the  most 
compact,  less  cumbersome,  and  of  much  less  weight  than  M'Cormick's ;  and  in  Manny's  there 
is  no  lateral  pressure  against  the  horses,  as  by  M'Cormick's ;  also  of  being  much  the  lightest 
draft,  and  more  easily  adjustable  to  different  heights  of  cutting,  and  more  easily  convertible 
for  the  two  purposes  of  reaping  and  mowing.  This  seemed  to  be  the  only  machine  against 
which  there  could  be  no  objection  urged. 

Although  the  decision  and  report  of  the  jury  was  not  published,  yet  it  is  understood  that 
large  offers  were  made  for  the  patent-right  of  Manny's  machine  for  France. 


Scale  for  Estimating  the  Relative  Value  of  Different  Mowing  and  Reaping 

Machines. 

SOME  years  since,  the  Agricultural  Society  of  New  York,  after  considerable  deliberation 
with  many  prominent  breeders,  adopted  a  scale  of  points  for  the  estimation  of  live  stock. 
This  scale,  in  its  practical  application,  has  given  great  satisfaction,  and  has  been  an  import- 
ant aid  to  committees.  It  is  now  proposed  by  Colonel  Johnson,  of  New  York,  Dr.  Elwyn, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  other  prominent  agriculturists,  to  establish  a  scale  of  points  for 
reapers  and  mowers,  and  by  settling  first  what  is  wanted  to  make  a  perfect  machine,  to  afford 
thus  some  guide  to  committees  at  exhibitions  for  awarding  premiums  according  to  their 
approximation  to  a  recognised  and  established  scale. 

A  circular,  setting  forth  the  desiderata  deemed  necessary  for  forming  a  correct  judgment 
respecting  various  machines,  has  been  issued,  from  which  we  derive  the  following: — 

A  Scale  of  Points  is  necessary  in  trials  of  reapers  and  mowers  for  three  reasons:  1.  That 
a  correct  decision  may  be  obtained ;  2.  That  the  grounds  of  the  awards  may  be  understood 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  115 

by  those  who  wish  to  buy  machines ;  and,  3.  That  the  awards  of  different  committees  may 
be  understandingly  compared. 

It  is  idle  for  any  committee,  no  matter  how  capable  of  judging  clearly  and  correctly,  to 
jump  at  a  decision  in  the  aggregate  between  the  claims  of  rival  reapers,  so  many  of  which 
are  established  as  good  machines;  some  of  them,  perhaps,  nearly  equal  in  all  important 
respects,  and  no  one  of  which  is  best  on  every  point.  A  comparison  must  be  instituted  between 
them,  and  a  careful  decision  had  upon  each  specific  point.  Having  a  scale  of  these  various 
points,  with  their  relative  value  fairly  apportioned,  even  an  inferior  committee  could  hardly 
fail  to  arrive  at  a  pretty  correct  award. 

Such  has  been  the  character  of  most  of  the  trials,  that  the  decisions  have  little  weight. 
The  premiums  at  one  trial  are  given  to  certain  machines,  and  in  the  adjoining  county  or 
state  the  verdict  is  reversed,  and  other  machines  declared  best.  None  of  the  details  upon 
which  judgment  was  formed  being  known,  it  is  impossible  for  a  farmer  not  at  the  trials  to 
get  any  aid  from  them  in  selecting  a  reaper.  Indeed  the  variety  of  verdicts  given  in  this 
blind  manner  tends  to  confuse  him ;  whereas,  had  the  decisions  been  given  upon  each  specific 
point,  he  could,  by  comparison  6f  the  reports,  decide  which  reaper  was  best  suited  to  his 
circumstances. 

It  is  important  for  farmers  to  have  snch  machines  used  in  trials  as  are  ordinarily  built 
and  sold  to  them.  They  do  not  want  to  be  misled  by  a  machine  of  extra  cost  and  finish 
taking  the  highest  prize.  They  want  to  see  the  machines  tried  that  they  have  got  to  buy. 
Therefore,  let  all  societies  introduce  a  rule  to  this  effect ;  and  if  any  manufacturer  is  found 
trying  to  work  underhandedly  or  unfairly  on  this  or  other  points,  he  should  be  excluded 
from  the  trial  and  the  award  at  the  judgment  of  the  committee. 

The  following  scale  is  not  offered  to  the  public  as  being  perfect,  bnt  as  being  an  improve- 
ment upon  any  plan  as  yet  proposed.  It  has  received  the  careful  consideration  of  farmers 
well  acquainted  with  machines  and  with  public  trials,  and  has  been  altered  so  that  it  meets 
the  united  approval  of  leading  persons  in  the  agricultural  societies  of  five  different  States. 

Scale  of  Point*  in  Trials  of  Reapers. 
No.    Perfect  at 

1  9        Cost  of  machine. 

2  8        Simplicity  of  construction  to  do  its  work. 

3  10  Facility  of  management,  including  time  and  room  required  for  turning. 

4  30  Durability  and  reliability. 

5  16  Adaptation  to  varied  and  uneven  surfaces,  and  to  cutting  at  different  heights. 

6  30  Freedom  of  the  knife  from  clogging  by  fibrous  or  gummy  matter. 

7  9        Motive  power,  or  power  required  for  a  given  amount  of  work. 

8  45         Manual  labor  in  raking. 

9  26        Rapidity,  or  amount  of  harvesting  in  a  given  time. 

10  45         The  manner  of  leaving  the  grain  for  binding. 

11  72        Saving  of  grain  in  cutting,  binding,  and  handling,  and  in  the  stack. 

300» 

To  determine  the  relative  value  of  points  correctly,  they  should,  as  far  as  practicable,  be 
estimated  by  dollars  and  cents,  though  several  cannot  be  arrived  at  in  that  manner.  As  a 
matter  of  convenience,  those  are  put  into  the  scale  that  can  be  estimated  by  money,  at  a  unit 
for  each  dollar. 

1st  Point,  "  Cost." — This  I  get  at  by  supposing  a  machine  good  for  five  years'  wear,  which 
the  higher-priced  ones  certainly  are ;  the  difference  in  price  between  the  cheapest  and  the 
highest-priced  is  $35.  This  amount,  divided  among  the  five  years,  gives  $7  ;  and  the  inte- 
rest on  $35  is  $2.10,  making  $9.10.  This,  therefore,  is  put  at  9  in  the  scale,  being  a  unit 
for  each  dollar. 

The  2d  Point  should  read,  "simplicity  of  construction  to  do  its  work.  The  more  a  machine 
does,  the  more  machinery  may  there  be  to  do  it.  A  self-raker,  and  even  a  binder,  may  be 

*  Judgment  being  formed  by  the  committee  relative  to  each  machine  on  each  specific  point  according  to  the 
following  scales,  the  machine  whose  aggregate  reaches  the  highest  number  is  the  victor;  three  hundred  being 
the  sum  total  of  a  perfect  reaper,  two  hundred  and  twelve  of  a  perfect  mower,  and  five  hundred  and  fifty  of  a 
perfect  combined  machine. 


116  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

just  as  simple  in  its  structure  as  some  hand-raker,  considering  what  it  does ;  and,  to  make 
judgment  fair  and  equitable  between  them,  the  object  and  work  must  be  fairly  considered,  as 
well  as  construction. 

This  point  is  not  of  great  importance ;  those  following  should  control.  For  if  a  machine 
is  easily  managed,  durable,  &c.,  it  is  little  matter  abou,t  a  piece  or  two  more  of  gearing 
or  frame. 

The  3d  Point — "Facility  of  management,  including  time  and  room  required  for  turning" 

is  so  similar  to  the  ninth  point — rapidity  of  operation — that  one  of  these  must:be  set  low,  or 
too  much  weight  will  be>giyen  them. 

The  4th  Point — "Durability  and  reliability" — is  of  much  more  importance.  Any  machine, 
however  good  in  other  respects,  is  an  immense  evil  to  the  farmer  if  it  fails  in  time  of  need. 
Having  relied  upon  it  to  save  his  grain,  and  it  proving  worthless,  and  having  made  no  other 
provisions,  he  is  obliged  to  hire  harvesters  at  largely-increased  cost,  if,  indeed,  he  can  get 
them  at  all,  or  perhaps  submit  to  the  loss  of  a  valuable  crop,  wholly  or  in  part.  Opinions 
would  vary  greatly  as  to  the  number  this  should  be  set  at. 

The  5th  Point—  "Adaptation  to  varied  and  uneven  surfaces,  and  to  cutting  at  different 
heights" — should  be  set  much  lower  than  the  previous  one. 

The  6th Point — "Freedom  of  the  knife  from  clogging" — seems  to  merit  much  consideration; 
though  not  so  important  in  reaping  as  in  mowing.  Some  machines,  it  is  known,  choke  or 
clog  by  fibres  being  drawn  in  the  opening  of  the  fingers  in  cutting  damp  or  wet  grain.  This 
is  particularly  the  case  where  there  is  much  undergrowth.  It  is  important  to  be  able  to  cut 
when  the  dew  is  on,  because  it  is  cooler,  and  the  grain  shatters  less.  But  if  the  knife 
constantly  clogs,  little  progress  can  be  made.* 

The  7th  Point — "  Motive  power,  or  power  required  for  a  given  amount  of  work."  The 
difference  in  team  required  to  work  any  two  reapers  is  never  more  than  one  pair  of 
horses,  the  value  of  which  for  a  harvest  will  vary  considerably  in  different  sections.  Large 
farmers  who  have  plenty  of  horses  would  only  consider  the  cost  of  an  extra  pair  as  the  worth 
of  the  extra  grain  they  had  to  feed  during  the  reaping.  Probably  putting  this  at  the  same 
as  the  1st  point,  "cost,"  will  be  fair  and  certainly  high  enough,  particularly  as  the  inconve- 
nience of  using  an  extra  pair  has  its  weight  in  the  estimate  of  3d  point. 

The  8th  Point — "Manual  labor  in  raking."  To  establish  the  value  of  this  point,  it  is 
first  to  be  considered  that  there  is  considerable  difference  between  hand-raking  reapers  in 
the  ease  with  which  grain  can  be  raked  from  them.  It  would  not  be  too  much  to  allow  ten 
to  estimate  the  difference  between  them. 

Then  a  self-raker  saves  a  hand,  and  that,  too,  at  the  very  hardest  of  work,  over  the  best 
hand-raker.  As  wages  were  last  year,  and  will  be  the  present,  this  hand  in  harvest,  with  his 
board,  costs  at  least  $2  a  day.  If  a  little  less  than  that  in  some  sections,  it  will  be  enough 
more  in  others  to  make  it  equal  this  and  more  too.  The  wheat-harvest  will  last  from  eight 
to  twelve  days — say  ten — and  oats,  rye,  barley,  &c. — say  five  days.  The  latter  is,  perhaps,  a 
day  or  two  longer  than  Southern  farmers  would  generally  have  grain  for  ;  but  it  is  too  little 
by  five  days  for  the  North,  so  that  fifteen  days'  work  would  be  a  moderate  allowance,  making 
the  saving  $30.  Something  more  should  be  added  to  this,  because  of  the  excessive  labor 
that  is  saved,  one  hand  being  hardly  sufficient  to  work  all  day  long,  and  day  after  day  in 
raking  off.  For  this  five  is  added.  Add  the  previous  ten,  giving  forty-five  for  this  point. 

The  9th  Point — "Rapidity,  or  amount  of  harvesting  in  a  given  time."  Suppose  reapers 
cost  on  an  average  with  transportation  $140,  and  are  worn  out  in  five  years ;  that  is,  $28  a 
year  ;  the  interest  is  $8.40.  The  team,  two  pair,  $18.  The  rake  $30,  and  driver  $20.  The 
latter  not  having  as  hard  work  and  a  cheaper  hand  answering,  his  labor  is  estimated  a  little 
less  than  the  raker.  The  total  is  $104.40.  The  narrowest  reaper  cuts  four  and  a  half  feet, 
and  the  widest  six  feet,  (with  a  very  few  exceptions  not  necessary  to  be  allowed  for,)  making 


*  Thus  far  it  has  been  impossible  to  find  data  by  which  to  estimate  the  relative  value  of  the  points,  and  opi- 
nions will  perhaps  vary  very  much  concerning  them.  But  in  the  others,  we  can  get  sound  data  to  base  them 
upon,  and  though  in  carrying  out  the  estimates  some  come  to  high  figures,  they  are  not,  therefore,  to  be  rejected 
or  considered  wild. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  117 

a  difference  of  one  quarter.  Then  one  quarter  of  the  above  figures  would  give  the  value  of 
this  point  at  twenty-six. 

The  10th  Point — "Manner  of  leaving  the  grain  for  binding."  More  difference  than  one 
hand  can  be  made  in  binding  by  the  gavels  being  well  or  badly  laid.  Between  the  best  and 
worst  machine  to  rake  from  there  is  in  the  manner  of  depositing  the  grain  at  least  a  differ- 
ence of  a  hand  and  a  half,  costing  for  the  fifteen  days  $45,  making  this  point,  therefore, 
forty-five. 

The  llth  Point — "Saving  of  grain  in  cutting,  binding,  and  handling,  and  in  the  stack." 
Those  who  have  compared  the  working  of  different  reapers,  know  that  some  will  save  largely 
as  compared  with  others,  and  it  is  very  easy  to  make  a  difference  of  several  bushels  in  each 
day's  work  of  ten  to  fifteen  acres,  even  to  the  amount  of  a  bushel  or  more  an  acre,  particu- 
larly if  the  grain  is  over  ripe. 

There  is,  first,  the  loss  in  not  cutting  clean  ;  second,  shattering  by  the  reel  and  in  cutting ; 
third,  shattering  in  raking  off;  fourth,  loss  from  scattered  grain  being  badly  raked  off ;  fifth, 
loss  in  handling  the  sheaves,  the  grain  not  having  been  raked  straight,  and  consequently  being 
imperfectly  secured  in  the  sheaf;  and  sixth,  liability  to  injury  in  the  stack  by  the  weather,  if 
the  heads  are  not  all  laid  one  way  in  the  raking. 

These  losses,  though  depending  much  upon  the  hand,  will  all  be  found  to  exist,  and  greatly 
to  vary  between  different  machines  with  good  hands.  Some  of  them  are  trifling ;  yet  in  the 
aggregate  they  make  a  point  of  much  more  value  than  any  other. 

Suppose  the  difference  of  loss  in  extreme  cases  is  only  half  a  bushel  to  the  acre — that  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  wheat  and  sixty  acres  of  other  grains  are  cut — which  would 
be  twelve  acres  per  day  for  the  season  of  fifteen  days.  Thus  there  is  saved  sixty  bushels  of 
wheat,  worth  say  $1  per  bushel,  and  thirty  bushels  of  oats,  barley,  rye,  &c.,  worth  say  forty 
cents,  making  the  saving  $72.  Though  seventy-two  seems  at  first  to  be  large  for  this  point, 
it  ought  to  be  set  higher  rather  than  lower. 

If  this  scale  is  at  all  correct,  there  is,  of  course,  great  difference  in  machines.  If  the 
forty  or  fifty  varieties  invented,  and  of  which  some  thirty  are  more  or  less  in  use,  could  all 
be  brought  together,  some  would  run  very  low  in  the  scale,  while  others  would  go  high. 
Of  the  points  in  the  scale,  two  hundred  and  six  (less  ten  in  the  8th  point  of  raking)  equal 
one  hundred  and  ninety-six,  are  estimated  in  money  value  of  say  only  $14  a  season,  making 
$210.  Some  of  the  reapers  would  not  in  thorough  trials  reach  sixty  on  these  points,  while 
others  would  reach  one  hundred  and  sixty  and  over,  thus  showing  there  may  be  a  difference 
in  reapers  of  over  $100  in  a  single  season's  use. 

With  so  large  a  difference  in  reapers,  and  the  demand  so  rapidly  increasing,  and  it  being 
difficult — almost  impossible — for  farmers  to  compare  them  themselves,  it  is  not  strange  that 
so  many  attempts  should  be  made  to  test  them  by  farmers,  united  in  their  State  and  county 
societies.  Yet  how  few  of  the  numerous  trials  have  as  yet  resulted  in  any  permanent  good ! 
Wherefore  this  abortive  result  in  efforts  which  have  cost  so  much  in  time,  labor,  and  money 
to  societies,  committees,  reaper-builders,  and  the  public  generally  ?  Is  not  the  failure  chiefly 
owing  to  the  want  of  a  systematic  plan  to  insure  thoroughness  and  guard  against  mistakes  ? 
If  so,  a  good  scale  of  this  kind  will  correct  the  evils,  and  it  is  useless  to  go  into  trials  without 
something  of  the  sort. 

Scab  of  Points  in  Trials  of  Mowers. 

No.    Perfect  at 
1          9        Cost  of  machine. 

8         Simplicity  of  construction  to  do  its  work. 

Facility  of  management,  including  time  and  room  required  for  turning. 
4         30         Durability  and  reliability. 

10         Adaptation  to  varied  and  uneven  surfaces. 

6  16        Adaptation  to  cutting  close  to  the  ground. 

7  70        Freedom  of  the  knife  from  clogging  by  fibrous  and  gummy  matter. 

Motive  power,  or  power  required  for  a  given  amount  of  work. 
20         Rapidity,  or  amount  of  cutting  in  a  given  time. 
10        30        The  manner  of  leaving  the  grass  for  curing. 

212 


118 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


REMARKS  UPON  THE  MOWING  SCALE. — After  the  full  remarks  upon  the  reaping  scale,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  add  much  here.  The  plan  is  easily  understood.  The  first  four  points  are 
unaltered.  The  5th  in  reaping  is  divided,  making  the  5th  and  6th,  and  increasing  the  ag- 
gregate ten.  The  7th  is  largely  increased,  because  of  the  difficulty  and  importance  of  get- 
ting machines  that  will  cut  without  choking.  The  8th  is  not  altered,  though  it  might,  per- 
haps, be  reduced.  The  9th  is  reduced  six,  because  of  reduction  in  expenses  of  working  the 
mower  as  compared  with  the  reaper.  The  10th  is  also  reduced,  for  though  an  important 
point,  there  is  not  the  difference  in  mowers  in  the  manner  of  leaving  the  grass,  to  make  a 
higher  amount  necessary  to  fairly  compare  them.  Nearly  all  leave  the  grass  spread  per- 
fectly. 

Scale  for  combined  Reapers  and  Mowers. 


300 

212 

38 

550 


The  reaper  scale. 
The  mower  scale. 
Ease  of  convertibility. 


Were  all  machines  alike  easily  converted  from  reaper  into  mower,  and  vice  versa,  the  best 
combined  machine  would  be  that  which  reaches  the  highest  aggregate  in  the  two  scales ; 
but,  in  consequence  of  varying  in  this  respect,  this  other  point  must  be  added,  making  the 
points  in  a  perfect  combined  machine  reach  five  hundred  and  fifty. 


Bowen's  Thrasher  and  Grain-Separator. 

THE  annexed  figure  represents  a  longitudinal  section  of  a  grain-separator,  for  which  a 
patent  was  recently  granted  to  Archibald  Bowen,  of  Wadesville,  Clark  county,  Virginia.  The 
nature  of  this  improvement  consists  in  combining  two  reciprocating  beds — the  upper  perfo- 
rated and  inclined  towards  the  foot  of  the  machine,  and  the  lower  inclined  in  an  opposite 
direction,  so  that  the  grain  and  straw  shall  be  received  from  the  thrashing  cylinder  upon  the 
upper  bed,  which,  while  it  causes  it  to  traverse  its  entire  length  and  leave  the  machine  at  its 
foot,  permits  the  grain  to  fall  through  its  perforations  upon  the  lower  bed,  which  by  its  incli- 
nation and  reciprocating  motion,  carries  the  grain  to  the  chaff-separating  portion  of  the  ma- 
chine, where  by  blast  and  screens  the  grain  is  thoroughly  cleaned. 


In  the  engraving,  A  is  the  thrashing  cylinder,  rotating  as  shown  by  arrow  1,  and  acting  on 
the  over-thrashing  principle,  the  grain  and  straw  entering  as  indicated  by  arrow  2  ;  but  this 
separator  is  equally  well  adapted  to  the  ordinary  under-thrashing  machine.  B  is  the  upper 
bed,  composed  of  sheet  metal,  having  the  perforations  a  punched  in  it  from  the  top ;  these 
perforations  diminish  in  size  from  b  to  bf.  The  upper  extremity  of  this  bed  is  supported  by 
the  bar  c,  which  by  reason  of  two  cranks  d,  or  eccentrics,  one  at  each  end  of  the  bar,  revolves 
around  the  shaft  e,  causing  the  end  of  the  bed  to  rise  and  fall,  and  reciprocate  longitudinally, 
two  straps  t  keeping  the  bed  upon  the  bar  c  as  the  bar  revolves.  This  bed  is  jointed  at  g,  and 
is  supported  near  that  joint  by  the  long  arms  h  of  two  bent  levers  C,  placed  one  on  each  side 
of  the  bed.  The  extremity  6/  is  supported  by  the  arms  k  of  two  bent  levers  D.  The  lower 
bed  E,  which  is  a  plain  sheet  of  metal,  inclines  towards  the  head  of  the  machine,  and  is  sup- 
ported by  the  arms  k  of  levers  D,  arms  h  of  levers  C,  and  at  the  head  by  two  levers  6,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  bed.  The  arms  F  of  the  bed  E  are  jointed  with  the  rods  G  connecting  the 
bed  E  with  the  levers  D,  and  through  which  motion  is  communicated  to  the  bed  E  from  the 
bed  B.  The  levers  b,  besides  sustaining  the  head  of  the  bed  E,  also  support  one  extremity 


,  AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND   RURAL  ECONOMY.  119 

of  the  screens  m  and  n,  the  other  ends  of  these  screens  being  supported  by  the  levers  b  and  b  ; 
these  levers  have  their  fulcra  at  g  g'  g".  The  termination  of  the  screen  m  is  an  inclined 
plane  p,  connected  with  the  screen  by  the  steeper  plane  r.  P  is  the  fan  revolving,  as  shown 
by  the  arrow  3,  within  the  chamber  H.  S  are  the  elevators  which  receive  the  cleaned  grain  and 
convey  it  up  the  spout  W,  where  it  is  discharged  into  bags.  The  beds  B  and  E  are  so  con- 
structed as  to  be  capable  of  separation  at  g  g',  for  facility  of  transportation.  V  is  the  driving- 
wheel  which  gives  motion  to  the  wheel  X,  and  through  it  the  pinion  Y,  for  driving  the  thrash- 
ing cylinder  and  rotating  the  shaft. 

The  simplicity  of  the  construction  and  operation  of  this  machine  renders  it  a  valuable  im- 
provement in  grain-separators,  as  the  grain,  being  received  on  the  upper  bed,  is  thoroughly 
separated  from  the  straw  during  its  passage  over  the  bed,  and  by  the  action  of  the  bed  E 
descends  in  the  opposite  direction  to  the  mill,  while  the  straw  passes  over  the  tail  of  the  ma- 
chine, thus  effectually  making  the  first  separation.  The  second  separation  is  no  less  thorough, 
as  the  grain  receives  the  blast  under  the  best  possible  circumstances  to  insure  the  blowing 
off  of  the  chaff,  while  from  the  confining  of  the  blast  above  the  screen  m,  and  the  arrangement 
of  the  inclined  planes  r  and  /?,  the  liability  of  the  grain  to  be  blown  off  is  greatly  diminished. 

In  relation  to  this  invention,  the  Winchester  (Va.)  Republican  says — By  this  machine  the 
wheat  is  thrashed  and  bagged,  the  straw  is  completely  separated  and  delivered  by  itself,  while 
the  chaff  is  completely  separated  from  the  wheat  and  thrown  by  itself,  without  the  least  con- 
flict of  one  with  the  other ;  in  fact,  a  place  for  each,  and  each  in  its  own  place,  seems  to  have 
been  the  great  object  of  the  inventor. 

Improvements  in  Grain  and  Seed-Gleaners  and  Winnowers. 

Beech's  Improved  Chain  and  Seed-Fan.— In  this  fan,  patented  August,  1854,  the  improve- 
ments consist  mainly  in  dispensing  with  the  shoe,  which,  as  commonly  used,  is  loaded  with 
riddles  and  directing-boards,  and  swings  in  the  blast,  very  much  obstructing  its  force.  The 
air  is  used  as  it  comes  direct  from  the  drum,  unobstructed  by  any  fixture  whatever.  The 
current  is  upwards  and  forwards,  through  the  descending  column  of  grain ;  and  with  the 
arrangement  of  inclined  planes,  between  which  the  air  passes,  the  grain  is  suspended  in  the 
upward  current,  falling  according  to  its  specific  gravity  from  the  drum  to  the  tail  of  the  fan ; 
thus  the  full  force  of  the  blast  is  used,  taking  out  the  lighter  impurities  without  wasting  a 
sound  kernel.  After  the  grain  has  passed  through  the  blast,  it  falls  on  the  sieve,  and  the 
heads,  sticks,  &c.  are  separated  from  it. 

There  is  sumcient  power  in  the  blast  to  separate  the  cheat,  cockle,  &c.,  for  preparing  wheat 
for  market,  thereby  dispensing  with  the  screen,  and  saving  the  small  sound  grains  which 
must  be  lost  in  separating  with  a  screen.  In  cleaning  wheat  for  seed,  advantage  is  taken  of  the 
above-described  arrangement,  whereby  the  grain  falls  according  to  its  weight.  By  taking  out 
a  board  which  directs  the  grain,  the  sound  and  perfect  kernels,  falling  through  the  strongest 
current  of  air,  are  caught  on  a  screen  below  and  carried  over  it  to  the  front  of  the  fan,  while 
the  lighter  grains  and  all  the  impurities  fall  under  the  fan  or  are  carried  over  the  tail-board. 

Leach's  Grain-Cleaner. — A  patent  was  granted  in  March,  1855,  to  George  Leach,  of  Owego, 
New  York,  for  an  improved  machine  for  cleaning  grain.  The  device  consists  in  the  furrowing 
of  the  rubbing-stones  in  a  peculiar  manner ;  also  a  peculiar  device  for  maintaining  the  pa- 
rallelism of  the  stones.  The  face  of  the  bed-stone  has  four  grooves  cut  in  it,  tangential  with 
the  spindle  orifice,  and  they  extend  about  half-way  between  the  spindle  and  the  periphery. 
At  the  edge  of  the  face  of  the  stone  there  are  four  furrows,  slightly  curved,  that  extend  in- 
wards nearly  half-way  to  the  spindle.  The  runner-stone  has  four  furrows  in  its  face,  which 
also  curve  and  extend  from  the  edge  about  half-way  to  the  eye.  Between  these  furrows  are 
others  which  are  curved  from  the  edge  to  points  near  the  eye,  and  from  these  points  to  the 
eye  they  are  tangential  with  it,  (the  eye.) 

Keech's  and  StillwelVs  Combination  Fanning  Mill. — This  mill  is  constructed  upon  strictly 
philosophical  principles,  and  is  said  to  answer  most  perfectly  the  end  desired.  The  blast 
generated  by  this  fan  is  so  proportioned  as  to  overcome  the  weight  or  gravitating  power  of  all 
the  impurities  possessing  less  weight  than  the  grain ;  which  impurities  are  forced  out  of  the 


120  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

mouth  of  a  vertical  trunk,  while  the  grain  falls  into  a  receptacle  by  its  own  weight,  clean  and 
free  from  chaff,  dust,  &c.  The  machine  can  also  be  arranged  as  to  act  with  equal  facility  in 
cleaning  grass  or  any  kind  of  seeds  possessing  different  specific  weights  from  wheat. 

Grain  and  Smut  Machines. — The  nature  of  an  improvement,  patented  February  6,  1855,  by 
Messrs.  Bean  and  Wright,  of  Hudson,  Michigan,  consists'  in  combining  the  grain-separator 
with  the  smut  apparatus  in  such  a  manner  that  the  air,  in  passing  to  the  fan  of  the  separator, 
goes  through  the  smut  screen,  and  materially  assists  in  cleansing  the  grain  more  perfectly 
than  by  other  machines. 

Indian  Meal  Sizing. — A  patent  has  recently  been  issued  in  England  for  the  employment  of 
finely-ground  and  bolted  Indian  meal  for  sizing,  stiffening,  and  finishing  textile  fabrics,  such 
as  cotton  and  linen  goods ;  that  is,  for  the  use  of  corn  flour  as  a  substitute  for  wheat  flour  for 
stiffening  goods. 

Home's  Improved  Corn-Sheller  and  Winnower. — In  this  improved  corn-sheller,  patented  by 
J.  V.  Home,  of  Magnolia,  Illinois,  the  ear  passes  between  a  toothed  cylinder  and  a  concave 
plate,  whereby  the  grain  is  instantly  stripped  off ;  the  corn  and  cob  then  fall  into  a  revolving 
screen,  which  conveys  the  cob  away  out  of  the  machine,  while  the  corn  falls  through  the 
meshes  of  the  wire  on  to  a  concave  receiving-pan.  The  winnowing  is  done  by  a  fan  which 
sends  a  blast  of  air  lengthwise  through  the  screen.  The  grain  is  elevated  high  enough  for 
bagging  by  means  of  miniature  elevators. 

This  improvement  combines  all  the  conveniences  that  could  possibly  be  desired  in  a  corn- 
sheller — viz.  it  shells,  separates  the  cob,  cleans  and  bags  the  grain,  all  by  the  turning  of 
one  crank. 

Improvements  in  Grinding  Mills. 

Felton's  Improved  Mill. — An  improvement  in  mills  for  grinding  feed  has  been  made  by  Amory 
Felton,  of  Troy,  New  York,  which  consists  in  the  employment  or  use  of  a  corrugated  cylinder 
and  a  concave  and  cap  having  spiral  flanges  and  reciprocating  teeth.  The  grain  to  be 
ground  is  placed  in  a  hopper  above  the  corrugated  cylinder,  and  is  made  to  rotate  when  the 
grain  passes  between  the  concave  described  and  the  cylinder,  and  is  crushed  between  the 
spiral  flanges  of  the  concave  and  the  corrugations  on  the  cylinders,  and  is  then  discharged, 
ground,  by  an  opening  in  the  end  of  the  concave.  This  mill  is  now  in  use,  and  grinds  four 
bushels  per  hour  by  one-horse  power. — Scientific  American. 

The  following  figures  represent  an  improved  hominy  mill,  recently  invented  and  patented  by 
B.  Bridendolph,  of  Clearspring,  Md.  Fig.  \  is  perspective  view  of  the  mill.  A  is  the  hopper- 
box  ;  B  is  a  metal  cylinder  with  projections  on  its  inner  surface ;  C  is  the  hulling-shaft, 
working  in  cylinder  B.  It  is  of  a  compound  spiral  shape ;  it  has  a  spiral  face  and  spiral 
edges  on  its  threads.  This  shaft  revolves  in  the  cylinder  B  by  the  bevel-gearing  u  P.  The 
shaft  of  the  bevel-wheel  u  is  rotated  by  hand  by  a  crank  lever,  or  it  may  be  driven  by  any 
other  power,  /is  a  fan  which  is  rotated  by  a  band  from  pulley  w  passing  around  pulley  d, 
on  the  shaft  of  the  fan.  The  corn  is  put  into  the  inside  h  of  the  hopper-box,  and  the  shaft  C 
being  rotated,  the  corn  passes  gradually  from  the  hopper  down  through  the  cylinder  B.  The 
spiral  threads  of  the  shaft  C  beats  the  corn  against  the  rough  interior  surface  of  the  cylinder, 
carries  it  down,  and  at  the  same  time  packs  it  in  a  mass  at  the  bottom,  while  the  spiral  edges 
(which  run  reverse  to  the  spiral  of  the  threads)  act  so  as  to  strip  the  hull  from  the  grain,  and 
break  and  take  the  eyes  out  of  it. 

The  outlet  of  the  hollow  grinding  cylinder  is  regulated  by  a  small  vent-gate  at  the  one  side 
at  the  bottom,  which  allows  it  to  escape  just  as  fast  as  the  mill  hulls  it.  It  then  falls  upon 
a  sieve  s,  (fig.  1,)  and  the  hulls,  eyes,  and  other  impurities  are  there  separated  from  it  by 
the  blast  from  the  fan  /,  when  it  passes  down  and  out  in  a  clear  state  from  a  shute  under 
the  fan. 

This  mill  can  be  made  of  any  size,  from  a  hand  up  to  a  horse-power.  A  hand-power  mill, 
the  patentee  informs  us,  hulls  one  bushel  per  hour ;  a  horse-power  from  50  to  80  bushels  per 
day.  Several  thousands  of  them  have  already  come  into  use.  It  can  be  made  on  a  large 
scale,  so  as  to  convert  it  into  a  corn  and  cob  mill.  Fig.  2  represents  a  vertical  section  of  a 
cylinder  and  shaft,  when  used  as  such  a  mill.  It  is  made  like  fig.  1  in  every  respect,  excepting 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  121 

the  addition  of  the  conical  nut  n  and  corresponding  seat  at  the  lower  end  of  the  shaft.  This 
nut  is  secured  to  the  shaft  C,  and  a  key  passes  through  the  shaft  under  it.  The  shell  or 
concavity  in  which  this  nut  works  is  separate  from  that  of  B,  the  cylinder,  and  it  can  be  taken 
off  and  attached  to  the  framing,  so  as  to  renew  those  parts  when  they  get  dull,  which  can  be 
done  at  a  very  small  cost.  The  nut  n  grinds  the  hominy  into  meal :  it  can  be  enlarged  as  a 
corn  and  cob  mill  to  grind  fifteen  bushels  per  hour. 


Wilson's  Corn-grinder  and  Crusher. — In  a  corn-grinder  and  crusher  recently  patented  by 
W.  D.  Wilson,  of  Richmond,  Indiana,  the  grinding  roller  of  the  mill  has  a  V-shaped  groove 
on  its  periphery,  and  the  concave  in  which  it  runs  has  a  similar  shaped  tongue,  so  that  a 
great  amount  of  grinding  surface  is  obtained  in  a  small  space. 

Crushing  and  Grinding  Mill. — A  patent  for  an  improved  machine  for  grinding  corn  and  cobs 
was  granted  to  Jacob  Weigle,  of  Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  described  with  diagrams  in 
the  Scientific  American,  March  31,  1855.  The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  forming  a 
crushing  and  grinding  apparatus  by  uniting  with  each  other,  upon  the  same  shaft,  the  smaller 


122 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


ends  of  two  corrugated  segments  of  cones,  and  combining  with  them  corrugated,  enclosing 
casings  supplied  with  two  feeding  apertures,  and  arranged  in  such  a  manner  that  corn  and 
cobs  can  be  fed  into  one  opening,  and  ground-shelled  corn  be  fed  into  the  other  aperture,  and 
both  be  converted  into  meal. 

Shearman's  Method  of  Feeding  Grain  to  Millstones. — An  Improvement  recently  patented  by 
Simeon  Shearman,  of  Goshen,  Indiana,  consists  in  an  arrangement  placed  between  the  ordinary 
hopper  and  the  grinding  stones,  whereby  the  grain,  in  passing  from  the  one  4o  the  other,  is 
winnowed  and  dusted  by  means  of  a  fan-blast  and  appropriate  arrangements.  The  blast 
also  acts  upon  the  spindle,  keeping  both  it  and  the  grain  cool  and  clean. 


Leavitt's  Portable  Grain  Mill. 

THE  accompanying  figures  represent  an  improved  portable  grain  mill  recently  invented  and 
patented  by  Charles  Leavitt,  of  the  city  of  Quincy,  Illinois,  and  for  which  the  first  premium 
for  grain  mills  was  awarded  at  the  State  Agricultural  Fair  of  Ohio,  1855. 

The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  applying  to  a  portable  corn  mill  (in  which  the  ex- 
ternal portion  or  concave  revolves  upon  a  fixed  cone)  the  following  improvements :  First,  the 
combination  of  the  bed-plate,  legs  or  supports,  the  breaker,  and  the  main  pivot,  cast  in  one 
piece.  Secondly,  in  combination  with  the  foregoing,  a  lever  in  two  parts,  attached  to  an 
external  revolving  concave,  constructed  and  arranged  substantially  as  hereinafter  described. 

Fig.  1. 


Fig.  2. 


Fig.  1  is  a  vertical  section  of  the  mill ;  fig.  2  is  an  elevation ;  fig.  3  is  a  plan  view  of  the  mova- 
ble rings;  and  fig.  4  is  a  plan  view  of  the  annular  conductor.  Similar  letters  refer  to  like 
parts. 

The  bed-plate  a,  legs  or  supports  6,  ogee-breaker  c,  and  vertical  main  pivot  or  journal  d, 
are  cast  in  one  piece.  Upon  a  flange  projecting  from  the  lower  edge  of  the  bed-plate  a  is 
placed  an  annular  grooved  conductor  e,  which  has  an  outlet  at  /.  Between  the  top  of  the 
breaker  c,  and  the  base  of  the  pivot,  is  an  annular  groove  i,  with  an  outlet  at  the  bottom 
thereof,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  and  discharging  the  oil  from  the  pivot  d,  and  preventing 
it  from  mixing  with  the  meal.  A  sleeve  g  fits  upon  the  pivot  d  and  revolves  thereon,  its  lower 
edge  resting  upon  the  bottom  of  the  groove  i.  A  top  plate  or  cover  h,  having  a  circular  open- 
ing in  its  centre  a  little  less  than  the  base  of  the  breaker  c,  is  joined  to  the  sleeve  g  by  four 
strong  arms  I.  The  plate  h  extends  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  conductor  e,  and  carries  on  its 
under  side  square  projecting  scrapers  n,  which  fit  in  the  conductor  and  revolve  therein. 
The  arms  I  are  toothed  on  their  under  sides  to  correspond  with  the  teeth  in  the  breaker  c. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


123 


forming  together  an  effective  crusher  for  the  corn  and  cob  when  ground  together.  In  the 
space  between  the  base  of  the  breaker  c,  and  the  inner  edge  of  the  conductor  e,  are  secured 
by  bolts  (in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  readily  removed  when  required)  a  flat  ring  of  steel  or 
hardened  iron  m,  with  grinding  teeth  on  its  upper  side,  of  any  convenient  form ;  but  it  is 
preferable  for  crushing  or  coarse  grinding  to  use  teeth  the  transverse  section  of  which  pre- 
sents one  side  inclined  and  the  other  vertical.  The  mill  is  run  in  such  a  direction  that  the 
vertical  sides  of  the  upper  and  lower  grinding  surfaces  shall  meet  each  other.  In  a  groove  in 
the  upper  plate  h  is  placed  another  ring  o  of  the  same  size,  material,  and  form  as  m,  with  the 
teeth  of  the  same  form,  and  arranged  as  before  described :  this  is  also  removed  when  required. 
Between  the  ring  o  and  the  central  opening  is  a  circle  of  large  teeth  inclined  to  the  rear,  and  verti- 
cal to  the  front,  and  bevelled  upwards  on  their  inner  edges  for  the  purpose  of  forcing  or  crowding 
the  grain  on  to  the  rings.  It  is  preferable  in  grinding  fine  meal  to  run  the  grinding  surfaces 
in  such  a  direction  as  to  oppose  the  inclined  sides  of  the  teeth  in  one  ring  to  the  inclined  sides 
of  the  teeth  of  the  other ;  and  with  that  view  another  pair  of  rings  are  made  to  fit  in  the  same 
places  as  the  others,  with  the  inclined  sides  of  the  teeth  reversed.  Upon  the  top  of  the  pivot 
d  is  a  cap  p  which  rests  on  the  sleeve  g.  Through  the  cap,  pivot,  and  bed-plate  a  screw  q 
passes,  having  its  nut  at  the  bottom;  the  object  of  this  screw  is  to  regulate  the  mill  by  press- 
ing the  grinding  surfaces  together.  Upon  a  flange  on  the  edge  of  the  central  opening  is  a 
suitable  hopper.  Upon  each  side  of  the  hopper,  resting  upon  the  top  plate  A,  and  secured 
thereto  by  bolts,  is  placed  a  piece  of  scantling  extending  to  about  twelve  feet  from  the  centre 
of  the  mill ;  they  there  meet  at  a  very  acute  angle,  forming  a  lever  secured  to  a  bolt,  by  which 
the  horses  are  attached.  A  board  s  extends  from  one  of  the  ends  of  the  scantling  to  the  other, 
upon  which  a  man  can  stand  to  feed  the  mill. 

This  mill  is  best  adapted  for  crushing  and  grinding  corn  and  cob  together,  or  by  using  the 
rings  which  present  the  inclined  sides  of  their  teeth  to  one  another  for  fine  meal,  etc.  If  the 
teeth  should  wear  out  or  break,  fresh  rings  can  be  put  in  at  a  trifling  expense.  The  annular 
conductor  is  a  good  improvement  upon  mills  of  this  description,  which  allow  the  meal  to  fall 
from  all  parts  of  the  base  of  the  concave. 


Granger's  "Magic"  Corn  and  Cob  Mill, 
THIS  invention,  patented  September,  1856,  and  which  received  the  first  premium  for  grind- 


124  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

\ 

ing  mills  at  the  Pennsylvania  State  Agricultural  Fair  for  1855,  is  claimed  to  possess  some 
advantages  over  all  other  similar  inventions  both  in  respect  to  the  small  amount  of  power 
required  to  operate  it,  and  in  the  quality  of  the  work  performed.  The  striking  peculiarity 
about  this  mill  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  centre  or  core  is  stationary,  while  the  outer 
casing  revolves,  the  power  being  thus  applied  most  advantageously  at  the  point  of  greatest 
resistance.  A  disadvantage  is  thus  obviated  which  pertains  to  some  other  mills — namely,  that 
the  weight  of  the  driving  arms  applied  to  the  movable  centre  bears  unequally,  causing  it  to 
grind  fine  upon  one  side  and  coarse  upon  the  other. 

The  movable  casing  of  Granger's  mill  has  an  attachment  of  small  rollers  at  its  base,  on  the 
outside,  which  renders  the  motion  and  consequent  grinding  action  of  the  mill  uniform,  and 
prevents  the  rotary  casing  from  changing  its  position.  The  mill  may  be  made  to  grind  coarse 
or  fine,  as  may  be  desired,  by  elevating  or  lowering  the  outside  casing  by  means  of  a  screw. 
This  external  casing  revolves  on  a  case-hardened  pivot  attached  to  the  top  of  the  stationary 
core  or  centre — a  point  easily  accessible  for  the  purpose  of  oiling  the  bearings.  The  centre  is 
firmly  supported  upon  three  triangular  legs. 

A  great  advantage  claimed  by  the  manufacturers  of  this  mill,  Messrs.  Cresson,  Stuart,  and 
Peterson,  of  Philadelphia,  is,  that  in  imparting  the  motion  to  the  outer  casing,  instead  of  the 
centre,  the  corn  and  cobs  by  the  outer  revolution  are  caused  to  descend  and  adhere  to  the 
inside,  while  in  the  opposite  case,  the  same  materials,  by  the  centrifugal  force  imparted  from 
the  revolving  centre,  have  a  tendency  to  work  upwards  and  away  from  the  points  where  the 
grinding  action  takes  place. 

The  construction  of  this  mill  will  be  easily  understood  by  reference  to  the  engraving,  which 
represents  it  as  seen  in  section. 

Great  Flouring  Mills, 

BOTH  in  England  and  the  United  States,  great  exertions  have  been  made  in  the  last  fifteen 
years  to  improve  flouring  mills  and  make  them  produce  the  largest  amount  of  flour  in  a  given 
time.  At  the  Great  London  Exhibition,  a  conical  mill  was  exhibited,  which  was  afterwards 
examined  by  a  committee  of  Parliament  and  a  number  of  scientific  gentlemen,  and  pro- 
nounced to  be  a  wonder  of  its  kind.  Two  of  these  conical  mills  were  put  up  in  an  establish- 
ment alongside  of  two  old-fashioned  flat  mills,  and  the  following  is  given  in  an  English 
paper  as  a  result  of  the  trials : 

There  were  three  trials  as  regarded  the  old  system  and  the  new.  The  first  experiment  on 
the  old  mill  gave  a  discharge  of  16  pounds  of  flour  in  five  minutes,  which  was  equal  to  192 
pounds  per  hour;  while  upon  the  patent  mill  there  was  a  discharge  of  38^  pounds  in  five 
minutes,  or  462  pounds  per  hour.  The  difference,  therefore,  on  that  experiment  was  against 
the  old  system  270  pounds  per  hour.  The  second  experiment  tried  was  even  more  favor- 
able as  regarded  the  new  system.  Two  conical  mills  worked  against  two  on  the  flat  princi- 
ple for  one  hour,  ascertained  exactly,  and  with  the  following  results : 

Conical  mill  (No.  1)  produced 8|  bushels. 

"         "    (No.  2)         "        7|      " 

Flatmill        (No.l)         "        3        " 

"      "          (No.2)         "        , 3        " 

This  was  regarded  as  a  wonderful  achievement,  and  the  scientific  committee  declared  in 
their  report  that  these  conical  mills  must  very  soon  supersede  the  old  flat  mills. 

Now  we  are  glad  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  say  that  our  scientific  millers  in  Pennsylvania 
have  been  improving  the  old  flat  burrs,  so  as  to  make  them  completely  eclipse  and  throw  in 
the  shade  these  celebrated  English  conical  mills.  Messrs.  Wilson  &  M'Cullough  have  recently 
completed  a  new  steam  mill  in  our  borough,  in  which  they  run  4 £  feet  flat  French  burrs,  two 
hundred  revolutions  a  minute,  that  turn  out  flour  faster  than  we  ever  saw  it  run  from  a  mill- 
spout.  These  gentlemen  calculate  to  grind  regularly  from  six  to  seven  barrels  of  extra  flour 
per  hour,  on  each  run  of  stones,  and  they  may  be  abl«  to  do  more.  As  high  as  thirty  bushels 
of  wheat  have  been  ground  on  one  run  of  stones  in  this  mill  in  an  hour!  We  ask  if  this  has 
ever  been  beaten  anywhere  ? — Harrisburg  Union. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


125 


Manure  Excavators. 

A  PATENT  has  been  recently  granted  to  A.  R.  Hurst,  of  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  for  the 
improvement  in  manure  excavators  represented  by  the  annexed  figure,  which  is  a  perspective 
view.  The  object  of  the  implement  is  to  loosen  the  manure,  to  allow  of  its  being  easily 
shovelled. 

The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  attaching  a  strong  durable  implement,  very  similar 
in  construction  to  an  ordinary  pitch-fork,  to  the  hindmost  part  of  a  sled,  having  suitable 
attachments  to  render  the  implement  effective  in  its  operation,  by  hinge-joints,  in  such  man- 
ner that  its  teeth  can  be  adjusted  so  as  to  be  caused  to  take  a  strong  hold  on  the  manure  as 
the  sled  is  drawn  forward ;  and  consequently  to  loosen  and  separate  its  particles  in  the  most 
effectual  and  speedy  manner,  and  when  not  excavating,  can  be  adjusted  so  as  not  to  come 
in  contact  with  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

A  represents  the  sled,  strongly  braced  by  the  iron  straps  B  B,  each  of  which  terminates  at 
its  front  end  in  a  hook  a,  to  which  the  power  is  attached ;  C  is  the  swinging  cross-bar,  which 
has  the  excavating  or  separating  teeth  D  secured  in  it.  This  bar  is  hinged  to  the  sled  by 


joints  c  c,  and  is  capable  of  swinging  on  said  joints  when  necessary.  The  teeth  D  may  be 
placed  at  any  stfeble  distance  apart,  and  may  extend  from  one  side  of  the  sled  to  the  other. 
E  is  an  upright  lever  for  throwing  the  teeth  in  operation;  it  is  attached  to  the  swinging 
cross-bar  c.  e  is  a  slot  cut  through  said  lever.  F  is  a  curved  swinging  stop-bar  for  keeping 
the  lever  E  in  place,  while  the  excavating  operation  is  being  carried  on.  The  bar  F  moves 
in  the  slot  e  of  the  lever  E,  and  holds  the  said  lever  in  the  position  shown  in  full  lines,  by 
means  of  the  stop  /,  which  fits  in  the  recess  g  in  the  lever.  By  means  of  this  lever,  it  may 
be  seen  that  when  the  resistance  is  greatest  on  the  teeth,  the  operation  of  the  bar  as  a  stop 


126  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

is  the  most  effective.  The  lever  E  can  be  depressed  and  the  teeth  thrown  out  of  operation  by 
moving  the  end  of  the  bar  F  to  the  position  shown  in  dotted  lines ;  this  operation  drawing 
the  stop  /  out  of  the  recess  g.  The  position  of  the  teeth  when  elevated,  or  out  of  operation, 
will  be  seen  in  the  lower  dotted  lines,  and  their  position,  when  in  operation,  in  full  lines.  The 
lever  E  rests  on  the  shoulders  i  i  of  the  bar/,  when  the  teeth  are  not  in  operation.  The  teeth 
of  the  implement  are  forced  into  the  manure,  and  the  sled  is  drawn  over  the  same  by  hand 
or  horse-power,  the  former,  as  the  latter  is  drawn  forward,  taking  a  firm  hold  upon  a  large 
portion  of  the  manure,  and  loosens  and  separates  its  particles  ready  for  shovelling. 

What  it  Costs  to  Fence  the  Country. 

THE  amount  of  capital  employed  in  the  construction  and  repair  of  fences  in  the  United 
States  would  be  deemed  fabulous,  were  not  the  estimates  founded  on  statistical  facts  which 
admit  of  no  dispute.  Burknap,  a  well-known  agricultural  writer,  says:  "Strange  as  it  may 
seem,  the  greatest  investment  in  this  country,  the  most  costly  productions  of  human  indus- 
try, are  the  common  fences,  which  divide  the  fields  from  the  highways,  and  separate  them 
from  each  other.  No  man  dreams  that,  when  compared  with  the  outlay  for  those  unpretend- 
ing monuments  of  art,  our  cities  and  our  towns,  with  all  their  wealth,  are  left  behind.  You 
will  scarcely  believe  me  when  I  say  that  the  fences  of  this  country  cost  more  than  twenty 
times  the  amount  of  specie  that  is  in  it." 

In  Germany,  and  many  other  parts  of  Europe,  no  fences  are  seen  for  miles,  either  between 
the  highlands  and  fields,  or  between  the  lots  occupied  by  different  individuals.  In  some  dis- 
tricts, the  boundaries  of  each  proprietor  are  required  by  law  to  be  marked  by  trees,  and  the 
owners  are  compelled  to  plant  fruit  and  ornamental  trees  upon  the  line  of  highways  against 
their  land,  at  prescribed  distances,  and  kept  constantly  growing.  Public  officers,  at  stated 
intervals,  examine  and  survey  the  streets  and  public  ways,  and  report  to  the  public  authori- 
ties any  failure  of  compliance  with  these  legal  provisions.  In  some  parts  of  Germany,  the 
highways  are  lined  for  miles  with  rows  of  fruit-trees,  bending  with  fruit  over  the  passing 
traveller,  adding  grace  and  beauty  to  the  landscape,  and  refreshing  him  with  grateful  shade. 

There  seems  to  be  in  this  country  a  mania  for  fences.  Not  only  are  our  fields  and  pastures 
enclosed,  but  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  our  farms  are  made,  and  in  addition  to  these, 
small  yards  and  gardens  close  about  our  buildings  are  often  multiplied  till  they  mar  the 
whole  beauty  of  the  homestead.  This  is  particularly  noticeable  about  old  establishments. 
The  first  occupant  enclosed  a  small  garden,  and  after  it  had  grown  up  to  trees,  he  fenced  off 
another  for  his  vegetables.  Then,  from  time  to  time,  a  small  yard  for  poultry,  another  for 
the  calves,  and  another  for  the  house,  a  barn-yard,  and  so  on,  not  omitting  a  front-yard, 
follow,  until  an  acre  or  two  of  the  best  part  of  the  farm  is  cut  up  like  a  chequer-board,  hav- 
ing neither  utility  nor  beauty  to  commend  it.  By-and-by  the  old  farm  changes  hands,  and 
the  old  rubbish  is  cleared  away,  and  a  sudden  and  almost  magical  change  occurs  in  the 
scene.  We  see  at  once  that  system  has  taken  the  place  of  accident  and  caprice,  and  good 
taste  has  triumphed  over  conformity  to  old-fashioned  notions  of  convenience. 

We  believe  that,  as  a  matter  of  economy,  a  great  change  is  required  in  the  matter  of 
fences  in  New  England.  Fences  are  for  two  purposes,  protection  from  cattle  and  sometimes 
unruly  boys,  and  shelter  from  the  wind  and  cold.  In  the  first  place,  we  believe  that  nearly 
all  fences  between  the  highways  and  our  fields  might  be  dispensed  with.  But  what,  then, 
shall  protect  us  from  cattle  wandering  at  large,  and  from  droves  passing  to  market,  and  to 
and  from  pasture  ? 

As  to  droves  of  cattle,  they  are  soon  to  cease.  The  railroads  convey  them  nearly  all,  and 
if  they  are  still  to  travel  by  means  of  their  own  locomotives,  how  muclrenore  reasonable 
would  it  be  to  compel  their  owners  to  drive  them  in  yokes,  or  secured  by  ropes,  or  otherwise, 
than  to  insist  that  the  owners  of  land  shall  fence  them  out  a  road  from  the  place  where  they 
are  raised  to  the  market-towns.  As  the  cows  and  oxen  kept  for  use  on  our  farms,  they 
might  easily  be  conducted  in  the  same  way  to  and  from  their  pastures.  Our  pastures  must 
still  be  enclosed.  There  is  much  rough  land  that  can  profitably  be  used  for  no  other  pur- 
pose. But  the  saving  in  dispensing  with  the  fences  about  fields  would  be  immense.  No 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  127 

amendment  of  the  law  of  the  New  England  States  generally,  we  apprehend,  is  necessary. 
Owners  are  not  now  obliged  to  fence  against  cattle  in  the  highways,  but  persons  driving  or 
suffering  their  cattle  to  run  loose  in  the  road  are  bound  to  see  that  they  do  no  injury.  All 
that  is  needed  is,  that  public  opinion,  which  rules  every  thing  else  in  our  country,  should  be 
set  right  on  this  subject.  As  to  shelter  from  the  wind  and  cold,  we  apprehend  that  a  rail 
fence  or  a  stone  wall  round  a  field  affords  but  very  little.  For  gardens  and  fields,  even  in 
exposed  positions,  shelter  is  often  necessary,  and  fences  may  sometimes  be  profitably  con- 
structed with  this  view.  Generally,  however,  a  judicious  planting  of  belts  of  pine  or  hem- 
lock-trees, on  the  northerly  and  westerly  sides  of  our  lots,  will  be  found  far  more  effectual 
and  economical  than  any  thing  else,  except  for  very  small  enclosures. 

We  see  many  subdivisions  of  farms  which  seem  to  us  worse  than  useless.  Fields  are  often 
divided  into  two,  three,  five  or  ten-acre  lots,  which  had  much  better  remain  in  one.  This  is 
often  done  for  convenience  in  fall  feeding,  so  that  cattle  may  be  turned  into  the  fields  before 
the  crops  are  off  in  the  fall.  Our  answer  to  this  is,  that  this  whole  system  of  fall  feeding  on 
fields  is  an  error.  We  believe  that  it  is  a  fair  estimate  that  a  good  mowing  field  will,  with- 
out being  fed  at  all,  keep  in  grass  better  for  ten  years  than  it  will  Jive,  if  annually  fed  closely 
late  in  autumn.  Soft  lands  are  almost  ruined  by  the  treading  of  cattle,  and  the  short  bul- 
bous roots  of  the  herds-grass  are  pulled  up  and  destroyed  by  the  feeding  of  neat  cattle  that 
are  not  provided  by  nature  with  teeth  enough  to  cut  the  grass  evenly.  It  is  better  economy 
to  feed  our  cattle  at  the  barn  in  the  autumn,  than  to  allow  them  thus  to  injure  the  crops  of 
future  years.  We  would  advise  farmers,  therefore,  rather  to  remove  the  division  fence  which 
they  already  have  in  their  fields,  to  escape  the  temptation  to  do  what  they  know  to  be  wrong, 
than  to  construct  others  for  convenience  in  feeding  their  cattle  in  their  mowing  fields.  If  a 
fair  estimate  could  be  made  of  the  actual  cost  of  maintaining  our  unnecessary  fences,  and  of 
the  waste  of  valuable  wood  and  timber  used  about  them,  so  that  each  fanner  should  know 
the  amount  of  his  tax  annually  for  this  object,  we  think  a  great  change  for  the  better  would 
soon  occur. — New  England  Farmer. 

Improved  Wire  Fences. 

JOHN  NESMTTH,  of  Lowell,  Mass.,  has  recently  invented  and  patented  a  machine  for  the 
manufacture  of  wire  fencing,  adapted  for  farm  or  ornamental  purposes. 

This  fence  consists  of  a  strong  netting,  woven  by  the  machine,  varnished  with  asphaltum 
blacking,  coated  with  coal-tar,  painted  or  galvanized,  rolled  up  in  portable  rolls,  from  thirty 
to  sixty  rods  in  length,  and  sold  to  consumers  at  from  sixty  cents  to  $1.50  per  rod — the  price 
varying  according  to  the  height  of  the  fence,  the  size  of  the  mesh,  (or  squares,)  and  the  num- 
ber of  the  wire.  It  can  be  readily  set  up  by  any  ordinary  farmer,  and  no  nails  are  necessary, 
but  the  netting  is  fastened  by  wire  or  staples  to  post*  of  wood,  iron,  or  stone,  placed  from 
eight  to  fifteen  feet  apart,  and  the  edge  of  the  netting  is  to  be  kept  on  a  level  from  one  termi- 
nus to  another.  When  properly  set,  it  is  strong  enough  to  "  hold"  an  ox,  and  too  close  to  be 
penetrated  by  a  chicken.  It  offers  so  little  resistance  to  wind  and  tide,  that  no  gale  can  blow 
it  down,  or  flood  wash  it  away.  If  fastened  to  posts,  set  upon  feet  instead  of  being  set  in  the 
ground,  this  fence  may  be  laid  flat  on  the  land,  or  entirely  removed  on  the  approach  of  the 
flood-season  in  districts  subject  to  floods,  and  set  up  again  as  good  as  ever  when  the  flood  has 
subsided.  It  excludes  none  of  the  rays  of  the  sun ;  it  harbors  no  weeds  or  vermin  ;  it  covers 
none  of  the  soil,  like  hedges  and  walls,  and  the  peculiar  mode  of  its  texture  enables  it  to  un- 
dergo, without  the  slightest  injury,  that  alternate  expansion  and  contraction  to  which  all  me- 
tallic substances  are  subjected  by  the  changes  of  temperature  incident  to  the  atmosphere. 

Mr.  R.  S.  Fay,  of  Massachusetts,  in  a  communication  to  The  New  England  Farmer,  states 
that  he  has  used  this  fence  for  folding  sheep  at  night  on  land  that  he  wished  to  manure,  shift- 
ing once  or  more  every  week,  and  has  found  it  answer  the  purpose  perfectly. 

Mr.  F.  further  says :  "I  have  had  some  iron  rods  made  with  a  double  foot,  which  I  drive 
into  the  ground  and  attach  the  fence  to  it  either  by  copper  wire  or  stout  twine.  A  man  and  a 
boy  will  enclose  a  quarter  of  an  acre  in  less  than  an  hour,  having  these  posts,  which  should  be 
set  not  more  than  a  rod  apart.  When  I  change  the  fence  to  a  new  spot,  I  unfasten  it  from  the 
posts,  throw  it  down,  begin  at  one  end,  and  roll  it  up  as  you  would  a  carpet.  And  so  in  re- 


128 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


setting,  reverse  /the  process,  rolling  it  out  where  it  is  to  be  set ;  drive  down  the  posts,  and 
then  raise  it  and  attach  it  to  them.  My  fence  cost  $1.50  per  rod,  and  it  is  a  cheap  mode  of 
handling  or  enclosing  at  that  price." 


Prindle's  Improved  Field  Fence. 

THE  accompanying  figures  represent  an  improvement  in 
the  construction  of  field  fences,  recently  invented  and  pa- 
tented by  I\  R.  Prindle,  of  East  Bethany,  Genesee  co.,  N.  Y. 

Fig.  1  is  a  perspective  view  of  the  fence  embracing  three 
panels  and  posts,  from  1  to  4  inclusive.  Fig.  2  is  a  view 
of  one  of  the  metal  spikes  which  unite  the  panels.  Fig.  3 
is  a  view  of  fig.  2,  embracing  the  form  it  assumes  when  the 
panels  have  been  united  and  set  in  position ;  and  fig.  4  is 
a  view  of  the  wedge  which  is  employed  to  secure  the  metal 
connection. 

The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  the  mode  of  fas- 
tening together  the  adjacent  posts  or  standards  of  a  field 
fence,  by  passing  a  piece  of  metal  having  a  head  on  one 
end  through  two  adjacent  posts,  and  securing  the  same  by 
a  wedge  or  its  equivalent  at  the  other  end,  the  posts  being 
so  bevelled  as  to  cause  any  desired  angle  to  be  made  by  the 
separate  panels. 

Fig.  1  is  a  perspective  view  of  three  panels  of  this  fence, 
embracing  three  different  kinds  combined,  as  at  A  B  C,  and 
posts  or  standards,  1  to  4  inclusive ;  A  is  narrow  board, 
(five  inches  wide,)  one  inch  thick,  connected  to  posts  1  and 
2  by  mortising ;  B  a  square  rail  (two  and  a  half  inches) 
or  pole,  inserted  into  posts  by  boring  only ;  C  a  panel  made 
by  nailing,  as  at  posts  3  and  4,  nailed  upon  reversed  sides, 
the  posts  being  differently  sawed ;  c  c  are  small  metal  con- 
nections one-fourth  to  five-sixteenths  of  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter, and  passing  through  the  adjacent  posts  123,  and  con- 
necting the  different  panels  ABC,  firmly  supporting  the 
same;  w  w  are  small  wedges  or  keys  two  and  a  half 
inches  long,  driven  into  the  posts  to  secure  the  whole,  firmly 
locking  each  pair  of  posts  alternately,  and  forming  a  lever 
upon  each  side ;  »  •  are  holes  in  the  posts  for  the  above 
metal  connections,  and  also  represent  the  heads  of  the 
same ;  b  b  b  are  narrow  boards  nailed  firmly  to  the  middle 
of  each  panel  or  length.  To  take  down  or  remove  this 
fence,  withdraw  the  wedges  w  w. 


Fig.  5. 


This  fence  is  designed  to  be  set  up  a  little  crooked  or  at 
any  desired  angle,  as  is  shown  "by  fig.  5.  It  can  also  be 
used  straight  by  staking,  etc.,  or  in  a  continuous  circle,  foi 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


129 


stack-yards  or  other  small  enclosures.  In  exposed  situations,  the  posts  or  standards  may  rest 
upon  stones,  and  be  connected  therewith  by  metal  pins,  inserted  in  the  stone  and  bottoms  of 
the  posts.  The  metal  connection  readily  bends,  accommodating  itself  to  any  desired  angle,  as 
at  posts  2  and  3,  fig.  1.  The  posts  may  be  made  of  split  logs,  the  convex  surfaces  being  placed 
in  contact,  the  panels  united,  and  the  required  angle  given,  as  above  described. 

The  great  advantage  of  this  invention  consists  in  the  peculiar-shaped  standard  or  post,  so 
connected  with  the  metallic  fastening,  that  the  fence  will  sustain  itself  without  having  its  posts 
set  in  the  ground.  These  posts  will  enable  the  builder  to  make  almost  any  kind  of  a  fence, 
from  almost  any  variety  or  form  of  timber — whether  boards,  bars,  rails,  poles,  &c.,  or  mostly 
of  wire  or  pickets,  if  desired,  rendering  the  same  a  portable  or  hurdle  fence,  easily  and  quickly 
transferred  from  place  to  place.  The  work  of  construction,  very  conveniently  for  the  farmer, 
can  be  performed  mostly  in  winter,  as  it  is  formed  of  separate  panels  or  lengths,  ready  for 
setting  up  in  the  field.  By  adding  a  different  connection,  any  panel  will  serve  as  a  gate — a 
fact  of  much  importance  to  the  farmer.  To  make  small  enclosures,  such  as  stack,  sheep,  and 
poultry-yards,  is  but  a  few  moments'  labor  with  this  fence. 

Thompson's  Circular  Self-Acting  Gate. 
Fig.  1. 


THE  accompanying  engraving  is  a  perspective  view  of  an  improved  peculiarly  self-acting 
gate,  recently  invented  and  patented  by  William  Thompson,  of  Nashville,  Tenn. 

The  invention  relates  to  gates  for  farms,  parks,  and'enclosures  of  any  kind,  and  consists  in 
constructing  the  gate  A  of  a  circular  form  like  a  wheel,  as  shown,  and  allowing  it  to  rest,  when 
closed,  on  a  vibrating  rail  D,  which  is  operated  by  a  person,  wagon,  or  carriage  on  the  track, 
to  make  the  gate  roll  to  the  one  side  and  open  when  approaching  it,  and  then  roll  back  when 
the  carriage  or  wagon  has  passed  through  to  close  it. 

A  A  is  the  gate ;  B  is  a  post  formed  in  two  separate  pieces  to  leave  a  channel  d  between  them 
from  the  bottom  to  the  cap-piece.  F  is  a  double  fence  at  one  side,  to  allow  wheel  A  to  roll 
through  the  qjiannel  of  the  post  B  to  the  left-hand  side,  as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines  A  when 
the  gate  is  open.  C  is  the  right-hand  post,  with  a  channel  in  it,  but  not  through  it,  to  receive 

9 


130 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


a  part  of  one  side  of  gate  A,  and  retain  it  when  the  gate  is  closed.  The  gate  rests  on  a  vi- 
bratory lever  D,  sunk  a  little  below  the  roadway  at  the  middle  of  the  track,  but  elevated  at 
the  one  side.  This  lever  railway  is  hung  upon  a  pivot,  with  its  long  end  towards  the  opening 
of  the  gate,  so  as  by  its  weight  at  that  end  to  tilt  down  the  gate  into  its  place,  self-acting, 
when  the  lighter  end  is  relieved  from  the  weight  or  pressure  of  a  carriage,  &c.  on  the  road- 
way, after  it  has  passed  through.  E  is  the  platform ;  it  is  secured  to  the  short  end  of  the  rail 
D  at  the  left-hand  side,  and  extends  both  in  front  and  back  of  the  gate.  Supposing  a  person 
or  carriage  to  be  approaching  the -gate,  his  weight  or  that  of  the  carriage  on  the  platform  will 
depress  the  now  elevated  end  of  the  lever  D  at  the  left,  and  the  gate  will  roll  into  the  position 
shown  in  dotted  lines  A,  until  the  person  or  carriage  has  passed  off  the  platform  E  on  the 
other  side ;  the  lever  D  will  then  rise  to  the  position  as  shown  in  the  figure,  and  tilt  the  gate 
into  its  place  and  close  it.  The  vibrating  rail  D  may  be  so  hung  that  its  long  end  will  be  to 
the  left  of  the  pivot  or  vibrating  point,  as  by  a  weight  on  the  platform  it  can  be  so  adjusted 
to  open  and  close  the  gate  independent  of  the  point  at  which  it  is  hung  on  its  pivot.  Different 
methods  of  securing  the  platform  to  the  tilting-rail  may  be  employed.  The  platform,  also, 
may  be  provided  with  any  suitable  fastening,  such  as  a  spring  switch  with  a  vertical  lever  at 
one  side,  which  will  set  free  a  catch  on  the  platform,  and  allow  it  to  act  so  as  to  prevent  ani- 
mals opening  the  gate  by  merely  getting  on  the  platform. 

The  inside  corners  of  the  posts  at  the  ground  may  be  extended  as  close  to  the  gat§  as  pos- 
sible, so  as  to  fill  up  the  space  between  the  gate  and  the  posts,  to  prevent  hogs,  &c.  from  thus 
passing  through.  The  filling  up  of  these  spaces  may  be  executed  neatly,  to  accord  with  the 
general  contour  of  the  gate. 


Various  modifications  of  this  gate  may  be  adopted,  embracing  the  same  general  principles 
of  construction  and  operation,  according  to  the  taste  of  those  who  put  them  up.  In  fig.  2  the 
gate  A  rests  upon  a  rail  C  sunk  in  the  lever  platform  D  a  little  below  the  road-way  in  the 
middle  of  the  track,  but  elevated  at  one  side  and  extending  some  distance  to  the  left.  This 
platform  D  extends  both  in  front  and  back  of  the  gate.  The  rail  C  is  firmly  fastened  to  the 
platform  D,  which  itself  rests  upon  a  fulcrum  next  the  short  end  of  the  rail  upon  which  the 
gate  rolls,  and  the  platform  has  a  weight  F  at  its  edge  sufficiently  heavy  to  keep  the  short  end 
of  the  rail  upon  the  ground,  and  the  long  end  in  an  inclined  position,  thus  shutting  the  gate. 
By  the  pressure  of  a  carriage  or  person  upon  the  platform,  the  position  of  the  rail  is  reversed 
and  the  gate  rolls  open.  The  platform  D  may  be  provided  with  any  proper  catch  or  fastening, 
so  that  the  gate  cannot  be  casually  opened  by  animals,  a  plan  of  which  is  shown  at  fig.  3. 

There  is  claimed  for  this  gate  great  simplicity  of  construction ;  and  when  its  cheapness, 
utility,  and  beauty  (if  desired)  shall  be  remembered,  and  it  is  likewise  borne  in  mind  what 
little  skill  is  required  to  make  it,  and  how  little  its  liability  to  get  out  of  repair,  it  is  believed 
that  it  will  be  regarded  as  preferable  to  the  common  gate  swinging  on  hinges ;  and  may  pos- 
sibly be  esteemed  superior  to  any  form  of  gate  among  the  various  inventions  of  more  modern 
date. 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 

Improvements  in  Gates. 


131 


THE  accompanying  engraving  is  a  perspective  view  of  an  improved  farm-gate,  for  which  a 
patent  was  recently  granted  to  Henry  B.  Lumm,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio.  This  gate  is  so  con- 
structed and  arranged,  that  it  may  be  opened  or  closed  by  a  person  in  a  carriage  or  on  horse- 
back. 

D  D  are  the  two  posts  of  the  gate ;  they  are  hollow,  and  have  an  opening  near  the  cap,  in 
each,  in  which  is  secured  a  grooved  pulley  e  e ;  ff  are  cords  or  chains  secured  to  the  top  of 
the  side  bars  a  a,  and  passing  over  the  pulleys  e  e  into  the  hollow  posts.  To  the  inner  ends 
of  these  cords  are  secured  balance-weights,  so  that  when  the  gate  is  up  or  closed,  these  hold 
it  plumb  in  position,  keeping  the  gate  A  closed.  This  gate  has  a  lower  bar  C,  which  is  hinged 
at  c  c  to  the  sill  between  the  two  posts.  It  therefore  folds  upwards  when  closed,  and  down- 
wards when  open.  The  gate  is  formed  with  the  side  bars  a  a,  the  lower  bar  C,  and  top  bar 
B,  and  strong  smaller  bars  bbb.  When  folded  down,  these  bars  are  received  in  the  openings 
made  for  them  in  the  road-way  d.  When  the  gate  is  open,  therefore,  it  lies  flat  between  the 
road-way  sleepers  6,  which  act  as  fenders,  and  the  carriage  drives  over  it.  F  F  are  posts  a 
little  distance  from  the  gate  on  each  side ;  G  G  are  handles  to  upright  levers,  which  are  con- 
nected at  the  middle  to  two  strong  crossing  wires  or  iron  rods  g  g,  which  are  secured  at  one 
side  to  a  lug  i  on  the  lower  bar  C.  The  levers  turn  or  vibrate  in  their  sockets ;  and  by  turn- 
ing the  handles  G  G  to  the  one  side  or  the  other,  the  gate  is  opened  and  closed,  folded  up 
and  let  down. 

Operation. — Allowing  the  gate  to  be  in  the  position  shown,  (closed,)  and  a  carriage  going 
forwards  from  the  nigh  side  to  pass  through,  the  driver  has  but  to  take  hold  of  the  lever  G 
and  push  it  forwards,  when  the  then  off  wire  g  will  be  thrown  further  back,  and  draw  the  gate 
down  flat  between  the  sleepers  of  the  road-way  d,  and  the  carriage  is  allowed  to  proceed 
through  the  gate.  When  it  arrives  at  the  other  side,  the  driver  takes  hold  of  the  other  handle 
G  and  draws  it  to  the  one  side,  and  thus  changes  the  wires  g  and  raises  up  the  gate,  closing 
it  after  him. 


132  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

A  patent  for  an  improved  gate  was  also  granted  to  W.  G.  Phillips,  of  Newport,  Delaware, 
in  March,  1855. 

The  nature  of  the  invention  consists  in  providing  the  gate-post  or  pivot  and  the  platform 
with  springs,  so  arranged  that  a  vehicle  passing  on  to  the  platform  will  press  upon  a  spring, 
and  so  operate  the  gate  as  to  allow  the  vehicle  to  pass  'through,  and  in  going  from  the  plat- 
form on  the  opposite  side,  another  spring  is  pressed  by  the  carnage,  which  causes  the  gate 
to  close. 

An  automaton  gate,  which  is  highly  recommended,  has  recently  been  invented  by  Mr.  C.  Wine- 
gar,  of  Union  Springs,  New  York. 

This  contrivance,  not  unlike  a  clock,  consists  of  two  principal  parts,  the  running  and  regu- 
lating parts.  A  weight  which  opens  and  shuts  the  gate  is  contained  in  a  tall  box  fixed  at  the 
side  of  the  gate,  resembling  in  external  appearance  a  large  post.  The  weight  in  descending 
turns  a  crank.  A  rod  placed  between  this  crank  and  the  gate,  and  connected  to  each,  receives 
by  this  means  a  reciprocating  motion,  and  would  open  and  shut  the  gate  in  rapid  succession 
until  the  weight  reaches  the  ground,  were  its  motion  not  controlled  by  a  latch  which  fastens 
it  shut  when  it  strikes  the  post,  or  which  fastens  it  open,  as  soon  as  it  reaches  a  smaller  post 
placed  at  the  proper  point  for  this  purpose. 

The  opening  and  shutting  is  effected  from  the  carriage  or  saddle  by  simply  giving  a  slight 
pull  or  jerk  to  a  loop  suspended  from  the  arm  of  a  tall  post  a  short  distance  from  the  gate. 
A  wire,  extending  from  this  loop  to  the  hinge-post,  and  thence  across  the  top  of  the  gate  to 
the  latch,  instantly  sets  it  free  whenever  a  slight  pull  is  given,  and  the  crank  and  rod  imme- 
diately draw  it  open,  where  it  is  retained  by  the  latch.  On  passing  through,  the  loop  is  pulled 
on  the  other  side,  loosening  the  latch  again,  and  causing  the  gate  immediately  to  close.  By 
placing  the  two  tall  posts  with  the  loops  sufficiently  distant  from  the  gate,  the  opening  may 
be  accomplished  at  any  desired  time  before  arriving  there,  an  increased  length  of  the  wire 
being  all  that  is  required.  As  an  ordinary  weight  will  move  the  gate  about  fifty  times,  all 
that  is  commonly  necessary  is  to  wind  it  up  regularly  once  a  week.  In  extreme  cases,  a 
workman  who  goes  regularly  to  his  work  each  morning  may  be  employed  to  raise  the  weight 
as  he  passes,  requiring  only  a  few  seconds. 

Improved  Method  of  Building  Stone  Houses. 

MR.  L.  P.  BALL,  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  in  a  communication  to  the  New  England 
Farmer,  calls  attention  to  a  new  method  of  constructing  houses,  recently  introduced  into  New 
England.  He  says — 

Last  year  (1854)  a  stone  machine  shop,  400  feet  long,  40  feet  wide,  and  two  stories  high, 
with  walls  21  inches  thick,  was  built  in  Worcester  of  a  kind  of  slate  in  the  following  manner: 
The  entire  mass  of  stone  blasted  from  the  ledge  was  carried  to  the  building,  the  nature  of  the 
ledge  being  such  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  stone  obtained  by  blasting  was  in  small 
pieces ;  into  the  mortar,  which  was  made  of  lime  and  coarse  sand,  were  put,  and  intimately 
mixed  with  it,  all  the  small  chips  and  fragments.  All  the  larger  stones  were  reserved  for  the 
process  of  filling  in.  The  walls  were  made  by  filling  the  mortar  into  boxes,  made  by  placing 
planks  outside  and  inside  of  the  wall,  a  distance  apart  of  the  desired  thickness  of  the  wall. 
These  planks  are  kept  in  their  places  by  plumb  straight-edges  of  sufficient  strength,  placed 
and  fastened  upon  the  outside  of  the  planks.  When  the  planks  have  been  thus  properly  dis- 
posed in  their  places  to  a  height  of  three  or  four  feet  above  the  foundation,  the  mortar,  in  a 
very  plastic  state  is  brought  from  the  mortar-bed  in  hods,  and  poured  into  the  space  between 
the  planks.  Into  this  soft,  yielding  mass  were  disposed  all  the  larger  stones  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  make  the  wall  one  solid  mass  of  mortar  and  stone.  These  processes  of  alternately 
filling  with  mortar  and  larger  stones  are  repeated  until  the  mould  is  full. 

The  mould  or  planks  forming  the  wall  are  allowed  to  remain  upon  the  walls  until  the  mor- 
tar has  set,  say  twenty-four  hours  or  more,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  mortar ;  and  are 
then  removed  and  reset,  and  all  the  foregoing  operations  repeated  until  the  walls  of  the  build- 
ing are  completed.  The  windows  and  door-frames  are  made  and  set  in  the  same  manner  as 
they  are  for  brick  buildings ;  over  the  doors  and  windows  is  put  a  wood  or  stone  lintel  to  hold 


AGRICULTURAL  MECHANICS  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY.  133 

the  pressure  of  the  wall  until  it  is  dry.  Care  is  to  be  taken  in  placing  all  of  the  stone  around 
the  windows  and  doors  to  have  them  permanently  fixed  in  their  places,  so  as  to  form  a  solid 
jam.  The  flooring  timbers  are  placed  and  anchored  into  the  walls  in  the  same  manner  as 
they  are  in  brick  buildings.  As  this  kind  of  wall  is  somewhat  uneven  for  the  reception  of  the 
flooring  timber,  a  piece  of  scantling,  say  24  by  6  inches,  should  be  placed  and  levelled  upon 
the  walls,  and  be  firmly  bedded  with  mortar  to  receive  the  joists  and  other  flooring  timber. 

The  exterior  of  buildings  constructed  as  above  can  be  finished,  if  desired,  with  either 
"  stucco"  or  mastic,  and  the  expense  of  the  whole  stated  to  be  not  far  from  the  cost  of  common 
wood  dwellings,  or  from  $1.25  to  $1.50  per  square  yard  of  the  wall  all  finished.  This  price, 
however,  must  vary  some  with  the  price  of  lime  in  particular  vicinities,  and  with  the  facility 
with  which  the  sand  and  other  materials  could  be  obtained. 


On  the  Drying  of  Fruit. 

"WE  recently  noticed,"  says  the  American  Agriculturist,  "a  simple  apparatus  for  drying 
fruit  at  the  residence  of  a  farmer  in  Dutchess  county,  a  description  of  which  may  furnish  a 
hint  to  others.  Upon  the  south  side  of  his  kitchen  is  a  '  stoop'  some  ten  feet  high.  Just 
below  the  roof  is  arranged  a  bhelf  or  platform,  the  full  size  of  the  stoop,  and  resting  on  small 
rollers  upon  each  side;  a  sort  of  railway  is  formed,  each  rail  consisting  of  two  narrow  sluts 
or  boards  nailed  together,  but  kept  separated  about  an  inch  from  each  other  by  short  bits  of 
board  placed  between  them  at  short  intervals;  these  railways  are  nailed  up  against  the  two 
sides  of  the  stoop,  and  project  out  eight  feet  from  the  roof.  Upon  these  the  drying  platform 
is  supported  by  a  number  of  wheels  or  pulleys,  formed  by  sawing  off  sections  of  a  round  stick 
after  a  three-. |irirtfi-  inch  au^«  r-hole  has  been  bored  through  its  centre;  these  are  arranged 
in  the  opening  between  the  two  slats  forming  each  side  rail,  and  are  held  in  place  by  wooden 
pins  put  through  the  side  pieces.  The  wheels  or  pulleys  stand  a  little  above  the  surface  of  the 
rails,  and  over  them  the  platform  moves  easily.  Plums,  cherries,  apples,  and  other  fruits  are 
spread  upon  the  platform,  and  during  drying  days  it  is  rolled  out  upon  the  projecting  supports, 
exposing  the  fruit  to  the  sun.  At  evening,  or  upon  the  approach  of  rain,  the  platform  is 
easily  shoved  back  under  the  roof.  Such  an  apparatus  can  be  constructed  in  a  single  day; 
it  will  last  for  years,  and  be  amply  sufficient  to  dry  a  large  quantity  of  different  kinds  of 
fruit  annually. 

'•  .V  similar  apparatus  might  be  arranged  upon  a  garret  floor,  to  be  shoved  out  through  a 
temporary  opening  under  the  eaves  trough.  In  this  case  the  inner  portion  of  the  platform 
should  be  held  by  pulleys  over  it  to  prevent  the  outer  end  from  tipping  downwards.  If  this 
is  done  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  projecting  supports." — American  Agriculturist. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  the  following  remarks  respecting 
the  drying  of  fruit  were  made  by  Solon  Robinson,  Esq. :  At  the  West,  where  apples  and 
peaches  grow  in  such  luxuriant  abundance  as  to  be  utterly  valueless  in  a  grain  State,  a  very 
rude  kiln  is  in  common  use.  They  are  built  in  this  way :  parallel  walls  of  stone  are  built 
about  a  foot  high,  and  covered  with  flat  stones,  the  joints  plastered  with  clay,  and  the  flues 
between  the  walls  connected  at  one  end  with  a  short  chimney  to  carry  off  the  smoke  of  fires 
built  at  the  other  end.  Upon  these  flat  stones,  when  heated,  the  fruit  is  spread  until  dry. 
I  have  known  these  kilns  built,  where  there  were  no  stones,  all  of  clay.  A  smooth  log  is  laid 
down  as  a  mould  for  the  flue,  and  the  clay  built  over  it,  and  then  it  is  withdrawn,  and  so  on 
a  succession  of  flues,  which  are  all  covered  and  smoothed  off  on  the  top,  and  thereon  the  fruit 
is  placed  to  dry.  It  is  sometimes  badly  burnt.  There  is  another  rude  kind  of  drying  kiln 
at  the  West.  A  wooden  house,  say  six  feet  square,  has  such  a  flue  as  I  have  described,  or  a 
stove  with  the  mouth  open  on  one  side  of  the  house,  for  convenience  of  firing,  with  the  pipe 
or  flue  carried  out  on  the  opposite  side.  This  heats  the  air  inside  of  the  house  very  hot. 
Then  one  side  of  the  house  is  filled  with  drawers  that  pull  out  like  a  bureau.  These  are  made 
only  two  inches  deep,  with  basket-work  bottoms  to  hold  the  fruit  and  let  the  air  pass  through. 
This  plan  is  better  than  the  kilns  I  described,  but  not  perfect.  The  North  American  Phalanx 
in  New  Jersey  had  a  drying  kiln  built  in  the  form  of  a  large  brick  chimney,  with  drawers  in 
three  stories  of  the  building,  that  operated  very  well  in  drying  fruit,  green  corn,  beans,  okre, 


134  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

and  other  vegetables,  but  the  mistake  in  its  formation  was  that  it  was  not  open  at  the  top,  to 
create  a  draught  and  carry  off  the  moisture.  If  such  a  chimney  were  very  tall,  with  the 
heat  in  an  oven  at  the  bottom  to  heat  the  air  drawn  in  from  outside,  I  think  fruit  would  dry 
very  rapidly.  Any  and  every  farmer  can  have  one  of  these  drying  flues ;  and  where  fuel  is 
cheap  and  fruit  plenty,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  profit  would  be  very  large.  It  is  worth 
trying.  There  is  another  plan  of  building  a  drying  chimney  that  may  be  more  effectual  than 
one  with  an  open  top,  and  that  is  the  plan  adopted  in  some  foundries  to  dr£  the  wet  clay- 
work  of  cores  used  in  casting.  There  the  current  of  heated  air  is  introduced  at  the  top  and 
draws  downwards,  and  escapes  at  the  bottom.  But,  after  all,  I  do  not  think  that  we  have 
arrived  at  the  true  way  of  drying  fruit.  I  have  full  faith  to  believe  that  the  time  will  come 
when  fruit  will  be  made  into  a  pulp,  and  freed  from  skins  and  cores  and  seeds  by  machinery, 
and  the  water  evaporated  by  heat,  somewhat  upon  the  same  plan  it  is  now  from  pulp  of  rags 
to  make  paper.  What  we  want  is  an  invention  to  facilitate  this  purpose.  That  it  can  be 
done  I  know,  for  it  is  done  in  a  rude  way  at  the  West  in  an  article  called  "  peach  leather," 
or,  as  the  chairman  suggests  as  a  better  name,  we  will  call  it  peach  marmalade.  Peaches  are 
pulped  and  spread  upon  plates  or  tin  platters,  and  dried  in  the  sun  or  a  slow  oven. 

Pumpkin  meal  is  an  article  made  by  the  Shakers,  and  sold  in  this  market  to  a  limited 
extent.  The  process  ought  to  be  better  known,  and  more  widely  applied.  And  if  so  juicy  a 
fruit  as  pumpkins  can  be  dried  and  ground  into  meal,  I  want  to  know  why  apples  cannot  be 
treated  in  the  same  way. 

Adaptation  of  Trees  to  Economic  Purposes. 

As  in  the  case  of  metals,  timber  is  provided  in  manageable  masses.  The  size  of  trees  is 
adapted  for  human,  not  Cyclopean  artisans.  Had  they  generally  approached  the  Gigantic 
Sequoia,  what  could  have  been  done  with  them — with  logs,  one  of  which,  laid  along  the  pave- 
ment of  some  streets,  would  fill  them  to  the  roofs  of  three-story  houses !  The  difficulty  of 
felling,  transporting,  handling,  and  slitting  such  into  beams  or  into  boards,  would  have  been 
seriously  embarrassing,  whereas  the  most  useful  trees  are  never  too  large  for  easy  control, 
rarely  exceeding  four  feet  in  diameter,  and  a  fair  average  would  give  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
inches  nearly.  The  mahogany-tree  is  remarkable  for  its  magnitude,  and  yet  the  largest 
recorded  log  was  only  seventeen  feet  long  by  fifty-four  and  sixty-four  inches.  Another  fea- 
ture of  the  world's  timber  is,  the  heaviest  woods  are  not  found  in  the  largest  bolls,  but  gene- 
rally in  the  smallest — a  provision  that  vastly  facilitates  man's  control  over  them.  Fir  is  only 
as  heavy  as  oak,  while  ebony,  lignum-vitae,  and  box  are  rather  shrubs  than  trees.  Hickory 
is  rarely  seen  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  exceedingly  few  sticks  of  rosewood  are  met  with  as 
large.  Thus  the  largest  trees  are  light  and  easily  worked.  Had  they  been  light  and  porous 
as  the  cork-tree,  or  heavy  and  dense  as  lignum-vitoo,  they  had  been  of  comparatively  little 
use  to  man.  But  we  are  ordained  to  be  elaborators  in  wood  as  well  as  in  the  metals ;  and 
hence  the  facilities  for  its  acquisition,  its  varieties  of  masses,  properties,  and  adaptations. — 
Ewbank, — The  World  a  Workshop. 


ggricultol  ©jpu$tnj  anfo  tolcgtj. 


On  the  Utilization  of  Sewerage  Products  for  Agricultural  Purposes. 

R.  MEG  HI,  the  well-known  English  agriculturist,  at  a  lato 
meeting  of  the  London  Farmer's  Club,  delivered  the  following 
lecture  on  the  utilization  of  sewerage  products,  especially 
those  of  London,  for  agricultural  purposes : — 

One  hundred  years  hence,  which  is  not  long  in  the  history 
of  a  country,  our  successors  will  scarcely  believe  that  a  nation, 
wanting  annually  many  millions  of  quarters  of  grain  to  fill 
up  its  own  inadequate  production  of  food,  should  waste  the 
only  means  by  which  siu-h  dofu-iency  might  be  made  good.  I 
mean  the  productions  of  the  land  when  they  have  fulfilled 
their  office  of  nutrition  to  man  and  boast.  Every  one  now  at 
all  conversant  with  the  theory  of  modern  agricultural  che- 
mistry must  know  that  our  agricultural  produce  loses  little  by  such  a  process,  and  that  the 
bulk  of  its  elements  are  returned  to  us  in  the  shape  of  excretse,  if  we  take  the  trouble  to  col- 
lect them.  I  am  aware  that  the  practicability  of  doing  so  has  been  questioned ;  but  I  pur- 
pose this  evening  to  show  that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  the  matter,  except  what  exists  in  the 
brain  of  man.  The  same  power  that  brings  your  water  into  London  will  take  it  out  again ; 
for,  according  to  Professor  Way  and  other  chemists,  2,500,000  inhabitants  will  only  add 
three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty  tons  in  solids  and  fluids  to  the  quantity  of  water. 

If  agriculturists'  studied  attentively  Professor  Way's  able  paper  on  Town-sewage,  (see  Royal 
Agricultural  Society's  Journal,  vol.  xv.  part  1,  p.  135,)  it  would  teach  them  a  great  and  pro- 
fitable lesson.  They  would  learn  that  of  all  the  manure  made  by  human  beings  (and  I  have 
no  doubt  by  animals)  twelve  parts  out  of  thirteen  in  weight  escape  as  urine,  only  one-thir- 
teenth part  being  solid !  Well  may  farmers  love  the  sheep-fold,  and  well  may  they  deplore 
yard-feeding,  where  the  rains  from  the  untroughed  roofs  may,  in  too  many  instances,  thus 
take  away  nearly  all  their  manure.  Mr.  Way  has  found  that,  taking  the  average  of  men, 
women,  and  children,  each  individual  of  the  population  will,  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours, 
contribute  to  the  sewage  of  a  town  one-quarter  of  a  pound  of  solid  and  three  pounds  of  liquid 
excrement.  A  knowledge  of  these  facts  shows  us  how  trivial  is  the  question  of  solid  manure ; 
for,  at  a  quarter  of  a  pound  each,  daily,  the  total  solid  manure  of  2,500,000  people  will  only  weigh 
two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  tons.  According  to  Mr.  Way,  the  excrement  of  each  person  is  di- 
luted with  or  distributed  through  twenty  gallons,  or  fourteen  hundred  times  its  own  weight,  of 
water.  It  must  appear  singular  to  a  disinterested  observer  that,  while  farmers  seek  eagerly  after 
every  new  manure,  and  are  subjected  to  much  imposition  in  such  purchases,  they  appear  to  be 
apathetic  on  the  question  of  town-sewage.  Omitting  the  sanitary  consideration,  there  can  be  no 
class  so  deeply  interested  in  the  question  of  town-sewage  as  the  farmer.  Those  sewers  carry 
away  to  our  rivers  all  the  products  which  he  has  at  so  much  care  and  cost  produced  for  the  food 
of  the  people.  To  repair  the  exhaustions  caused  by  these  supplies,  he  rushes  to  Peru  for  birds' 
dung,  at  an  expense  of  some  millions,  while  the  very  graveyards  of  foreign  nations  are  taxed 
to  supply  bones  for  his  turnips.  The  rapid  increase  of  water-closets  and  new  sewers,  with  a 
more  abundant  water  supply,  are  daily  lessening  the  supply  of  human  excretae  in  a  solid 
form,  diminishing,  in  fact,  pro  tanto,  the  ordinary  channel  of  supply,  so  that  shortly  we  may 
expect  that  only  the  stable-manure  and  ashes  of  London  will  be  available  for  agricultural 

135 


136  THE   YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

purposes,  while  the  weekly  supply  of  6000  or  7000  bullocks,  40,000  sheep,  and  all  the  other 
vast  solid  and  fluid  consumables  of  the  metropolis,  from  tea  to  turtle,  will  be  floating  down 
the  sewers  unheeded  and  unsolicited. 

This  cruel  neglect  can  only  arise  from  a  disbelief  of  the  value  of  such  manure,  or  from  a 
doubt  of  the  possibility  of  applying  it  economically.  I  purpose,  therefore,  this  evening,  to 
go  into  statistical  details  with  a  view  to  ventilate  the  question,  and  to  prove  how  easily  such 
an  operation  may  be  successfully  carried  out  with  individual  and  general  benefits.  Water 
alone  is  manure ;  who  can  doubt  this  ?  Look  to  the  costly  water-meadows  in  various  parts 
of  the  kingdom ;  and  what  farmer  who  has  a  water-meadow  does  not  appreciate  its  great 
value  to  him  as  producing  early,  late,  and  most  abundant  vegetation  ?  My  own  experience, 
with  two  miles  of  pipes  on  my  farm  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres,  has  proved  that  fluid 
applications  of  manure  are  far  the  most  profitable,  and  that  their  influence  is  quite  as  im- 
portant and  advantageous  to  cereal  as  to  other  crops.  In  proof  of  this  I  have  threshed  some 
fields  of  wheat,  producing  six  quarters  per  imperial  acre;*  oats,  thirteen  quarters,  and  bar- 
ley, eight  quarters,  which  latter  is  one  quarter  more  than  I  estimated  in  my  balance-sheet. 
Now,  such  productions  as  these  on  a  naturally  wretched  soil  prove  more  than  volumes  of 
argument,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that,  had  my  neighbors  to  pay  £2  per  acre 
annually  in  interest  for  improvements  over  and  above  their  present  rent  to  obtain  similar 
results,  they  would  be  considerable  gainers.  If  it  answers  my  purpose  to  lay  down  pipes, 
erect  an  engine,  make  tanks,  erect  pumps,  and  so  on,  for  the  mere  purpose  of  applying  the 
manure  made  on  my  farm  in  a  fluid  state,  with  a  large  supply  of  water  from  my  spring, 
surely  it  must  equally  and  more  certainly  pay  a  farmer  to  receive  back  his  corn,  bullocks, 
sheep,  and  other  productions,  after  they  are  done  with,  at  a  very  much  smaller  cost ;  for  their 
very  essence  will  return  to  him,  accompanied  by  all  the  good  things  that  metropolitan  luxury 
can  command  from  every  foreign  part.  If  we  go  into  a  statistical  inquiry  of  the  weekly  sup- 
ply of  London  in  tea,  coffee,  and  sugar;  wine,  spirits,  and  beer;  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl,  (foreign 
and  British;)  the  tons  of  soap,  and  the  thousand-and-one  refuses  of  our  manufactories,  gas- 
works, &c.,  one  becomes  amazed  at  the  fructifying  power  involved  in  such  a  consideration. 
The  alkaline  and  grauited  solutions  of  our  pavements  by  trituration  and  abrasion,  the  smuts 
from  our  smoke,  have  all  a  considerable  value. 

The  mere  wear  and  tear  of  shoe-leather  has  its  value,  as  it  grinds  down  the  pavement  into 
hollows.  I  apprehend  that  the  daily  cost  of  feeding  each  individual  in  this  metropolis,  taking 
the  average  of  rich  and  poor,  young  and  old,  would  not  be  less  than  ten-pence  per  day,  or 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  millions  sterling  per  annum.  Now,  in  parts  of  Lincolnshire  it  is  the 
custom  to  value  the  manure  at  half  the  cost  of  the  oil-cake  consumed.  On  this  principle, 
which  appears  to  be  a  sound  one,  the  agricultural  value  of  the  manure  from  thi!S^iirty-seven 
and  a  hal£  millions  of  food  ought  to  be  something  very  considerable,  to  say  nothing 
food  consumed  by  the  animals  of  the  metropolis.  The  rubbing,  washing,  and  agitating  which 
the  solid  excrement  receives  in  passing  through  miles  of  tortuous  sewers,  cause  it  to  be  dis- 
solved and  pass  away  in  a  fluid  state,  which  we  may  any  day  prove  by  an  examination  of  the 
sewers'  mouths  at  low-water.  I  think  farmers  cannot  be  aware  that  all  the  solid  and  liquid 
manure  of  men  and  animals  is  liquifiable  by  solution  or  suspension,  and  can  be  applied  in  a 
shower,  sinking  deeply  into  the  subsoil  of  drained  land.  Perhaps  I  may  be  here  permitted 
to  explain  why  I  consider  this  mode  of  application  far  superior  to  the  solid  form.  If  you 
make  a  transverse  cut  or  opening  in  the  soil,  you  will  find  that  the  British  agricultural  pie- 
crust is  only  five  to  eight  inches  thick.  The  slips  and  railway  cuttings  plainly  reveal  this 
humiliating  fact.  Below  this  thin  crust  we  see  a  primitive  soil,  bearing  most  unmistakable 
evidence  of  antiquity  and  unalterability.  The  dark  shades  of  the  cultivated  and  manured 
surface  have  not  been  communicated  to  the  pale  subsoil ;  and  we  have  evident  proof  that 
solid  manure  plowed  in,  in  the  ordinary  way,  exercises  little  influence  on  the  subsoil.  Nor 
can  this  be  wondered  at,  when  the  plow  sole  has  been  polishing  and  solidifying  the  floor  at 
the  same  depth  for  the  last  few  centuries.  Now,  when  I  apply  liquified  manure,  (which 

*  The  "quarter"  of  English  agriculturists  is  eight  buskds;  so  that  the  yield  of  wheat  was  forty-eight  bushels  per 
imperial  acre  of  four  rods,  each  forty-six  perches  or  rods. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  137 

means  all  the  solid  and  liquid  excrements  of  the  farm  animals  mixed  with  water,)  it  soaks 
deeply  into  the  subsoil  to  the  depth  of  the  drains,  which  I  have  seen,  on  the  very  strongest 
clays,  discharging  the  liquefied  manure  at  a  depth  of  four  and  five  feet.  Here,  then,  is  the 
secret  of  my  great  crops  on  a  miserable  soil.  The  manure  vitalizes,  warms,  and  chemically 
changes  the  miserable  subsoil;  the  roots  of  the  growing  crops  know  this,  and  send  down 
their  fibres  or  mouths  to  appropriate  and  elaborate  the  subterranean  treasures  now  for  the 
first  time  placed  at  their  disposal  in  an  available  condition.  I  could  show  you  twenty  loads 
of  rich  oil-cake  bullock  pudding,  or  manure ;  I  would  mix  it  with  water,  apply  it  in  a  shower, 
and  you  should  search  the  surface  in  vain  for  any  proof  of  its  whereabout.  It  has  gone  down 
to  do  its  work.  I  will  not  drag  you  through  all  the  details  of  the  modus  operandi  of  this 
method  of  manuring ;  you  may  see  it  all  any  day  you  choose  on  my  farm,  or  on  any  of  those 
of  others  who  are  practising  the  same  process.  What  I  want  you  to  believe  is,  that  town- 
sewage  is  liquid  guano,  applicable  to  every  soil  and  every  crop,  and  worthy  of  your  utmost 
attention.  It  is  true  that  uudrained  land,  requiring  drainage,  such  as  heavy  clays  and  spring 
soil,  must  undergo  that  operation  before  they  can  derive  the  benefit  of  such  an  application ; 
but  there  are  extensive  tracts  of  chalks,  sands,  and  hot  gravels,  almost  praying  to  be  fertil- 
ized by  the  sewage  of  our  towns. 

Although  I  apply  my  liquefied  manure  on  the  surface,  I  am  quite  convinced  that,  during 
the  summer  season  and  among  the  growing  crops,  it  would  be  far  more  advantageous  to  apply 
it  subterraneously,  as  effected  by  Mr.  Wilkins.  lly  this  means,  the  openings  and  tillage  of 
the  surface  is  undisturbed ;  the  rays  of  heat  and  light  are  employed  in  warming  the  earth, 
and  evaporating  from  the  leaves  the  subterranean  supply  of  fluids  which  the  plants  absorb  by 
their  roots,  and  which  arise  to  them  by  capillarity.  The  question  is  a  lai'ge  one,  involving 
1. 'rations  of  cost;  but  most  certainly  production  is  vastly  increased  and  stimulated  by 
the  new  method. 

One  important  reason  for  the  superiority  of  liquefied  over  solid  manures,  is,  that  water  is 
the  great  arrester  and  conveyance  of  ammonia — that  invisible  and  truant  spirit  which  is  ever 
escaping  unseen  fn>m  recking  dung-heaps.  It  is  this  ammonia  which  dissolves  the  silica 
of  the  soil,  and  makes  the  kernel  of  our  wheat  and  the  lean  of  our  flesh  ;  and  it  is  lor  this 
ammonia  that  we  so  affectionately  prize  unwashed  Peruvian  guano  or  birds'  dung.  When. 
you  have  learned  to  apply  fluid  manure  to  the  soil,  you  will  find  your  crops  yield  as  much 
as  they  do  after  the  sheepfold,  and  you  will  get  corn  as  well  as  straw ;  that  is,  if  you  do  not 
sow  too  much  seed. 

You  must  give  up  all  hopes  of  obtaining  town-sewage  in  a  solid  form,  for  Professor  Way's 
paper,  (which  every  agriculturist  should  read,)  in  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society's  Journal, 
and  other  evidences,  are  conclusive  on  that  point. 

Now,  in  railroad  undertakings  we  find  landed  proprietors  and  other  interested  parties  join- 
ing with  town  capitalists,  and  affording  them  every  inducement  and  opportunity  to  open  up 
a  country  with  general  benefit.  Let  the  same  be  done  with  sewage.  Depend  upon  it, 
without  this  co-operation  no  town  capitalists  will  be  so  miscalculating  as  to  place  their  capital 
at  the  mercy  of  local  prejudice  or  neglect.  It  therefore  remains  with  agriculture  itself  to 
determine  whether  this  interesting  question  shall  receive  its  proper  solution.  But  supposing 
that  the  new  company  has  laid  down  its  main  line  of  pipes  for  the  country  distribution,  where 
will  you  find  the  £3  per  acre  for  the  network  of  iron  pipes,  &c.  requisite  on  every  farm  ? 
It  appears  to  me  that,  where  the  capital  is  required,  it  may  be  readily  obtained  from  the 
Lands  Improvement  Company  or  Land  Drainage  Company,  and  that  the  annual  charge  which 
would  liquidate  principal  and  interest  in  a  few  years  would  leave  a  large  margin  of  advantage 
for  both  landlord  and  tenant.  To  those  who  desire  to  see  the  mode  of  applying  town-sewage 
may  be  quoted  the  instance  of  G.  H.  Walker,  Esq.,  who  takes  the  town  of  Rugby,  &c. ;  W. 
Worsley,  Esq.,  near  Manchester,  who  uses  the  sewage  of  a  neighboring  district.  In  both  these 
cases  steam-power  is  applied. 

Of  course,  if  the  London  sewage  is  used,  I  apprehend  it  would  be  pumped  to  elevated  dis- 
trict reservoirs,  whence  it  would  flow  from  main  pipes  connected  with  smaller  ones  on  the 
various  farms,  so  that  they  would  be  always  charged  with  a  sufficient  pressure  to  cause  a  jet; 
this  would  render  unnecessary  any  steam-engine  or  tank  on  the  farm.  A  register  of  quantity, 


138  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

like  a  gas-meter,  would  enable  the  company  to  make  their  periodical  charge.  I  annex  the 
following  statistical  account,  with  which  I  have  been  favored  by  Edwin  Chadwick,  our  greatest 
authority  in  such  matters  : — 

The  gross  daily  quantity  of  water  pumped  into  the  metropolis  was,  in  the  year  1850,  forty- 
four  million  gallons.  The  actual  quantity  consumed  for  domestic  purposes,  or  that  you  could 
estimate  for  sewage  as  containing  house  refuse,  or  house-manure  in  suspension  or  solution,  at 
times  when  there  is  no  rain  applicable  as  manure,  would  not  be  more  than  twenty  million 
gallons  per  diem.  I  say  house-manure,  because  rain  and  storm  waters  bring,  as  surface  wash- 
ings, dung  from  the  streets,  and  soot  and  birds'  dung  from  the  roofs  of  houses.  You  may 
judge  of  the  daily  quantity  visibly  by  the  fact,  that  forty -five  million  gallons  would  bo  deli- 
vered in  twenty-four  hours  by  a  brook  nine  feet  wide  and  three  feet  deep,  running  at  the  rate 
of  three  feet  per  second,  or  a  little  more  than  two  miles  per  hour ;  and  three  sewers,  of  three 
feet  diameter  and  of  a  proper  fall,  will  suffice  for  the  removal  (for  distribution)  of  the  same 
volume  of  refuse  or  soil  water.  The  total  weight  of  this  annual  supply  of  water  is  nearly 
seventy-two  millions  of  tons.  The  daily  cost  of  raising  the  whole  supply  by  engine-power 
one  hundred  feet  high  (for  distribution)  would  be  about  £25,  or  £9000  per  annum.  Sup- 
posing the  supply  were  equally  distributed,  i.  e.  the  forty-four  millions,  it  would  be  about 
fifty  pailsful  for  each  house,  and  would  weigh  about  thirteen  hundredweight. 

Those  who  doubt  the  cheapness  at  which  water  can  be  raised  may  be  assured  by  visiting 
the  Croydon  Water-works,  where  six  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  gallons  are  forced  to  a  mile 
distant,  and  elevated  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  at  a  cost  of  thirteen  and  a  half  hundred- 
weight of  dust-coal  per  diem  of  twenty -four  hours.  With  regard  to  the  mode  of  conveyance, 
it  appears  to  me  that  our  railway  lines  might  be  availed  of  to  lay  down  lines  of  pipes  ;  but, 
of  course,  all  such  questions  would  be  easily  arranged  by  competent  engineering  authorities. 
Perhaps  it  will  be  as  well  to  state,  that  fifteen  yards  of  three-inch  iron  pipe  per  acre  will  be 
all  that  is  required,  or  about  five  and  a  half  hundredweight  of  iron  per  acre.  This  is  the 
quantity  on  my  farm ;  I  have  one  hundred  and  seventy  acres  piped.  The  value  of  London 
sewage  has  been  variously  estimated;  but  Professor  Way  has  calculated  it  by  its  ammonia  at 
two  millions  sterling.  He  has  made  no  valuation  of  the  water  alone ;  I  apprehend  that  fifty 
millions  of  gallons  daily,  or  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand  tons,  would  have,  even 
when  unmixed  with  manure,  a  considerable  irrigating  value. 

In  order  to  ascertain  whether  this  application  of  sewage  will  pay  the  farmer  a  profit,  and 
leave  a  sufficient  interest  for  the  capital  invested  by  a  company,  let  us  calculate  seventy-two 
million  tons  of  sewage,  at  one  penny  per  ton,  would  be  £300,000.  Now,  take  the  pumping 
or  raising  this  quantity  at  the  exaggerated  sum  of  £50,000  annually,  there  would  remain 
£250,000  as  interest  on  the  capital  invested,  which,  at  six  per  cent.,  would  be  also  the  exag- 
gerated sum  of  £4,000,000  sterling. 

I  have  assumed  the  sum  of  one  penny  per  ton  as  representing  that  which  would  leave  the 
farmer  and  landlord  a  very  large  profit  on  their  pipe  investment.  I  can  confirm  this  by  my 
own  practical  experience.  But  it  must  be  obvious  to  any  one  who  reasons,  that,  as  one  hun- 
dred tons  of  water  per  acre  represents  a  rain  fall  of  twenty-four  hours,  this  alone,  without 
the  saturation  of  manure,  must  be  worth  one  penny  per  ton,  or  3s.  Qd.  per  acre,  and,  indeed, 
in  dry  weather,  for  grass  crops  very  much  more.  As  to  the  quantity  required  per  acre,  Mr. 
Telfer,  of  Ayr,  tells  me  that  he  applies  five  hundred  tons  of  water  per  Scotch  acre  at  five 
dressings  to  his  Italian  rye-grass,  with  five  hundredweight  of  guano  at  each  dressing,  making 
a  total  annual  application  of  twenty-five  hundredweight  of  guano  per  Scotch  acre,  (one- 
fourth  larger  than  the  English  acre.)  This  is  in  a  naturally  moist  climate :  therefore,  we 
may  estimate  the  water- absorbing  power  of  the  barren  sandy  wastes  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  metropolis  far  more  considerable.  That  those  wastes  would  be  rendered  highly  pro- 
ductive after  the  application  of  town-sewage  cannot  be  doubted. 

The  experiments  of  Mr.  Wilkins,  who  grew  two  crops  of  hemp  and  flax  in  one  season,  last 
year,  settle  the  question.  Now,  if  you  apply  five  hundred  tons  per  acre,  you  will  only  re- 
quire one  hundred  and  fifty-two  thousand  acres  to  absorb  your  seventy-six  millions  of  tons. 
As  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  are  a  square  mile,  you  would  at  that  rate  require  two  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  square  miles,  or  a  square  area  whose  diameter  would  be  about  fifteen  miles. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  139 

I  have  a  strong  conviction  that  a  very  much  larger  quantity  of  sewage,  say  one  thousand  tons 
per  acre,  at  least,  may  be  profitably  applied  to  our  sandy,  gravelly,  and  chalky  wastes.  This 
would  afford  a  great  economy  in  distance  and  expense.  On  the  Edinburgh  meadows  as  much 
as  six  thousand  tons  per  Scotch  acre  are  applied ;  but  that  appears  to  me  hardly  a  necessary 
quantity.  Still,  if  such  large  quantities  could  be  applied  to  so  limited  an  area,  it  is  clear  that, 
instead  of  one  penny  per  ton,  the  cost  need  not  much  exceed  one  farthing.  Six  thousand 
tons,  at  one  farthing  per  ton,  would  be  £6,  5*.  per  acre.  This  would  pay;  for  the  average 
letting  of  the  Edinburgh  meadows  to  the  cow-keepers  was,  I  am  informed,  last  year,  £21  per 
acre — a  pretty  good  evidence  of  the  beneficial  effects  of  town-sewage  on  waste  lands  that 
wore,  a  few  years  since,  worthless  and  barren. 

I  apprehend  that  no  one  will  doubt  tho  economy  of  transmission  of  fluids  by  tubes, 
seeing  that  by  road-carriage  the  charge  of  carting  near  the  metropolis  would  be,  at  least, 
eight-pence  per  ton,  per  mile.  There  is  no  fear  of  our  being  overwhelmed  with  cheap 
hay  or  superabundant  milk  by  this  process,  for  our  wants  become  annually  more  and 
more  gigantic.  In  conclusion,  I  do  hope  that  this  club  of  practical  agriculturists  will,  by 
their  resolution  this  evening,  stamp  their  opinion  of  the  necessity  for  this  great  national 
economy. 

Subterranean  Application  of  Liquid  Manure. 

A  MR.  WILKINS  has  patented  in  England  an  ingenious  plan  for  applying  liquid  manure 
directly  to  the  bottom  of  the  roots  of  plants,  in  the  subsoil,  instead  of  using  it  upon  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground  in  tho  usual  way.  There  is  but  one  serious  objection  to  it — and  that  i.s  its 
expensiveness,  which  is  likely  to  prevent  its  general  adoption.  Tho  liquid  manure  is  con- 
veyed under  the  surt'aro-soil  and  growing  crops  in  tubes,  not  unlike  draining  tile,  allowing  a 
line  of  pipes  to  each  row  of  turnips,  corn,  potatoes,  or  other  agricultural  plants.  To  avoid 
the  loss  of  manure  by  its  infiltration  into  the  subsoil  and  deep  earth,  the  whole  area  opera  trd 
upon  has  the  surface-soil  removed  to  the  depth  of  twenty  or  more  inches,  and  the  denuded 
surface  is  covered  with  water-lime,  cement,  or  pounded  clay,  to  render  it  impervious  to 
water,  when  the  surface-soil  is  restored  to  its  former  place.  In  all  cases  where  the  subsoil 
is  naturally  retentive,  it  would  appear  to  be  a  needless  expense  to  pave  or  cement  it  to  pre- 
vent the  loss  of  manure,  however  liberally  it  may  be  used;  but,  on  all  pervious  land,  some- 
thing should  be  done  to  avoid  the  washing  away  of  the  liquid  food  of  agricultural  plants, 
where  one  manures  highly. 

Mr.  Wilkins  has  pipes  leading  from  liquid  manure  tanks  that  convey  the  fertilizer  to  the 
underground  conduits,  through  which  it  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  rootlets  of  every 
plant  under  cultivation.  The  manure  rises  up  to  the  surface  of  the  tilled  soil  by  capillary 
attraction.  Care,  of  course,  is  taken  not  to  have  the  liquid  so  strong  as  to  injure  any  crop, 
and  not  to  give  the  soil,  which  in  truth  lies  in  a  tight  basin,  too  much  water  for  the  healthy 
growth  of  plants.  Mr.  W.  selected  last  season  a  piece  of  ground  one  hundred  feet  square, 
which  he  had  prepared  on  his  principle,  and  by  the  side  of  it  he  had  one  hundred  feet  square 
of  the  same  kind  of  soil,  which  was  treated  on  the  old  system.  Both  pieces  were  planted 
and  sown  alike,  and  he  had  advertised  the  day  when  the  roots  on  both  would  be  taken  up, 
and  invited  the  public  to  come  and  see  and  judge  for  themselves.  The  results  were,  as  re- 
ported in  the  London  Agricultural  Gazette,  that  on  the  prepared  land  the  mangel-wurtzel 
grown  was  at  the  rate  of  sixty-nine  tons  two  quarters  and  twenty-two  pounds  to  the  acre ; 
the  Indian  corn  grown  on  it  ripened  and  came  to  perfection,  but  not  on  the  unprepared  piece ; 
the  potatoes  were  taken  up  in  eleven  weeks,  and  when  weighed  were  found  to  be  more  than 
double  the  weight  of  those  grown  on  the  unprepared  land ;  and  one  of  the  cabbages  weighed 
sixteen  poiinds,  although  its  stem  remained  in  the  ground,  and  had  at  the  time  of  the  ex- 
amination fifteen  young  cabbages  upon  it.  Mr.  Wilkins  exhibited  some  lucerne,  which  he 
said  was  the  third  cut,  and  contrasted  it  with  the  first  of  some  grown  on  the  old  system. 
Remarkably  fine  specimens  of  flax  and  hemp  were  exhibited,  grown  by  this  new  process. 
Only  four  inches  of  liquid  was  allowed  to  stand  at  any  time  at  the  bottom ;  and  the  soil  above 
must  be  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches. 


140  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  leading  idea  is  not  to  permit  any  element  of  fertility  to  escape,  either  by  solar  evapo- 
ration or  leaching  and  washing,  but  compel  growing  plants  to  absorb  and  assimilate  the 
maximum  of  their  appropriate  food. 

Chinese  Economy  of  Manure. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  London  Literary  Gazette  gives  the  following  memoranda  respecting 
the  economy  of  manures,  as  noticed  in  China : — 

My  first  excursion  was  to  a  place  called  Gading,  thirteen  miles  from  Malacca,  where  I  had 
permission  to  reside  in  a  house  occupied  by  some  Chinese  Christians,  who  are  cultivating  a 
garnbir  and  pepper  plantation.  The  house  was  a  mere  huge  shed.  I  lived  in  it  a  fortnight, 
as,  strange  to  relate,  the  Chinese  (I  trust  because  they  were  Christians)  kept  it  clean.  No 
people  in  the  tropics  really  cultivate  the  soil  as  these  do.  They  do  not  merely  plant  and 
reap  ;  they  dig  and  trench  and  level ;  they  eradicate  weeds  and  stumps ;  they  keep  the 
ground  clean,  and  they  manure.  The  process  of  manuring,  indeed,  was  the  only  thing  I 
objected  to,  as  the  tank  was  a  large  bucket  kept  standing  for  convenience  in  a  corner  of 
the  house.  The  rage  for  liquid  manure  is  such,  that,  in  the  Chinese  villages,  a  bucket  often 
stands  near  the  door  for  public  use.  The  pigs,  for  the  same  reason,  are  far  better  lodged 
than  with  us,  having  a  floor  of  poles  with  a  tank  beneath,  in  which  all  the  manure  is 
collected. 

Mr.  Mechi  and  Tiptree  Hall. 

ALL  have  heard  of  Mr.  Mechi,  the  celebrated  English  agriculturist,  and  of  Tiptree  Hall, 
where  his  experiments  in  farming  have  been  carried  on ;  but  few  are  acquainted  with  the 
history  and  details  of  this  gentleman's  experiences.  We  derive  the  following  abstract  from 
the  correspondence  of  the  New  York  Tribune : — 

Americans,  who  may  have  known  London  twenty  or  five-and-twenty  years  ago  will  remem- 
ber a  constant  affix  to  the  dead  walls  of  the  metropolis — "MECHI'S  MAGIC  PASTE." 

This,  in  time,  was  succeeded  by  "Mechi's  Magic  Strop"  and  "  Mechi's  Magic  Razor," 
until  at  last  these  articles,  by  constant  puffing  and  advertising,  became  of  almost  universal 
use  throughout  Great  Britain.  As  the  result  of  his  enterprise  and  tact,  Mr.  Mechi  became 
possessed  of  no  inconsiderable  wealth,  a  portion  of  which  he  resolved  to  devote  to  agricul- 
tural experiments,  still  retaining  his  shop  in  town. 

Although  the  advertising  of  Mechi's  articles  had,  in  a  great  measure,  ceased,  it  was  im- 
possible that  a  keen  and  enterprising  man  of  this  sort  could  be  entirely  forgotten.  It  was 
not  his  character  to  allow  himself  to  sink  into  oblivion  together  with  his  paste.  After  the 
decline  of  that  commodity,  some  time  elapsed  before  Mr.  Mechi  again  turned  up ;  but  when 
he  did  turn  up,  he  turned  up  with  a  vengeance  !  It  was  during  that  exciting  period  when 
"free-trade"  was  agitating  the  minds  of  Englishmen  and  threatening  to  produce  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  nation,  that  Mr.  Mechi  again  came  before  the  public.  The  scene  was  the  House 
of  Commons  ;  the  hour,  twelve  at  night.  Ministerial  and  Opposition  benches  were  thronged ; 
the  galleries  seemed  ready  to  sink  under  the  mass  of  "strangers"  crowding  into  them. 
"Hear!  hear!"  was  most  vociferous;  "Oh!  oh!"  unusually  sarcastic.  Amid  a  volley 
of  both,  some  "  honorable  member"  had  just  sat  down,  when,  amid  a  silence  as  profound  as 
death,  up  rose  Sir  Robert  Peel.  That  great  statesman  commenced,  of  course,  in  his  blandest 
tones.  He  touched  lightly  on  the  theme  by  the  last  speaker ;  he  treated  tenderly  two  or 
three  salient  points  which  had  occurred  in  the  debate  ;  and,  after  eliciting  a  cheer  or  two  from 
those  who  sat  around  him,  came  at  once  to  the  topic  of  his  speech. 

He  wanted  that  night,  he  said,  to  address  himself  to  the  agriculturists  of  England.  He 
desired  to  tell  the  landlords  to  their  faces  that  the  science  of  agriculture  in  this  country  was 
most  imperfectly  understood.  England,  he  wanted  to  impress  upon  them,  was  at  least  a 
quarter  of  a  century  behind  the  age  in  agriculture,  and  would  be  outstripped  even  by  Russia, 
if  we  did  not  speedily  adopt  new  methods.  It  was  his  opinion  that,  in  many  respects,  the 
English  farmer  had  the  very  A  B  C  of  cultivation  yet  to  learn.  [At  such  an  assurance  as 


AGRICULTUKAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  141 

tins,  I  need  not  tell  you  how  great  was  the  astonishment.  It  became  greater  as  Sir  Robert 
Peel  contimied.]  Within  a  very  few  days  past  lie  had  visited,  at  no  great  distance  from  the 
metropolis,  a  model  farm.  [A  sarcastic  cry  of  Oh  !]  Yes,  a  model  farm,  from  which  the 
agricultural  member  who  cried  "  Oh !"  might  take  many  a  useful  lesson.  It  was  the  farm  of  a 
•well-known  citizen  of  London — of  a  tradesman  of  great  enterprise  and  of  considerable  pro- 
perty ;  but  of  one,  be  it  observed,  who  had  not  been  used  or  accustomed  to  farming,  and 
who  was  yet  able  to  teach  English  agriculturists  a  lesson  in  agric^ture.  Upon  a  barren 
heath  Mr.  Mechi  had  planted  a  model  farm;  and  such  were  his  improved  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion, of  draining,  of  manuring,  and  of  subsoil  plowing,  that  upon  that  barren  heath  there 
stood  at  that  moment  the  very  finest  crops  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  Britain, 
He  admonished  country  gentlemen  that  new  methods  of  cultivation  had  been  too  long  neg- 
lected. He  warned  them  that,  instead  of  being  before  the  rest  of  the  world,  they  were 
lamentably  behind  it.  He  cautioned  them  to  take  care  lest  they  were  outstripped  as  farmers 
by  people  of  whom  they  appeared  to  entertain  much  too  light  opinions.  And  the  text  from 
which  he  preached  throughout  was  this  same  farm  of  Mr.  Mechi,  of  which  nobody,  before 
that  day,  had  ever  heard ;  but  which,  from  that  day  and  long  after,  became  the  battle-field 
on  which  protectionists  and  free-traders,  corn-law  men  and  anti-corn-law  men,  fought  many 
a  heavy  fight  of  words,  both  before  Parliament  and  the  people.  "  The  Model  Mechi"  and 
"  Mechi's  Model  Farm"  became  the  watchwords  of  one  party,  while  by  the  other  the  dic- 
tionary of  the  English  language  was  dissected  for  every  defamatory  and  disparaging  dissyl- 
lable the  dialect  afforded  to  designate  Mechi  as  disgracefully  as  they  desired  us  to  deem  that 
he  deserved. 

Since  all  this  occurred,  eight  or  ten  years  have  run  their  course.  Free-trade  has  become 
the  law  of  the  land ;  the  averments  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  as  to  the  backwardness  of  English 
agriculturists  have  been  recognised  as  partly,  if  not  wholly,  true ;  and  Mr.  Mechi,  who  held 
•  •••mplaeently  while  the  tempest  howled  around  him,  now  enjoys  the  favoring  gales 
and  gladdening  sunshine  of  a  prosperous  career.  I  need  scarcely  tell  you  that  he  is  what 
he  always  AV.-I<.  It  is  the  world  that  has  changed — not  the  man.  But  Mr.  Mechi  knows  (no 
one  better)  how  to  turn  the  changes  and  chances  of  the  world  to  account,  and  I  will  proceed 
to  tell  you  how  he  now  applies  his  knowledge. 

Once  every  year,  just  at  the  close  of  the  London  season,  when  every  one  in  town  is  sighing 
for  a  breath  of  country  air,  just  before  the  commencement  of  the  harvest,  Mr.  Mvchi  lias  an 
"agricultural  gathering"  at  Tiptree  Hall.  To  this  gathering  are  invited  all  the  notabilities 
of  the  day.  Farmers,  imitators,  and  admirers,  all  turn  out  to  see  "  Mechi's  Model  Farm." 
To  these,  collected  at  his  hospitable  hall,  Mr.  Mechi  proceeds  to  show  his  improvements.  He 
walks  them  over  his  fields  and  through  his  stock-yard ;  he  expatiates  upon  his  difficulties  and 
explains  his  improvements ;  he  discourses  on  his  crops,  exhibits  his  machines,  lectures  learn- 
edly on  his  manures,  shows  how  he  distributes  them,  and  when  the  party  have  acquired  suffi- 
cient information  and  astounding  appetites,  he  concludes  the  day  by  setting  them  down  to  a 
banquet,  such  as  a  Londoner  alone  knows  how  to  manage. 

As  a  place  of  country-resort,  Tiptree  Hall  has  few  attractions.  Situated  on  an  elevated, 
bleak,  and  barren  heath,  without  a  tree  within  a  mile  of  it  larger  than  a  laurel,  it  boasts  not 
a  single  rural  beauty,  such  as  we  regard  rural  beauty  in  this  country.  Mr.  Mechi  has  made 
a  great  effort  to  compensate  for  this  by  artificial  gardening  ;  but  though  every  thing  has  been 
done  that  a  cultivated  taste  and  a  lavish  expenditure  could  effect,  yet  the  result,  as  a  whole, 
is  eminently  unsatisfactory.  Terraces  and  embankments  have  been  thrown  up  to  relieve  the 
flat  monotony  of  the  landscape  ;  a  bog  has  been  converted  into  a  series  of  little  lakes ;  walks 
of  every  possible  variety  have  been  wound  around  plantations ;  tender  shrubs  have  been 
planted  and  effectually  reared  on  spots  where  Nature  never  intended  that  a  shrub  should 
grow ;  flower-beds  have  been  laid  out  with  all  the  elaboration  of  which  the  Italian  style  of 
gardening  is  susceptible ;  color  has  been  properly  introduced  where  nothing  was  to  be  seen 
but  drab-colored  heather  ;  but  still  the  result  is  unsatisfactory.  The  place,  in  fact,  as  a  re- 
treat, has  no  capabilities.  Nature  has  predetermined  that  there  shall  be  about  it  none  of  the 
specialities  of  an  English  farm,  and  Nature  has  yet,  in  this  respect,  been  too  strong  for  man. 

But  what  of  Tiptree  as  a  "  model  farm  ?"     Is  it  what  it  professes  to  be  ?     Is  it  what  Sir 


142  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Robert  Peel  described  it?  Is  it  an  example  which  the  farmers  of  the  world  may  advan- 
tageously consult  and  imitate  ?  Now,  as  to  this  point,  I  must  frankly  say  that  my  notions 
are  poised  so  very  equally  in  my  mental  scales  that  I  am  unable  to  give  a  distinct  or  satisfac- 
tory reply.  I  have  seen  better  things  in  farming  than  Tiptree  Hall,  many  better  tilings ;  but 
while  I  declare  this,  I  must  also  acknowledge  that  I  never  sUw  so  remarkable  an  example  of 
what  industry  and  enterprise  may  accomplish  under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances. 
Certainly  no  one  but  a£nnn  accustomed  to  get  sharp  edges  from  the  collision  of  steel  and 
stone  ever  would  have  thought  of  trying  to  cultivate  such  a  place  at  all.  One  would  fancy 
that  Mr.  Mechi  had  taken  up  an  idea  from  his  bhop  that  you  could  get  a  good  crop  out  of 
stones  as  well  as  a  keen  edge.  You  should  have  heard  his  own  account  of  what  Tiptree  Farm 
was  when  he  came  there !  "Vainly,"  said  he,  "did  I  try  by  solid  manures  to  render  this  vile, 
plastic  clay  a  useful  pasture.  It  was  like  bird-lime  in  winter,  and  like  cast-iron  in  summer. 
Poor,  indigenous,  and  drab-colored  grasses  choked  and  eradicated  the  finer  kinds  I  had 
sown,  and  the  animals  wandered  about  hollow  and  dissatisfied.  Now,  fine  and  fattening 
grasses  clothe  the  fields  with  perpetual  verdure,  the  land  keeps  three  times  as  many  animals, 
and  the  close  and  shaven  pasture  indicates  their  affection  for  it."  And  this  description  of 
Mr.  Mechi's  pasture  is  a  fine  description  of  his  whole  farm.  Where  the  drab-colored  grasses 
were  alone  seen  ten  years  ago,  crops  of  the  finest  wheat,  barley,  and  oats  now  clothe  the 
wold  and  greet  the  sunshine  as  it  merrily  glances  from  the  heavens.  Every  one  admits  that 
there  can  be  no  finer  crops.  They  are  grown  from  very  small  quantities  of  well-selected 
seeds ;  but  these  small  quantities,  under  Mechi's  system,  seem  to  be  more  productive  than 
large  quantities  anywhere  else. 

How,  then,  have  these  results  been  produced  ?  The  answer  is  simple.  By  deep  drainage 
and  liquid  manures,  regardless  of  expense.  Mr.  Mechi's  knowledge  of  chemistry  taught 
him  that  the  worst  soil  might  become  better  by  allowing  their  pores  to  be  fermented  by  the 
sweet  rains  of  heaven.  Every  clod  in  the  hard  clay  at  Tiptree  was  choked  by  stagnant 
water.  He  drew  it  off  by  deep  drainage.  Then  the  plow  let  in  life  and  light  upon  heaps  of 
earth  which  had  never  felt  the  influence  of  either.  Still,  though  the  land  was  broken  up — 
though  from  a  hard,  cold  clod  of  clay  it  had  been  converted  into  a  dry  mould — still  it  was 
poor  and  needy.  Mr.  Mechi's  next  application  to  it  was,  accordingly,  intended  to  give  it 
strength  and  heat.  By  means  of  pipes  carried  all  over  the  estate,  liquid  manure  was  laid  on 
freely  wherever  it  seemed  to  be  required,  and  the  ground  soon  showed  how  much  it  was 
strengthened,  and  how  much  it  was  disposed  to  give  a  grateful  and  hearty  acknowledgment 
of  the  favor  conferred  upon  it. 

In  bygone  times,  it  used  to  be  a  great  joke  with  the  farmers  to  ask  Mr.  Mechi  where  was 
his  "balance-sheet?"  You  may  grow  a  crop  upon  one  of  your  own  razors,  was  the  argu- 
ment, but  what  will  it  cost  you  ?  For  many  years,  while  the  price  of  wheat  was  low,  Mr. 
Mechi  was  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  he  had  invested  more  in  the  soil  than  the  soil 
returned  him.  But  things  have  now  changed,  and  Mr.  Mechi  retorts  the  joke  upon  the 
farmers.  "  It  is  not,"  says  he,  "  the  man  who  farms  with  the  least  expense  who  makes  the 
most  money.  When  prices  were  low,  and  labor  was  low,  I  invested  large  sums  of  money  in 
the  land  ;  now  that  prices  are  high,  I  invest  no  longer,  but  I  reap  the  benefit  of  my  invest- 
ment at  low  prices.  My  fields  produce  more  than  yours;  my  returns  are,  consequently, 
greater  than  yours.  And  it  is  the  result  of  investment  in  improvements  at  periods  when 
improvements  can  be  made  at  low  rates  of  wages."  Such  are  the  arguments  of  Mr.  Mechi. 
They  are,  to  a  great  extent,  of  world-wide  application. 

Mr.  Mechi  held  his  annual  gathering  in  July  of  the  present  year,  1855,  as  usual — some 
three  hundred  farmers,  savans,  and  statesmen  being  present.  Mr.  M.  stated  that  he  realized 
$3500  from  Tiptree  last  year,  and  that  his  balance-sheet  can  no  longer  be  considered  unsatis- 
factory. Stock,  which  is  at  present  unprofitable  to  feed,  is  not  kept  by  him  in  any  great 
quantity.  Several  of  his  largest  sheds  are  empty — pigs  and  bullocks  in  diminished  num- 
bers, and  the  sheep  in  the  fields. 

Mr.  Mechi  does  not  like  looking  behind  him.  He  seems  afraid  of  the  fate  of  Lot's  wife, 
if  he  did  so  ;  and  therefore,  once  a  principle  is  conceded  and  successfully  illustrated  at  Tip- 
tree  and  other  model  farms,  he  leaves  contentedly  to  time  its  full  realization  over  the  face  of 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  143 

the  country.  While  the  bulk  of  English  agriculture  still  struggles  to  arrive  at  deep  draining 
and  deep  disintegration  of  the  soil,  at  clean  fields,  liberal  manuring,  and  the  clearing  away 
of  useless  hedgerow^  and  trees ;  while  it  is  still  miles  away  from  such  elaborate  applications 
as  that  of  liquid  manure  by  underground  pipes ;  and  while  the  use  of  steam  in  any  form  is 
still  very  exceptional, — Mr.  Mechi  and  his  coadjutors  are  looking  forward  confidently  to  steam 
drainage  and  steam  cultivation.  A  machine,  invented  by  Lord  Dundonald,  was  exhibited  for 
the  accomplishment  of  the  former  object ;  and,  though  the  trial  was  not  carried  to  a  sufficient 
extent  to  enable  a  very  confident  opinion  to  be  formed  on  its  merits,  its  ingenuity  and  sim- 
plicity of  construction  were  readily  acknowledged  by  some  of  the  most  practical* men  present. 
To  bring  about  steam  cultivation,  a  very  pretty  little  working  model  was  shown.  This  model 
went  up  a  steep  embankment,  along  a  rough  road,  turned  in  different  directions  with  great 
ease,  and  dug  away  with  its  spades  in  soft  garden  mould.  It  appears  to  be  rather  complex 
in  its  parts,  and  otherwise  open  to  objection;  but,  taken  in  connection  with  other  recent 
improvements,  it  must  be  admitted  that  Mr.  Mechi  has  fair  grounds  for  his  conviction  that 
we  are  brought  close  to  the  application  of  steam-power  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  Toward 
this  result  the  mechanical  treatment  of  the  land,  in  the  best-farmed  districts  of  England,  has 
been  long  tending,  and  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  has  at  length  acknowledged  the  want 
by  inviting  the  attention  of  inventors  to  it  in  their  prize-list. 

Draining  of  Lake  Fucino,  in  Italy. 

ONE  of  the  most  gigantic  operations,  involving  drainage,  is  now  in  progress  at  the  Lake 
Fucino,  or  Celano,  in  Southern  Italy.  This  lake  is  about  eighty  miles  east  of  Rome  and  one 
hundred  and  ten  north  of  Naples  ;  and,  being  surrounded  by  the  highest  Apennines,  is,  as  it 
were,  the  reservoir  into  which  fall  all  the  rain  and  melted  snows  which  flow  down  from  its 
gigantic  neighbors.  From  the  effectual  manner  in  which  it  is  enclosed  on  all  sides,  there  is 
no  natural  outlet  for  its  waters,  and  thus  it  happens  that  an  immense  space  of  land  is  sub- 
merged ;  a  yet  larger  space  is  continually  threatened  by  the  possible  rising  of  the  body  of 
the  lake  ;  much  land  and  capital  have  been  lost ;  and  the  inevitable  consequence  would  be, 
that  capital  would  be  completely  withdrawn,  and  what  might  be  made  a  garden  would  become 
a  desert.  Yet,  notwithstanding  these  uncertainties  and  dangers,  such  is  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  that  a  population  always  springs  up  in  its  immediate  neighborhood,  just  as  it  does  on 
the  ashes  of  Vesuvius.  The  object  of  the  present  undertaking  is  not  merely  to  drain  the 
lake,  but  to  form  a  channel  of  communication  with  the  Liris,  whereby  all  future  accumula- 
tions of  water  may  be  carried  off. 

The  attempt  to  drain  this  lake  is  not  altogether  a  new  one.  Julius  Caesar  intended  to  have 
it  drained,  and  might  have  done  so,  had  it  not  been  for  his  death.  Claudius  was  the  next 
emperor  who  undertook  the  work,  and  that,  too,  in  good  earnest ;  "  not  merely  for  profit," 
says  Suetonius,  "  but  for  glory."  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the  mode  of  completing 
the  enterprise  was  similar  to  that  now  adopted.  Certain  persons  offered  to  drain  it  at  their 
own  expense,  provided  the  land  redeemed  was  conceded  to  them.  Partly  by  tunnelling,  and 
partly  by  cutting  the  mountain,  he,  with  difficulty,  completed  a  canal,  after  working  eleven 
years  incessantly  with  thirty  thousand  men.  Pliny,  speaking  of  it,  says — "Among  the 
great  works  of  Claudius  especially  deserving  of  notice,  though  destroyed  by  the  jealousy  of 
his  successor,  was  the  tunnelling  of  a  mountain  to  carry  off  the  Lake  Fucinum  ;  *  *  and 
all  was  done  in  the  midst  of  inner  darkness — facts  beyond  the  conception  of  all,  except  of 
such  as  have  seen  them,  and  incapable  of  being  described  by  him  in  language."  The  praise 
is  not  too  great,  when  we  consider  the  low  state  of  science  which  marked  that  age,  and  the 
want  of  powder.  All  the  details  of  the  outlet  were  not  completed,  however,  by  Claudius ; 
and  Nero,  so  far  from  finishing  them,  suffered  it  to  fall  into  ruins.  Adrian  repaired  it. 
From  that  time,  or  from  the  fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  up  to  the  thirteenth  century,  this 
grand  public  work  experienced  the  same  fate  with  all  other  public  monuments  in  Italy. 
Frederic  the  Second,  in  1240,  Alphonse  the  First  of  Arragon,  and  Prince  Colonna,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  contury,  made  several  efforts  either  to  drain  the  lake  or  to  limit 
its  ravages;  all  of  which,  from  various  reasons,  failed.  Under  the  reign  of  Charles  thj 


144  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Third,  the  waters  of  the  lake  became  so  low  that  the  remains  of  Marmvio,  one  of  three  sub- 
merged cities,  were  discovered,  and  all  sense  of  danger  passed  away;  but,  from  1783  to  1787, 
the  floods  returned  yet  stronger  than  ever,  and  wholly  destroyed  the  fertile  lands  in  the 
neighborhood.  From  that  time  till  now,  various  plans  have  been  presented,  adopted,  and 
begun,  though  fur  several  reasons  suspended.  The  work  ii  now,  however,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
in  a  fair  way  of  being  completed,  having  been  undertaken  by  a  French  company.  The  com- 
mencement of  the  operations  will  be  upon  the  old  tunnel  of  Claudius,  which  is  incomplete, 
and  is  sixteen  feet  below  the  lowest  part  of  the  bed  of  the  lake.  Its  actual  height  is  from 
seven  to  fourteen  feet ;  but  it  is  now  proposed  to  enlarge  it  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet,  and 
sixteen  feet  in  breadth.  When  completed,  a  dam  is  to  be  erected  at  the  mouth  of  the  tunnel, 
with  a  number  of  sluices  at  different  levels.  The  highest  sluice  will  be  opened,  which  will 
carry  oif  the  first  few  feet  of  the  surface  water.  While  these  works  are  in  course  of  execu- 
tion, dredging  machines  are  to  be  used,  with  the  view  of  clearing  a  canal  for  the  sluices  to 
the  deepest  part  of  the  lake.  The  sluices  will  afterwards  be  removed,  one  after  another — one 
only  remaining  in  permanence  to  regulate  the  flow  of  the  water  into  the  tunnel.  To  this 
must  be  added,  that  the  formation  of  a  reservoir,  as  a  temporary  recipient  for  rain  or  river 
water,  enters  also  into  the  plan  of  the  company.  In  this  way  modern  science  and  enterprise 
will  triumph  over  obstacles  whi<}h  Nature  has  ever  interposed  to  the  cultivation  of  a  vast 
tract  of  land,  and  will  complete  a  work  which  was  designed  so  far  back  as  the  time  of  Julius 
Caesar.  There  is  this  difference,  however,  that,  whereas  the  ancient  plan  contemplated  only 
the  limiting  of  the  inundations  of  the  lake,  the  actual  plan  attempts  the  complete  drainage 
of  it.  Of  enterprises  of  this  character,  it  is  said  to  be  the  grandest  that  has  ever  been 
undertaken.  Lake  Haarlem,  in  Holland,  extended,  indeed,  over  a  larger  area ;  but  it  was  not 
so  completely  drained  as  the  lake  of  Fucino  will  be.  A  few  words  now  as  to  the  benefits 
arising  from  this  mighty  operation.  Thirty-three  thousand  acres  of  the  richest  soil  will  be 
reclaimed,  which  become  the  perquisite  of  the  company.  This  is  not  all,  however ;  for  an 
end  will  be  put  to  the  uncertainty  and  insecurity  which  arise  from  the  periodical  rising  of 
the  lake,  and  which  forbid  the  employment  of  capital  on  land  which  may  be  submerged  the 
next  season.  This  probability,  or  possibility,  depends  on  a  curious  feature  in  the  natural 
history  of  the  lake.  This  is  the  sudden  rises  in  the  water-level  to  which  the  lake  is  sub- 
ject, the  causes  of  which  have  never  been  explained,  though  speculation  has  been  busy.  The 
variation  in  its  level,  within  twenty  years,  has  amounted  to  so  much  as  forty  feet,  it  having 
been,  in  1816,  higher,  by  forty  feet,  than  it  was  in  1835.  Since  that  year,  it  has  again  been 
gradually  rising,  until  it  has  now  risen  twenty  feet  higher  than  it  was  in  1835.  These  are  no 
slight  variations,  and  prove  how  much  danger  attends  the  cultivation  of  the  land  bordering 
the  lake  for  a  considerable  space.  Strabo,  in  a  note  which  I  quote  from  Suetonius,  alludes 
to  the  yet  greater  height  to  which  the  waters  attained  in  his  days,  and  suggests  an  explana- 
tion of  the  cause  similar  to  one  which  has  been  adopted  in  the  present  day.  It  is  a  most 
curious  question.  One  favorite  theory  of  the  present  day,  though  without  any  facts  to  sup- 
port it,  is  as  follows : — There  is  a  certain  drainage  area  belonging  to  the  lake ;  but  a  con- 
siderable belt  of  high  ground  above  it  has  no  drainage  at  all.  It  is  suggested  that,  in  the 
winter-time,  with  a  prevailing  wind  from  one  direction,  the  streams  are  carried  toward  the 
lake,  increasing  its  bulk  and  its  height.  With  a  contrary  wind,  these  streams  are  carried  off, 
and  a  corresponding  diminution  ensues.  Another  theory  is,  that  there  are  fissures  in  the 
rock  whereby  the  water  escapes ;  that  by  some  causes  these  fissures  are  closed  ;  that  during 
other  years  these  fissures  are  again  opened,  and  the  water  flows.  The  drainage  of  the  water, 
it  is  supposed,  leaves  sand  and  earth,  which  choke  up  these  fissures  ;  that  the  water  conse- 
quently rises,  and,  when  high,  bursts  through  and  finds  for  itself  a  channel.  Whichever 
theory  be  right,  or  whether  either,  it  is  clear  that  an  immense  benefit  will  be  conferred  by 
the  drainage  of  the  lake,  not  merely  by  the  restoration  of  much  land  that  is  constantly  sub- 
merged, but  by  giving  security  to  the  proprietors  in  the  neighborhood.  Nor  is  this  vast 
undertaking  without  great  interest  to  the  antiquary.  Three  cities  and  a  large  number  of 
country-houses,  have,  at  various  periods,  been  swallowed  up  by  the  waters  of  the  lake.  His- 
tory preserves  the  names  of  these  three  cities — Valeria  or  Marruvium,  Penna,  and  Archippus 
— which  contain  a  treasure  of  antiquities  perhaps  not  less  precious  than  that  of  Pompeii.  In 


AGRICULTURAL   CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  145 

the  reign  of  Charles  the  Third,  about  the  latter  end  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  waters  of 
the  lake  fell  so  low  that  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  Valeria  were  exposed  to  view.  The  statues 
of  Claudius,  of  Agrippina,  and  of  Nero,  were  found  there,  and  now  adorn  the  Palace  of 
Caserta.  Among  other  objects,  have  recently  been  discovered  the  ruins  of  a  house  on  the 
borders  of  the  lake,  and  a  large  stone  bearing  an  inscription,  on  which  is  recorded  the  name 
of  a  freedman  of  Tiberius  Csesar.  The  curiosity  of  the  antiquary  will,  therefore,  be  now 
especially  directed  to  the  lake  of  Fucino. 

On  the  Collection  and  Preservation  of  Liquid  Manure. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  England,  describes 
the  following  method  adopted  by  him  for  the  collection,  preservation,  and  distribution  of  liquid 
manure.  He  says — 

Knowing  something  of  the  value  of  urine,  and  the  profit  to  be  derived  from  it,  I  am  the 
more  anxious  to  induce  others  to  try  it,  and  will,  therefore,  take  this  opportunity  of  saying 
something  about  the  mode  I  have  adopted  to  collect  it,  and  the  expense  of  the  tanks  to  retain 
it,  which  may  be  useful  to  those  who  have  not  yet  set  about  so  important  an  operation  in 
agricultural  pursuits. 

My  land  is  clay,  two  hundred  and  fifty  deep  ;  in  this  soil  only  have  I  had  experience,  so 
for  this  only  do  I  prescribe.  Having  well  considered  where  the  liquid  is  to  be  used,  as  well 
as  where  it  is  to  bo  made,  and  resolved  upon  the  most  convenient  situation,  I  have  a  hole 
dug  full  seven  feet  in  diameter  and  twelve  feet  deep,  the  bottom  being  shaped  like  a  basin, 
and  well  rammed,  with  a  litUe  water,  into  a  good  puddle.  The  construction  of  the  tank  is 
commenced  by  the  bricklayer  forming  a  circle  with  bricks  (four-inch  work)  round  an  opening 
of  five  feet,  leaving  a  space  behind  the  brick-work  to  be  filled  and  rammed  well  in  with  clay- 
puddle  by  the  laborers  as  the  building  is  worked  up,  no  mortar  being  used  with  the  bricks, 
or  any  thing  else  till  the  dome  is  to  be  formed ;  mortar  or  cement  is  then  required,  the  roof 
is  then  arched  in,  a  man-hole  left  in  the  centre  of  each  tank,  and  covered  with  a  three-inch 
yellow  deal  cover,  (two-inch  oak  would  be  better.)  One  of  these  tanks,  containing  one 
thousand  gallons,  cost  £2  17«.  6d.,  (about  $14.) 

Several  of  these  tanks  should  be  made  adjoining  each  other ;  they  then  form  a  most  excel- 
lent filter  to  keep  back  any  hay  or  straw  that  would  prevent  the  egress  of  the  liquid  from 
the  water-cart,  receiving  it  into  the  first  from  the  stables,  and  pumping  it  out  from  any  other 
one  of  them.  It  must  be  observed,  also,  the  tanks  being  formed,  the  drainage  into  them  is 
the  next  feature  to  be  considered.  I  have  adopted  a  mode  economical  and  effectual,  by  laying 
down  in  the  pavement  what  is  called  at  the  iron-works  an  angle-iron  gutter  of  very  small  size, 
and  covering  the  surface  of  it  with  a  flat  iron  bar,  just  to  lie  within  the  surface  of  the  gutter, 
wherein  all  the  urine  is  received  and  conveyed  away  immediately,  and  all  the  straw,  dung, 
and  dirt  is  kept  out.  This  is  highly  advantageous,  as  the  urine  is  conveyed  away  immediately, 
without  escape  of  ammonia,  and  the  little  gutter  may  be  uncovered  as  often  as  you  please, 
and  swept  out  with  a  broom.  There  is  no  under-drain  to  get  stopped ;  all  can  be  seen  and 
kept  in  order  by  a  commonly  useful  person,  without  the  aid  of  what  is  called  a  tradesman. 
I  should  like  to  see  three  of  these  little  gutters  down  a  stall,  whereby  all  the  urine  would  be 
caught ;  three  gallons  per  day  from  each  moderately-sized  horse,  more  from  cart-horses  that 
drink  freely,  considerably  more  from  cows,  and  a  much  larger  quantity  from  pigs  than  is 
usually  calculated.  If  all  the  water  is  caught  from  farm-horses,  cows,  pigs,  farm-servants, 
and  household-people,  the  tanks  would  be  filled  very  quickly ;  and,  whenever  the  tank  con- 
taining one  thousand  gallons  of  urine  is  filled  the  second  time,  and  properly  applied  to  Italian 
rye-grass,  the  result  will  show  it  is  not  too  high  an  estimate  to  calculate  the  tanks  and  drains 
paid  for.  The  first  application  will  convince  the  grower  of  ten  acres  of  this  grass,  that  his 
present  stock  is  insufficient  to  eat  it.  He  must  add  to  it,  and  thereby  increase  the  quantity 
of  urine  considerably,  and  so  go  on  to  keep  a  much  larger  farming  stock  altogether.  The 
often-asked  question,  "How  shall  I  obtain  urine  enough?"  will  cease  to  be  asked,  and  the 
amount  of  solid  faeces  so  much  increased  as  to  obviate  the  necessity  for  a  constant  outlay  of 
capital  to  procure  it." 

10 


146  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Liquid  Manure  for  Plants. 

FEW  things,  in  the  management  of  plants,  are  more  overlooked  than  that  of  applying  liquid 
manure.  When  the  roots  of  plants  are  confined  within  a  garden-pot,  the  soil  soon  becomes 
exhausted ;  and,  if  it  be  desirable  to  grow  the  plant  rapidly,  it  must  be  turned  out  of  the 
pot,  and  the  exhausted  soil  shaken  from  the  roots,  and  replaced  with  fresh  earth,  or  recourse 
must  be  had  to  liquid  manures.  Floriculturists  cannot  be  aware  of  the  advantages  of 
applying  manure  in  a  liquid  state,  or  it  would  be  more  frequently  used.  I  have  found 
that  all  free-flowering  plants,  such  as  petunias,  geraniums,  some  of  the  calceolarias, 
balsams,  and  cockscombs,  are  improved ;  and,  indeed,  I  have  not  found  any  flowering  plant 
whatever  that  has  not  been  benefited  by  a  greater  or  less  quantity  of  this  element.  In 
watering  plants  with  liquid  manure,  it  will  be  observed  that  the  soil,  after  having  been 
watered  a  few  times,  does  not  dry  so  soon  as  when  watered  with  clear  water,  and  this  inde- 
pendent of  the  extra  nutritious  qualities  left  in  the  soil  by  the  application  of  manure-water ; 
it  is,  then,  a  great  point  gained,  by  whatever  means  effected,  when  plants,  whether  in  pots  or 
in  the  natural  soil,  can  be  cultivated  without  the  necessity  of  frequent  waterings.  As  there 
is  no  more  labor  required  in  using  manure-water  than  in  applying  the  same  quantity  of  water 
without  any  mixture  of  manure,  considering,  too,  that  its  advantages  must  be  obvious  to  all 
who  give  it  a  fair  trial,  it  does  seem  somewhat  unaccountable  to  see  persons  exerting  a  great 
amount  of  labor  to  accomplish  very  small  results.  It  must  be  regarded  as  so  much  labor 
misapplied,  when,  had  half  the  same  labor  and  attention  been  bestowed,  using  at  the  same 
time  liquid  manure,  far  more  satisfactory  results  would  have  been  obtained. — Floricultural 
Cabinet. 

Manuring  Fruit-Trees. 

THE  Dutch,  who  are  admirable  gardeners,  had,  in  the  great  London  Exhibition,  an  instru- 
strument  called  "Earth-Borer,"  for  manuring  fruit-trees  without  digging  the  ground.  A 
circle  of  holes  is  bored  around  the  tree  at  two  feet  distance  from  the  tree,  and  a  foot  from 
each  other.  Taking  the  tree  at  a  foot  diameter  at  the  surface  of  the  soil,  the  circle  will  be 
five  feet  in  diameter  and  fifteen  feet  in  circumference ;  and,  if  the  holes  are  three  inches 
diameter  and  a  foot  apart — fifteen  inches — there  will  be  about  twelve  holes,  more  or  less, 
according  to  the  diameter  of  the  tree.  They  are  eighteen  inches  deep,  (where  there  is  enough 
depth  of  soil,)  and  slanting  towards  the  centre;  are  filled  with  liquid  manure,  diluted  more 
or  less  in  dry  weather,  and  stronger  as  the  weather  is  clamper.  For  the  time  of  application, 
Dr.  Lindley  tells  us — "  For  fruit,  the  proper  time  for  using  liquid  manure  is  when  the  fruit  is 
beginning  to  swell,  and  has  acquired,  by  means  of  its  own  surface,  a  power  of  suction  capable 
of  opposing  that  of  the  leaves.  At  that  time,  liquid  manure  may  be  applied  freely,  and 
continued  from  time  to  time  as  long  as  the  fruit  is  growing.  But,  at  the  first  sign  of  ripening, 
or  even  earlier,  it  should  be  wholly  withheld.  If  liquid  manure  is  applied  to  a  plant  when 
the  flowers  are  growing,  the  vigor  which  it  communicates  to  them  must  also  be  communicated 
to  the  leaves ;  but  when  leaves  are  growing  unusually  fast,  there  is  sometimes  a  danger  that 
they  may  rob  th%  branches  of  the  sap  required  for  the  nutrition  of  the  fruit ;  and,  if  that 
happens,  the  latter  falls  off.  And  we  all  know  that,  when  ripening  has  once  begun,  even 
water  spoils  the  quality  of  the  fruit,  although  it  augments  the  size,  as  is  sufficiently  shown 
by  the  strawberries  prepared  for  the  London  market  by  irrigation ;  great  additional  size  is 
obtained,  but  it  is  at  the  expense  of  flavor;  and  any  injury  which  mere  water  may  produce 
will  certainly  not  be  diminished  by  water  holding  ammoniacal  and  saline  substances  in 
solution." 

Covered  and  Uncovered  Manures. 

THE  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  result  of  some  experiments  on  the  comparative  value 
of  covered  and  uncovered  manures,  recently  made  by  Lord  Kinnaird,  of  England,  and  reported 
in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England  for  1854  : — 

In  1851,  a  field  of  twenty  acres,  of  very  equal  quantity,  being  a  rich  loam  naturally  dry 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY   AND   GEOLOGY.  147 

and  in  good  heart,  with  an  exposure  to  the  south,  was  selected  for  the  experiment,  and 
divided  into  two  equal  portions.  The  manure  was  applied  at  the  rate  of  twenty  cart-loads 
per  acre. 

The  whole  field  was  planted  with  potatoes  ;  the  seed  all  of  one  kind,  and  planted  the  first 
and  second  week  in  April.  All  braided  well  and  showed  no  difference  in  growth  till  the  first 
week  in  July,  when  a  decided  superiority  began  to  manifest  itself  in  the  half  of  the  covered 
yards.  The  vines  on  the  portion  of  the  field  manured  from  the  exposed  yards  began  to  decay 
by  the  latter  end  of  July,  while  the  other  portion  of  the  field  still  retained  its  dark-green. 
The  crops  were  taken  up  on  the  1st  to  the  4th  of  October,  and,  after  careful  measurement, 
and  weighing  of  two  separate  portions  in  each  division,  the  result  was  as  follows : 

With  Uncovered  Manure. 

Measurement  Tons.  Cwt  Ibs. 

One  acre  produced  7  6  8  of  potatoes, 

do.  do.  7  18  99         do. 

With  Covered  Manure. 

Measurement.  Tons.  Cwt.  Ibs. 

One  acre  produced  11  17  56  of  potatoes. 

do.  do.  11  12  20          do. 

As  soon  as  possible  after  the  potatoes  were  harvested,  the  field  was  plowed  and  wheat 
drilled  in,  at  the  rate  of  three  bushels  per  acre.  As  soon  as  the  weather  was  suitable  in 
the  spring,  the  whole  field  got  a  dressing  of  three  hundredsweight  of  Peruvian  guano  per 
acre.  During  the  winter,  very  little  difference  was  apparent ;  but,  shortly  after  the  applica- 
tion of  the  guano,  the  wheat  on  that  portion  manured  by  the  covered  dung  took  a  decided 
lead,  which  it  retained  all  summer.  The  whole  field  was  cut  on  the  26th  of  August,  1851 ; 
the  portion  manured  by  the  uncovered  dung  being  at  least  four  days  earlier  than  the  other. 
As  before,  the  two  separate  portions  in  each  half  of  the  field  were  measured,  cut,  and  stacked 
separately.  On  the  4th  of  September,  each  portion  was  thrashed,  the  grain  carefully 
measured,  and  the  straw.  On  account  of  a  wet  season,  the  grain  was  lighter  weight  than 
usual,  in  Great  Britain,  per  bushel.  The  result  of  the  experiment  was  as  follows : 

With  Uncovered  Manure. 

Product  in  Grain.  Weight  per  bushel.  Product  in  straw. 

Acre.         Bushel.        Ibs.                                       lb«.  Stones.  Ibs. 

1st            41             19                                    6U  152  of  22 

2d             42            38                                   61*  160  of  22 

With  Covered  Manure. 

Product  in  Grain.  Weight  per  bushel  Product  in  straw. 
Acre.         Bushel.        Ibs.                                       Ibs.  Stones.  Ibs. 

1st  55  5  61  221  of  22 

2d  53  47  71  210  of  22 

These  and  similar  experiments  have  satisfied  Lord  Kinnaird  of  the  advantages  to  be  de- 
rived from  having  farm-yard  manures  put  under  cover. 

On  the  value  of  Gas-lime  for  Agricultural  purposes. 

GAS-LIME  differs  from  ordinary  lime  only  in  consequence  of  having  imbibed,  during  the 
purification  of  the  gas,  sulphuretted  hydrogen  and  more  or  less  ammoniacal  salts.  In  num- 
berless instances  it  has  been  used  with  great  advantage  in  compost  heaps.  In  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Edinburgh  it  has  been  extensively  employed  by  some  of  the  most  spirited  farmers. 
Formerly  it  used  to  be  given  for  the  carting  away ;  but  now  it  is  sold  at  3d.  a  ton,  and  the 
demand  is  greater  than  can  well  be  supplied.  Some  farmers,  who  have  applied  liberal  dress- 
ings, state  that  the  succeeding  crops  have  been  better  than  after  the  ordinary  applications  of 
farm-yard  manure ;  others  affirm  that,  compared  with  newly-burned  lime,  it  is,  in  every 
respect,  superior.  In  Glasgow,  the  refuse  lime  is  sold  at  from  1*.  6d.  to  Is.  Gd,  a  ton.  Some 
have  applied  it  to  red  land,  like  caustic  lime ;  but  it  will  be  found  much  more  profitable 
to  compound  it  with  earth,  peat,  couch-grass,  or  other  vegetable  matters.  The  ammoniacal 
water  of  gas-works,  in  large  cities,  is  generally  used  in  chemical  manufactories  for  the 
preparation  of  commercial  ammonia ;  but  in  small  works,  in  country  villages,  it  is  often 


148  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

thrown  out  with  the  tar.  It  is  a  most  valuable  fertilizer,  containing,  in  some  cases,  as  much 
as  one  and  a  half  pounds  of  sal-ammoniac  in  the  gallon.  It  may  be  used  to  promote  the 
fermentation  of  peat  or  couch-heaps,  or  may  be  mixed  with  any  earthy  or  carbonaceous 
composts.  In  England,  it  has  been  used,  in  some  cases,  in  conjunction  with  saw-dust,  and 
gave  very  beneficial  results.  If  applied  to  grass-land  in  too  large  quantities,  it  is  liable  to 
scorch  the  surface ;  but,  diluted,  it  produces  fine,  dark-coloured  herbage.  The  lime-water  of 
gas-works  is  also' a  potent  fertilizer ;  but  hitherto  it  has  been  little  used.  Thte  lime  em- 
ployed to  purify  the  gas  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  liouified  ;  and,  after  considerable  evaporation, 
a  quantity  of  fluid,  somewhat  viscid,  and  smelling  strongly  of  hydro-sulphuret  of  ammonia, 
is  run  off  to  an  underground  tank.  This  lime-water,  about  five  hundred  tons  of  which  are 
annually  produced  at  the  Edinburgh  Gas-Works,  has  hitherto  been  given  for  the  carting 
away.  One  or  two  farmers  have  used  a.  good  deal  of  it ;  but  very  large  quantities  are  still 
allowed  to  run  to  waste.  If  mixed  with  bibulous  substances,  more  especially  if  they  are 
capable  of  being  fermented,  an  excellent  compost  for  use,  along  with  other  manure,  will  be 
produced.  Gas-tar  may  also  be  employed  in  a  similar  manner  with  advantage,  only  it  is 
necessary  to  use  it  rather  cautiously  and  along  with  other  substances,  or  it  may  injure  the 
crops  to  which  it  is  applied. — Transactions  of  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society,  Scotland. 

In  regard  to  the  value  of  gas-lime,  great  difference  of  opinion  exists  among  American 
agriculturists.  Much  of  the  gas-lime,  as  it  comes  from  the  purifiers,  is  in  the  state  of 
hyposulphite  of  lime,  most  of  which,  by  exposure  to  air,  moisture,  and  vegetation,  passes 
into  sulphate  of  lime,  (gypsum.)  Some  carbonate  is  also  undoubtedly  formed.  So  long 
as  the  lime  remains  a  hyposulphite,  its  value  for  agricultural  purposes  cannot  be  very- 
great.  The  hyposulphites,  as  is  well  known,  are  all  depilatories  or  hair-removers.  The 
depilatory  powders  sold  by  druggists  are  compounds  of  this  character.  We  have  heard 
of  an  instance  where  a  gentleman  farmer  added  fresh  gas-lime  to  his  hog-pen,  with  the 
intent  that  the  swine  should  incorporate  it  with  the  compost-heap.  This  was  effectually 
accomplished;  but  at  the  expense  of  the  bristles  and  hair  of  the  hogs,  which  was,  in  a 
great  measure,  removed  during  the  operation.  The  editor  of  the  Horticulturist,  who 
has  a  poor  opinion  of  it,  says:  Some  years  ago  we  were  informed,  by  a  very  intelligent 
gentleman  near  Toronto,  that  it  was  not  worth  hauling  two  miles  ;  that  they  had  tried 
it  to  their  entire  satisfaction ;  yet  it  might  be  valuable  elsewhere  or  under  other  cir- 
cumstances. We  have  seen  an  ^analysis  by  Professor  Johnson,  in  which  he  found  in  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  pounds  fifty-six  pounds  of  water,  twenty  pounds  of  carbonic  acid,  and  thirty- 
six  pounds  of  lime  and  sulphur.  This  thirty-six  pounds  is  about  the  same  as  gypsum,  and  is 
all  we  should  consider  of  any  particular  value. 

Dr.  Ure,  the  celebrated  chemist,  has  described  it  as  "vile  refuse,  which  should  be  buried 
many  fathoms  deep  in  some  barren  region ;  for,  when  spread  on  the  farmer's  field,  after  dis- 
charging sulphuretted  hydrogen  with  vapor  of  prussic  and  other  malignant  gases,  its  sulphur 
gets  oxygenated  into  sulphurous  acid — two  volatile  products  alike  detrimental  to  plauts." 

The  following  is  a  paper  on  the  use  of  gas  lime,  by  J.  F.  W.  Johnston,  of  England: — 

Refuse  Lime  of  the  Gas  Works. — This  refuse  lime  consists  of  a  mixture  of  carbonate  of  lime 
with  a  variable  quantity  of  gypsum  and  other  salts  of  lime  containing  sulphur,  and  a  little 
coal-tar  and  free  sulphur,  the  whole  colored  usually  by  a  little  Prussian  blue.  The  follow- 
ing table  exhibits  the  composition  of  two  gas-limes  which  have  been  analyzed  in  my  labora- 
tory from  Edinburgh  and  London.  The  first  two  columns  show  what  they  were  when  sent 
to  me ;  the  second  two,  what  they  will  become  after  long  exposure  to  the  air,  after  being  made 
into  compost,  or  after  being, thoroughly  and  for  a  length  of  time  incorporated  with  the  soil. 

This  table  shows  that  these  gas-limes  differ  much  in  composition,  especially  in  the  propor- 
tions of  sulphur  or  of  the  acids  of  sulphur  they  contain.  This  arises  chiefly  from  the  kind 
of  coal  which  is  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  gas  in  different  works. 

The  most  marked  difference  between  the  two  samples  here  analyzed  is  in  the  compounds 
called  sulphite  and  hyposulphite  of  lime.  The  latter  of  these  substances  dissolves  readily  in 
water,  and  its  presence  in  such  very  different  proportions  satisfactorily  accounts  for  the  very 
different  effects  which  have  followed  from  the  application  of  gas-lime  to  the  land  in  different 
districts.  The  rains  dissolve  the  hyposulphite  and  the  sulphuret,  and  carry  them  down  in 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY. 

Composition  of  Gas  Limes. 


149 


As  they  are. 

As  they  will 
become. 

Edinb. 

Lon. 

Edinb. 

Lon. 

12-92 
69-04 
2-49 
7-33 
2-28 
0-20 
1-10 
2-70 

9-59 
58-88 
5-92 
L'-77 
14-89 
0-36 
0-92 
1-80 
3-40 
1-29 

12-91 
67-39 

'9-59 
56-41 

Carbonate  of  lime  

Sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum)  

1146 

29-32 

Sulphite  and  hyposulphite  of  lime  

2-70 

1-80 
3-40 
1-29 

0-64 

0-64 

98-69 

99-82 

100-09 

101-81 

too  great  quantity  to  the  roots  of  the  young  corn,  and  hence  the  complaints  of  some  that 
the  gas-lime  has  killed  their  wheat,  while  others  have  found,  when  applied  as  a  top-dressing 
in  a  similar  way,  that  it  greatly  improved  their  crops  of  corn.  Unless  its  compo^tion  be 
satisfactorily  ascertained,  therefore, — unless,  for  example,  it  be  found  that  water  dissolves 
very  little  of  it, — there  will  always  be  a  degree  of  risk  in  applying  it  directly  to  the  land 
while  auy  corn  crop  is  growing.  There  may  not  be  the  same  danger  in  putting  it  between 
the  turnip  or  potato  drills,  and  afterwards  ridging  up  the  laud  in  the  way  that  quick-lime  is 
applied  in  many  districts.  To  fallow  land,  however,  to  land  which  it  is  intended  to  reclaim, 
and  especially  to  mossy  land,  the  Scotch  varieties  at  least  may  be  applied  directly  with 
safety  and  with  great  benefit.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Paisley  it  is  in  constant  demand  for 
the  improved  moss  land,  and  sells  at  about  Is.  6d.  a  cart-load. 

But  those  varieties  which  contain  the  largest  quantity  of  the  soluble  hyposulphite  of  lime 
also  form  at  last  the  largest  quantity  of  gypsum.  Thus  the  Edinburgh  lime  analyzed  would 
never  come  to  contain  more  than  seventeen  per  cent.,  but  the  London  lime  might  eventually 
contain  as  much  as  thirty  per  cent,  of  gypsum.  This  suggests  the  propriety,  therefore,  of 
laying  it  on  and  harrowing  it  slightly  in  some  months  before  any  crop  is  sown, — in  the  spring, 
for  instance,  before  the  turnip  sowing, — or  of  making  it  into  composts,  perhaps  the  best  and 
safest  method  of  all. 

This  lime  ought  in  no  case,  if  possible,  to  be  wasted ;  and  from  what  has  been  above 
stated,  it  appears  that  it  may  always  be  safely  used — 

Directly  upon  mossy  land,  upon  naked  fallows,  and  in  spring  when  preparing  for  the 
turnips. 

In  composts,  in  which,  by  the  action  of  the  air,  the  whole  of  the  soluble  salts  of  lime  will 
have  a  tendency  to  be  converted  into  gypsum,  and  consequently  the  benefits  which  result 
from  a  large  application  of  gypsum  will  be  obtained  by  laying  such  composts  upon  the  land. 
As  it  appears  usually  to  contain  only  a  small  proportion  of  caustic  lime,  it  may  be  with 
safety  mixed  at  once  with  the  manure,  though  not  in  too  large  quantity.  It  may  also  prove 
a  valuable  admixture  with  guano,  on  which  its  action  will  ultimately  be  to  fix  rather  than  to 
expel  the  ammonia. 

Strewed  sparingly  over  the  young  braid,  it  is  said  to  prevent  the  attacks  of  the  turnip-fly, 
and  harrowed  in  in  considerable  quantity,  when  the  ground  is  naked,  slugs  and  wire-worm 
disappear  before  it.  The  action  upon  this  last  pest  of  the  farmer  will  probably  be  greatest 
when  the  soluble  hyposulphite  is  largest  in  quantity.  If  as  dry  as  the  specimens  of  which 
I  have  given  the  analysis  above,  the  gas-lime  is  worth  to  the  farmer,  at  least,  one-half  as 
much  as  an  equal  weight  of  quick-lime. 

If  applied  in  too  large  quantity  in  this  way,  however,  it  is  sometimes  injurious  to  the 
young  corn  crop,  which  has  not  time  to  recover  from  its  effects  till  much  of  the  season  of 
early  growth  is  past.  But  grass  land,  though  at  first  browned  by  the'  application,  soon 
recovers,  and  repays  the  cost  of  application  by  a  greener  and  earlier  bite  in  spring. 


150  THE  YEAK-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Nascent  Manures. 

THE  following  article  on  the  above  subject  has  been  published  by  Dr.  David  Stewart, 
Chemist  of  the  Maryland  State  Agricultural  Society: —  ., 

Reasoning  from  analogy,  all  manures  must  be  presented  to  the  plant  in  the  nascent  state, 
in  order  to  their  assimilation ;  but  a  safer  proposition,  perhaps,  would  be,  that  many  ele- 
ments of  plants,  while  they  exist  iu  their  normal  or  natural  condition,  are  as  perfectly  unas- 
similable,  or  as  incapable  of  affording  nourishment  to  them,  as  they  are  to  animals.  A 
hundred  illustrations  of  the  law  will  at  once  occur  to  every  intelligent  mind ;  and  the  facility 
with  which  even  inorganic  compounds  unite  while  in  the  nascent  form  is  familiar  to  all. 
Every  molecule  of  matter,  whether  composed  of  compound  or  simple  atoms,  seems  to  have  a 
form  of  its  own,  and  until  it  has  assumed  this  form,  or  state  of  aggregation,  it  is  in  the 
nascent  state,  or  in  an  allotropic  condition.  While  in  this  nascent  state,  its  tendency  to 
unite  with  other  bodies  which  have  an  affinity  for  it  is  wonderfully  increased  ;  indeed,  it  is 
often  the  only  condition  in  which  two  substances  will  combine.  Lime  and  magnesia,  when 
recently  slaked,  are  capable  of  uniting  more  freely  with  other  substances ;  if,  however,  the 
slaked  lime  or  magnesia  is  kept  for  a  long  time,  even  although  perfectly  excluded  from  the 
air,  it  will  gradually  assume  the  form  of  granules,  and  subsequently  these  molecules  will 
form  crystals,  or  the  lowest  order  of  organism ;  and  these  organisms  seem  to  possess  a  de- 
gree of  resistance  to  external  force  analogous  to  the  resistance  of  the  higher  organisms ;  in- 
deed, the  more  perfect  crystals,  of  the  same  substance  and  in  the  same  solution,  will  grow 
and  become  more  perfect  at  the  expense  of  those  which  are  irregular.  Upon  this  principle, 
the  perfect  crystals  may  be  said  to  be  approximating  to  the  allotropic  condition  or  nascent 
state,  while  the  perfect  crystal  is  in  the  normal  condition. 

It  may  be  said  that  extent  of  surface  is  one  of  the  causes  of  this,  and  a  better  illustration 
is  sand  or  quartz,  which  is  perfectly  insoluble  in  its  natural  or  normal  condition,  however 
fine  the  powder,  even  in  some  of  the  strongest  acids.  But  sand  or  silica  is  frequently  found 
in  the  nascent  condition,  and  then  it  dissolves  readily  in  water ;  moreover,  it  can  be  kept  in 
this  condition  for  years ;  but  if  heated  to  the  temperature  of  260°,  it  assumes  the  normal 
condition,  and  becomes  perfectly  insoluble  even  in  acids ;  whereas,  before,  it  would  dissolve 
in  acids,  alkalies,  or  pure  water. 

Lime  and  magnesia,  while  in  the  caustic  state,  are  capable  of  converting  sand  into  soluble 
silica ;  and  this  is  perhaps  one  of  the  good  effects  of  liming,  especially  when  we  consider 
the  remarkable  influence  that  soluble  silica  exerts  in  absorbing  ammoniacal  manures.  We 
may  also  account  thus  for  the  crumbling  of  stable  walls,  the  moist  condition  of  old  walls, 
and  especially  those  that  are  exposed  to  ammoniacal  exhalations.  Moreover,  we  have  a 
plausible  mode  of  accounting  for  nitre-beds,  and  the  remarkable  value  of  old  plaster ;  also 
the  purifying  influence  of  whitewashing,  if  it  is  done  with  caustic  lime,  and  not  with  whiting 
or  carbonate  of  lime.  Lime,  while  caustic  and  moist,  in  contact  with  sand,  converts  a  small 
part  of  the  surface  of  the  grains  of  sand  from  the  insoluble  to  the  soluble  silica ;  and  this  is 
the  reason  why  caustic  lime  is  necessary  to  the  formation  of  good  mortar,  as  it  is  not  (as  is 
almost  universally  supposed)  a  mere  mechanical  mixture  of  lime  and  sand,  neither  is  it 
grains  of  sand  cemented  together  by  the  induration  of  lime  ;  but  the  actual  solution  of  the 
surface  of  the  grains  of  sand  produces  a  still  more  intimate  union. 

Well,  this  soluble  silica  gradually  absorbs  from  the  atmosphere  the  ammonia,  for  which  it 
has  a  remarkable  affinity ;  and  as  ammonia  is  the  vehicle  of  poisonous  exhalations  of  dis- 
ease, as  well  as  the  perfume  of  flowers,  these  exhalations  are  so  concentrated  upon  the  walls 
of  hospitals,  that  it  sometimes  becomes  necessary  to  remove  the  plastering,  in  order  to  get 
rid  of  erysipelas  and  other  diseases.  Nearly  or  quite  all  of  the  nitric  acid  of  commerce  was 
no  doubt  originally  derived  from  ammonia  in  the  order  above  referred  to ;  for  if  my  theory, 
as  above  stated,  is  admitted,  then  every  authority  will  sustain  me  in  saying  that  old  plaster 
contains  ammonia,  and  this  ammonia  is  converted  into  nitric  acid  on  the  wall.  Salts  of 
nitric  acid  can  be  seen  by  any  one  on  the  surface  of  old  walls.  Moreover,  the  leachings  of 
old  walls  have  frequently  been  used  in  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder,  and  old  plaster 
always  enters  into  the  composition  of  artificial  nitre-beds.  It  will  be  readily  admitted  that 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  151 

silica  can  never  enter  the  rootlet  of  a  plant,  however  fine  the  powder,  unless  it  is  in  solu- 
tion ;  and  that  the  finest  powder  of  sand  or  silica  differs  as  much  in  solubility  from  nascent 
silica  as  sand  differs  from  sugar.  The  importance,  then,  of  soluble  silica  to  grasses  and 
wheat,  and  especially  in  corn,  and,  indeed,  its  value  as  manure,  has  long  been  recognised. 
(See  Liebig's  Chemistry,  American  edition,  1841,  p.  200.)  It  was  first  supposed  that  potash 
was  the  vehicle  for  its  conveyance  to  every  part  of  the  plants  ;  but  the  modern  idea  is,  that 
ammonia  is  the  main  instrument  of  its  conveyance.  Certain  it  is,  that  it  loses  its  base  at  the 
instant  of  its  deposition  on  the  stem ;  and  if  potash  were  the  base,  then  it  would  be  neces- 
sary that  the  potash  be  carried  back  again  to  the  earth,  and  the  plant  would  be  constantly 
embarrassed  by  excrementitious  matter ;  whereas,  the  ammonia  being  volatile,  evaporates, 
and  leaves  the  glassy  coating,  or  element  of  strength,  on  the  surface  of  the  stem.  Thus,  it 
is  found  that  more  ammonia  is  actually  exhaled  from  plants  than  we  ever  give  them  in  the 
form  of  manure  ;  and  it  is  strongly  suspected  that  soluble  silica  is  really  the  manure,  while 
ammonia  is  merely  the  vehicle  for  the  conveyance  of  soluble  silica  through  the  plant.  When 
the  carcass  of  an  animal  falls  in  the  field,  the  luxuriant  grass  or  grain  "  falls,"  on  account 
of  the  absence  of  the  relative  amount  of  soluble  silica,  or  the  excess  of  ammonia  uses  up  at 
once  all  of  this  necessary  element  that  is  available. 

Two  years  since,  I  manured  two  lands  in  the  centre  of  my  oatfield,  the  one  with  Peru- 
vian guano,  the  other  with  soluble  silica,  leaving  a  land  unmanured  between.  The  propor- 
tion of  straw  on  the  guanoed  land  was  very  much  increased ;  but  last  summer  the  same  field 
was  in  wheat,  and  a  corresponding  diminution  in  the  proportion  of  straw  was  noticed  on  the 
land  that  had  been  guanoed  two  years  since ;  and  what  is  more  remarkable,  the  land  on 
each  side  of  the  guanoed  land  averaged  seven  hundred  and  forty-six  pounds  more  of  wheat- 
straw  per  acre,  although  no  manure  of  any  kind  had  been  applied  to  either  since  it  was  in 
oats ;  whereas  the  silicated  land  not  only  produced  more  straw  than  either  of  its  unmanured 
neighbors,  but  also  excelled  the  guanoed  land  in  wheat  nearly  throe  bushels  per  acre,  and 
ripened  earlier  than  any  oth'er  part  of  the  field. 

The  difference  between  the  silicated  land  and  the  unmanured  averaged  nineteen  hundred 
and  sixty-six  pounds,  while  it  also  produced  nine  and  one-tenth  bushels  of  wheat  more  than 
the  adjoining  unmanured  lands.  A  part  of  my  oatfield  of  last  summer  exhibited  the  same 
increase  in  the  weight  of  the  straw,  although  no  silicates  have  been  applied  since  it  was  in 
corn  two  years  since.  But  the  most  remarkable  result  was  obtained  in  my  cornfield  of  this 
year,  where  the  corn  on  the  silicated  portion  averaged  ninety-three  pounds  per  shock,  while 
one  part  unmanured  only  weighed  forty-two  pounds  per  shock ;  each  shock  represented 
sixty-four  hills  of  corn,  and  the  average  of  thirty-one  shocks  was  taken.  This  manure  was 
applied  in  my  presence,  and  I  personally  gathered  and  weighed  the  produce  of  each  separate 
shock  in  the  field  with  my  own  hands ;  therefore  I  can  vouch  for  the  correctness  of  the  re- 
sults. And  now,  can  we  not  account  for  the  well-known  and  remarkable  efficacy  of  dissolved 
bones  on  this  principle,  when  compared  with  normal  phosphate  of  lime,  whether  it  be  in  the 
form  of  bone-ash,  ground  bones,  or  phosphate  guano  ? 

"Bones  have  been  used  with  profit  at  the  rate  of  from  $20  to  $60  per  acre ;"  and  it  has 
been  repeatedly  demonstrated  that  one  bushel  of  dissolved  bones,  for  immediate  effect,  is 
equal  to  five  times  as  much  ground  bones ;  in  other  words,  that  one  pound  of  nascent  or 
soluble  phosphate  of  lime  is  worth  more  than  five  pounds  of  normal  or  natural  phosphate  of 
lime,  or  bone-earth.  It  will  be  admitted  that  every  acre  of  land  on  the  face  of  the  earth 
contains  from  one-tenth  of  1,  to  4  per  cent,  of  lime  and  magnesia;  and  if  only  one-tenth  of 
1  per  cent,  at  the  depth  of  cultivation,  even  then  each  acre  must  contain  from  fifteen  hun- 
dred to  two  thousand  pounds  of  lime  and  magnesia.  Now,  it  is  manifest  if  ten  or  even  thirty 
bushels  of  dissolved  bones  were  applied  to  an  acre,  the  first  rain  would  convert  all  of  the 
free  phosphoric  acid  or  biphosphates  that  they  contain  into  neutral  nascent  subphosphates ; 
and  it  is  therefore  nascent  subphosphate  of  lime  that  is  taken  up  and  assimilated  by  the 
plant.  Thus  we  are  enabled  to  account  for  the  wonderful  effects  of  what  are  called  in  com- 
merce biphosphates,  which  really  contain  very  little  free  phosphoric  acid,  but  all  of  the 
phosphoric  acid  exists  as  neutral  nascent  phosphate  of  lime.  The  fact  is,  that  dissolved 
bones  are  unmanageable  as  a  manure  in  this  country,  (in  England  biphosphates  are  applied 


162  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

in  solution,)  untU  reduced  from  a  fluid  to  the  form  of  a  powder,  by  the  means  of  ivory -black, 
guano,  or  some  less  valuable  diluent ;  and  the  universal  distribution  of  carbonates  of  lime, 
£c.  in  these,  converts  nearly  all  of  the  biphosphates  into  neutral  nascent  phosphate  or  sub- 
phosphates.  During  the  past  summer,  I  have  been  experimenting  on  two  separate  fields 
with  four  of  these  compounds — two  of  which  were  made  in  New  York,  and  two  in  Baltimore ; 
the  most  remarkable  results  were  obtained  from  experiments  made  upon  a  few  hills  of  corn. 
But  I  will  confine  my  statement  to  two  series,  where  whole  rows  of  shocks  wete  compared 
with  contiguous  unmanured  rows ;  the  average  of  twenty-three  shocks,  each  shock  repre- 
senting sixty-four  hills,  exhibited  a  difference  of  about  25  per  cent. ;  or  the  manured  weighed 
forty-two  pounds  per  shock,  while  the  unmanured  weighed  forty-two  pounds ;  and  these 
manures  were  applied  in  my  presence,  at  the  rate  of  ten  bushels  per  acre  broadcast,  and  I 
gathered  and  weighed  the  corn  in  the  field  myself.  Now,  it  is  most  probable  that  no  atom 
of  free  phosphoric  acid,  or  phosphate  of  lime,  ever  enters  the  rootlet  of  a  plant  without  de- 
stroying it ;  and,  having  proved  that  a  solution  of  bones  would  necessarily  become  precipi- 
tated in  contact  with  any  soil,  we  are  driven  to  the  conclusion  that  this  precipitate  or  nascent 
subphosphate  is  the  valuable  manure,  and  we  take  it  for  granted  that  it  will  preserve  the 
nascent  form  for  some  time  in  moist  situations,  as  we  know  that  moist  oxide  of  iron  will  con- 
tinue to  preserve  this  form,  as  the  antidote  for  arsenic,  for  weeks  together.  Ultimately, 
however,  it  also  loses  the  nascent  and  assumes  the  normal  form,  and  becomes  so  insoluble, 
that  five  times  the  dose  is  required,  in  order  to  afford  the  soluble  material  for  the  same 
proportion  of  arsenic.  Thus  it  is  with  phosphatic  guanos  and  bone-dust ;  none  of  them  are 
absolutely  insoluble  in  pure  water,  and  when  thus  dissolved  as  subphosphates,  they  are  con- 
verted in  the  nascent  form,  and  more  readily  redissolved  than  before  their  solution.  The 
contact  of  a  piece  of  wood  or  string  has  been  known  to  hasten  the  solubility  of  the  most  in- 
soluble substances ;  for  instance,  the  inner  part  of  the  metallic  worm  of  a  still,  opposite  a 
wooden  support,  has  been  known  to  dissolve  in  the  distilled  waters  passing  through  it ;  and 
the  same  remark  is  made  with  regard  to  hydrant  pipes :  the  normal  condition  of  insoluble 
bodies  is  then  disturbed,  and  the  allotropic  or  nascent  condition  produced,  by  contact  with 
vegetable  substances  in  a  state  of  change ;  this,  then,  may  account  for  the  influence  of 
organic  manures,  and  indicates  the  philosophy  of  the  modern  plan  of  manuring  in  Europe, 
which  is  by  hauling  out  the  manure  on  the  field,  load  by  load,  as  it  is  generated,  instead  of 
permitting  it  to  ferment  in  heaps  in  the  stableyard.  Now,  query,  would  it  not  be  still  better 
to  stratify  it  with  powder  of  feldspar,  phosphorite,  or  phosphatic  guano,  and  concentrate  this 
disturbing  force  of  fermentation  upon  the  elements,  which,  when  reduced  to  the  nascent 
state,  are  worth  more  than  the  1  or  2  per  cent,  of  alkalies,  &c.  in  the  manure  itself? 

It  is  still  the  question  with  physiologists  whether  nitrogen  is  ever  assimilated  by  plants, 
much  less  by  animals,  in  its  normal  condition ;  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  both  the  plant 
and  animal  may  starve  when  fed  on  carbonaceous  food  exclusively,  although  both  are  bathed 
in  an  atmosphere  containing  four-fifths  of  nitrogen,  which  is  perfectly  useless  to  both,  be- 
cause not  presented  in  the  nascent  form. — American  Farmer. 

Methods  of  Preparing  Muck  for  use  as  Manure. 

THE  Annual  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of  Agriculture,  for  1855,  furnishes 
the  following  statements  relative  to  the  preparations  of  muck  for  use  as  manure,  each  being 
the  results  of  the  writers'  (practical  farmers)  observations : 

A  Middlesex  farmer  says: — "I  use  swamp  muck  most  successfully  composted  with  stable 
manure,  on  different  varieties  of  soils,  but  think  it  does  best  on  high  land  of  a  loamy  soil.  I 
notice  it  is  used  very  extensively  by  farmers,  with  satisfactory  results,  when  composted  with 
other  manures  thoroughly."  A  farmer  of  Worcester  county  says: — "I  use  it  extensively  on 
my  hard,  clay  soils ;  it  works  well  on  dry  lands  to  keep  them  moist,  and  on  clay  soils  to  keep 
them  light."  Another  writer,  from  Dukes  county,  follows: — "It  should  be  hauled  out  in 
the  fall,  and  exposed  to  the  frost  during  winter,  and  mixed  with  stable  manure  in  the  pro- 
portion of  two  parts  muck  to  one  of  manure ;  it  should  also  be  used  in  the  hog-pen,  barn- 
yard, and  barn-cellar.  I  have  found  it  a  good  manure  on  loamy,  gravelly,  and  sandy  land, 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  153 

especially  for  top  dressing  for  grass  when  composted  as  above."  A  Norfolk  county  farmer, 
who  has  met  with  great  success,  says  :— "  The  best  way  of  using  swamp  muck  is  to  dig  it  and 
expose  it  to  the  sun,  air,  and  rains  one  year ;  and  then,  when  in  a  dry  state,  place  it  in  a  barn- 
cellar,  where  it  will  take  the  droppings  of  the  cattle  above  until  it  is  thoroughly  saturated ; 
then  mix  it  well,  and  it  is  ready  for  use.  It  is  good  for  all  high  lands."  He  estimates  it  at 
about  three  dollars  by  the  cord  of  one  hundred  and  two  bushels.  A  Middlesex  farmer,  of 
great  experience,  states  that  "swamp  muck  is  of  different  qualities,  and  varies  as  much  as 
wood  when  used  for  fuel.  Pdat  mud,  the  older  the  better,  consists  principally  of  vegetable 
matter.  It  has  most  effect  on  high  and  dry  ground.  Wood-ashes  are  the  best  article  to  cor- 
rect its  acidity." 

Similar  accounts  come  from  every  section  of  the  State.  From  Hampshire  county  we  have 
the  following: — "The  best  method  of  using  swamp  muck,  judging  from  experiments  of  my 
neighbors  and  my  own,  is  to  cart  it  out  in  the  autumn,  expose  it  to  the  frost  and  snows,  then 
spread  and  plow  it  in  in  the  spring  on  sandy,  dry  soils  ;  or  in  other  words,  on  soils  of  an  oppo- 
site nature  to  its  own.  I  plowed  in  twenty-five  loads  on  one  quarter  of  an  acre  last  spring, 
and  planted  it  to  early  potatoes,  corn,  peas,  cucumbers,  squashes,  and  melons.  It  was  a 
great  preventive  against  drouth.  That  ground  has  been  sown  to  rye,  and  it  looks  first  rate." 
And  from  Plymouth  county — "Swamp  muck,  as  also  upland  soils,  are  valuable  to  mix  with 
various  kinds  of  manure  to  retain  and  absorb  the  salts.  For  upwards  of  two  years  I  have 
adopted  a  different  course  with  my  swamp  land  from  any  I  know  of.  I  employ  men  with 
long-bitted  hoes,  sward-hooks,  etc.,  to  dig  up  the  hummocks  and  bushes,  in  bodies  large  and 
small,  as  is  convenient,  and  pile  them  in  bunches  for  a  few  days  to  dry  ;  after  which  I  select 
a  central  bunch,  in  which  I  form  a  cavity  or  hole  near  the  bottom  or  surface  of  the  ground. 
Then  I  set  fire  to  some  of  the  dryest  and  most  combustible,  and  as  it  burns  I  replenish  it  from 
the  other  bunches,  smothering  in  the  coal-pit  form,  though  more  combustible,  till  it  is  burned 
down  to  a  perfect  body  of  ashes  and  sand.  I  have  not  carried  the  experiment  into  full  effect, 
as  I  designed  to  ;  but  so  far  as  I  have  used  the  ashes,  they  have  given  me  entire  satisfaction. 
Their  nature  is  to  improve  exhausted  lands ;  and  my  belief  is  that  they  may  be  spread  upon 
the  same  land  upon  which  the  ashes  were  made,  and  increase  the  growth  of  English  grass. 
Much  has  been  said  upon  the  subject  of  reclaiming  wet,  swampy  lands ;  but  after  all  that  has 
been  done,  as  I  understand  it,  a  coat  of  manure  is  required  to  produce  a  good  crop  of  Eng- 
lish grass.  Now,  if  our  worthless  swamp  lands  possess  the  very  article  required  to  produce 
such  grass  by  the  simple  process  as  above  named,  I  think  it  would  be  an  improvement  in 
one  point  of  agriculture." 

A  farmer  of  Barns  table  county  says — "The  best  compost  manure  is  made  in  our  barn 
and  hog-yards,  of  swamp  muck,  sea-weed,  and  animal  manure.  Swamp  muck  and  sea-weed 
are  accessible  to  all  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  procure  them.  My  barn  and  hog-yards 
are  so  excavated  and  dug  as  to  absorb  the  liquids  passed  into  them.  Every  spring  and 
summer,  after  my  barn-yard  is  emptied,  I  replenish  it  from  time  to  time  with  swamp  muck, 
peat,  sea-weed,  and  other  materials  from  the  farm,  which,  with  the  animal  manure  produced 
by  yarding  my  cattle,  furnish  me  in  the  autumn  with  200  loads  of  good  compost,  which  I 
either  stack  in  the  yard  or  cart  on  to  the  land  I  intend  to  plant  in  the  spring.  I  again  re- 
plenish the  yard,  giving  me,  with  the  proceeds  of  my  hog-yard,  from  100  to  150  loads  more 
in  the  following  spring.  In  addition,  I  have  for  two  years  past  composted  in  the  field  adjoin- 
ing my  peat-bog  from  75  to  100  loads  of  peat,  (thrown  from  the  pit  in  summer  or  autumn,) 
with  sea  and  rock-weed,  or  ashes  and  animal  manure,  which  I  esteem  of  equal  value  to  barn- 
yard manure.  I  estimate  the  value  of  a  cord,  or  four  ox-cart  loads,  of  barn-yard  manure 
composted  as  above  at  from  $4  to  $5.  We  esteem  the  value  of  this  for  a  corn  crop  and  the 
improvement  of  land  higher  than  pure  animal  manure." 

I  give  one  more  extract,  from  a  farmer  of  Berkshire  county.  He  says — "  I  have  used 
swamp  muck  for  a  number  of  years  past  with  good  results,  by  mixing  it  with  yard  and  stable 
manures  in  the  proportion  of  one-third  to  one-half  muck,  and  consider  it  worth  $1  per  load 
to  use  for  agricultural  purposes  on  soils  that  are  a  mixture  of  loam  and  gravel." 

The  testimony  is  uniformly  in  favor  of  composting  muck  with  other  manures.  Its  power 
of  absorbing  valuable  liquid  and  gaseous  substances  is  very  considerable  ;  and  this  makes  it 


154  THE  TEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

an  excellent  substance  to  mix  with  guano,  when  the  latter  is  to  be  used  as  a  top  dressing. 
The  importance  of  a  free  use  of  dry  swamp  muck  as  an  absorbent  of  the  liquid  manures  of 
the  barn  and  stable  can  hardly  be  overestimated.  The  loss  throughout  the  State  from  the 
neglect  and  consequent  waste  of  these  rich  manures,  which  with  a  little  care  might  all  be 
saved,  is  almost  incredible.  T^he  attention  of  farmers  was  but  lately  called  to  this  subject ; 
but  the  value  of  these  substances  is  acknowledged  by  some,  and  efforts  are  now  made  to  save 
them  by  means  of  the  use  of  muck  and  loam,  either  properly  composted  in  the  b'arn-ccllar,  or 
supplied  daily  to  the  stalls  of  cattle.  No  judicious  farmer  should  neglect  to  save  all  such 
substances  as  tend  to  increase  the  value  and  productiveness  of  his  lands.  It  is  poor  economy 
and  bad  calculation  to  buy  concentrated  manures,  or  to  buy  any  manures  abroad,  till  every 
thing  of  the  kind  is  saved  at  home. 

From  what  has  been  said,  we  may  infer  that  good  dry  swamp  muck  is  worth  on  an  average 
from  $1.25  to  $1.50  per  cord;  that  it  is  best  on  light,  loamy,  sandy,  or  gravelly  soils;  and 
that  it  is  valuable  as  a  compost  with  barn-yard  manures  or  with  guano. 

Top  Dressings. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland,  results  of  a  series 
of  trials  of  various  substances  for  top  dressings  were  detailed.  The  manures  employed  were 
nitrate  of  soda,  sulphate  of  ammonia,  Peruvian  guano,  and  common  salt — sometimes  simple, 
sometimes  mixed  together.  These  were  applied  to  wheat,  to  grass,  and  to  potatoes  with 
results,  however,  not  so  similar  as  is  desirable.  In  the  trials  with  wheat,  the  results  per 
acre  of  I.,  those  of  Mr.  Finnic,  and  II.,  of  Mr.  Hope,  will  be  found  in  the  subjoined  table. 
In  the  trials  of  Mr.  Finnic,  the  gross  produce  per  acre  is  given  in  quarters  and  bushels ;  in 
those  of  Mr.  Hope,  the  increase  in  bushels  per  acre,  compared  with  an  unmamired  portion 

of  the  same  field : 

I.  II. 

Nitrate  of  soda,  112  Ibs 5  3 

Ditto,  and  common  salt,  224  Ibs 55  3 

Sulphate  of  ammonia,  87  Ibs 5  4 

Ditto,  with  common  salt,  224  Ibs 52  5 

Peruvian  guano,  137  Ibs 56  3£ 

Ditto,  and  common  salt,  224  Ibs 5  2 

Nitrate  of  soda,  37  Ibs ~) 

Sulphate  of  ammonia,  29  Ibs V    5  5 

Peruvian  guano,  46  Ibs J 

Ditto,  and  2  cwt.  of  common  salt 6  2 

In  considering  the  results  of  these  and  other  valuable  experiments  upon  saline  top  dress- 
ings, our  readers  will  not  omit  to  remember  how  great  and  varying  is  the  influence  of  wet 
or  dry  seasons  upon  such  applications.  The  greater  number  of  these  are  indeed  most  bene- 
ficial in  wet  seasons :  they  seem  to  act  with  very  diminished  power  in  dry  springs  and 
summers. 

The  good  effects  produced  by  a  mixture  of  various  fertilizers  has  never,  we  think,  obtained 
that  careful  consideration  which  this  branch  of  the  inquiry  deserves ;  and  yet  many  facts 
should  surely  lead  us  towards  such  a  path  ;  the  very  great  advantage,  for  instance,  of  using 
common  salt  mixed  with  soot,  rather  than  by  itself,  for  carrots  and  potatoes,  is  well  known; 
and,  some  time  since,  Professor  Johnston  illustrated  the  advantage  of  this  inquiry  by  a 
series  of  valuable  experiments.  The  Professor  found  that  in  a  field  of  40  acres  of  potatoes, 
which  had  been  manured  throughout  with  40  tons  of  farm-yard  dung  per  acre,  a  top  dress- 
ing of  various  salts  gave  the  subjoined  increased  of  bulbs : 

Tons. 

Nitrate  of  soda  (cubic  petre) 3i 

Sulphate  of  soda  (Glauber  salts) 0 

One-half  of  each 5£ 

Sulphate  of  ammonia If 

Sulphate  of  soda 0 

One-half  of  each 6J 

Nitrate  of  soda 3i 

Sulphate  of  magnesia  (Epsom  salts) i 

One-half  of  each 92 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  155 

In  the  more  extensive  trials  of  Mr,  Fleming,  planted  on  the  first  of  June,  and  top  dressed 
on  the  first  of  July,  the  produce  from  these  various  saline  applications  was  as  follows : 

Tons.         Cwt 

Farm-yard  dung,  30  tons 10  2 

Farm-yard  dung,  30  tons 

Sal.  ammoniac,  1  cwt 

Epsom  salt,  1  cwt 

Glauber  salt,  1  cwt 

Farm-yard  dung,  30  tons 


Cubic  petre,  1  cwt... 


Epsom  salt,  1  cwt.. 

Glauber  salt,  1  cwt 

Farm-yard  dung,  30  tons 

Sulphate  of  ammonia,  1  cwt.. 

Glauber  salt,  1  cwt 

Epsom  salt,  1  cwt 

Farm-yard  dung,  30  tons 

Peruvian  guano,  1J  cwt 

Epsom  salt,  1  cwt 

Glauber  salt,  1  cwt 

Common  salt,  1  cwt 


11  19 


13 


14  19 


15 


Our  readers  may  derive,  we  think,  considerable  benefit  from  carefully  attending  to  these 
points  when  they  are  about  to  employ  top  dressings. — Mark  Lane  Exprets* 

Fish  Manures. 

THE  following  is  an  abstract  of  a  lecture  recently  delivered  by  Prof.  Way,  of  England,  on 
the  applicability  offish  as  a  substance  for  fertilizing: — 

Prof.  F.  ounmiMii-cil  by  adverting  to  the  importance  of  the  subject.  The  employment  of 
artificial  manures,  however  much  it  might  have  extended,  was  yet  in  its  infancy,  and  in  the 
course  of  ten  years  it  was  probable  that  one  hundred  acres  would  be  artificially  manured  for 
every  acre  that  was  so  treated  now ;  but  this  could  only  happen  with  the  aid  of  fresh  sources 
of  supply  of  the  raw  material  for  the  manufacture  of  such  manures.  There  was  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  obtaining  the  material  to  supply  the  manure  market.  In  the  case  of  phosphate 
of  lime,  the  demand  had  so  increased  that  the  price  had  nearly  doubled  in  the  last  two  or 
three  years.  It  was,  however,  fortunate  that  phosphate  of  lime,  occurring  very  largely  as  a 
mineral  deposit,  had  been  searched  for  and  found  in  several  localities,  and  other  supplies  of 
it  were  opening  up,  which  promised  eventually  to  meet  any  demand.  No  less  important 
than  phosphate  of  lime,  as  an  element  of  manure,  was  some  form  of  nitrogen,  of  which  the 
value  was  so  abundantly  proved.  Now,  it  could  not  be  doubted,  as  he  hoped  to  show,  that 
such  a  source  of  nitrogen,  in  the  highest  degree  available  for  the  wants  of  vegetation,  existed 
in  fish.  This  source  of  nitrogen  was  practically  unlimited,  and  he  could  not  think  that  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  obtaining  it  in  sufficient  abundance  and  at  moderate  price  were  by 
any  means  formidable. 

Of  the  value  of  fish  and  fish-refuse  as  manure  there  could  be  little  dispute.  The  use  of 
fish,  however,  in  its  natural  state  was  necessarily  confined  to  a  comparatively  short  distance 
from  the  place  where  it  was  caught;  so  valued,  however,  was  this  manure,  that  he  had  seen 
hop  and  wheat-fields  covered  in  the  winter  with  sprats  at  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles 
from  the  sea,  and  that  before  the  days  of  railways,  and  when  the  farmer  had  to  send  his 
teams  to  fetch  them  home.  The  question,  however,  of  importance  was,  To  what  standards  is 
the  value  of  fish  as  a  manure  to  be  referred  ?  In  respect  to  this,  Prof.  Way  remarked  that 
the  quantity  of  water  in  fish  was  not  nearly  so  great  as  was  usually  thought.  It  was  a  vul- 
gar error  to  suppose  that  fish  was  less  solid  than  flesh ;  on  the  contrary,  while  the  flesh  of 
the  ox  contained  as  much  as  77  per  cent,  of  water,  different  kinds  of  fish  varied  from  60  to 
65,  and  some  contained  much  less  than  this,  even.  The  quantity  of  nitrogenous  matter  in 
fish  varied  considerably;  to  this  ingredient  no  doubt  a  great  portion  of  the  manuring  pro- 
perty of  the  fish  was  due.  We  had  experience  of  the  value  of  dried  blood,  woollen  rags,  of 
horses'  hair,  and  other  animal  substances,  all  of  which  were  powerful  manures;  and  the 
nitrogenous  parts  of  flesh  being  of  the  same  composition,  could  not  fail  to  have  the  same 


156  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

effect  upon  vegetation.  The  next  ingredient  in  fish  was  the  oil.  The  proportion  of  this 
differs  very  much  in  different  fish.  In  the  flesh  of  the  herring,  13  per  cent,  had  been  found. 
In  the  mackerel,  Prof.  Way  had  found  as  much  as  24  J  per  cent,  of  oil,  or  one-fourth  part  of 
its  entire  weight.  In  this  fish  the  oil  seemed  to  substitute  part  of  the  water  found  in  other 
varieties ;  for  it  did  not  contain  more  than  44  per  cent,  of  moisture,  or  two-thirds  of  that 
usually  present.  The  quantity  of  nitrogen  and  of  ash  was  also  very  large ;  both  of  them 
very  considerably  larger  than  in  any  other  fish  of  which  the  comparison  was  known.  If 
available  in  quantities,  therefore,  this  fish  would  be  very  valuable  for  manure.  Now,  con- 
sidering the  large  proportion  of  oil  in  fish,  it  became  important  to  consider  of  what  value  it 
might  be  in  manure.  It  had  become  the  fashion  of  late  years  to  give  too  exclusive  a  con- 
sideration to  the  importance  of  nitrogen  in  vegetation ;  not  that  we  could  too  much  value  this 
important  element,  but  that  we  were  in  danger  of  neglecting  those  substances  which  took  a 
less  prominent,  but  a  no  less  necessary  part,  in  the  economy  of  vegetation.  That  carbona- 
ceous matter  in  the  soil  was  beneficial,  if  not  indispensable,  to  profitable  cultivation,  did  not 
seem  to  admit  of  a  doubt;  and  if  so,  there  might  be  clearly  a  choice  between  carbonaceous 
substances,  according  to  their  rate  of  decomposition,  &c.  Now  oils  were  very  susceptible 
of  oxidation,  with  the  production,  of  course,  of  carbonic  acid.  He  might  only  mention  in 
illustration,  the  spontaneous  combustion  often  occurring  when  oily  rags  used  for  machinery, 
&c.  had  been  thrown  into  a  heap,  and  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  and  heat  consequent 
thereupon,  it  had,  in  many  cases,  caused  great  destruction  of  property. 

Then  again,  the  manufacture  of  "drying  oils,"  as  they  were  called,  by  boiling  linseed  and 
other  oils  in  contact  with  the  air,  the  experiments  of  Saussure,  who  placed  different  oils 
under  receivers  of  air,  and  found  at  the  end  of  the  experiments  that  all  the  oxygen  had 
become  carbonic  acid  at  the  expense  of  the  oil,  were  also  *o  the  purpose.  Now  it  was  easy 
to  see  that  oil  distributed  through  a  porous  soil  would,  on  account  of  the  great  surface 
exposed,  suffer  rapid  oxidation,  and  give  off  a  ready  supply  of  carbonic  acid,  which  at  par- 
ticular periods  of  their  growth  might  be  most  important  to  some  plants. 

Mr.  Way  quoted  passages  from  the  work  of  Dr.  Home,  printed  in  1762,  and  the  "Georgical 
Essays"  of  Dr.  Hunter,  a  few  years  later,  to  show  that  a  very  high  opinion  of  the  value  of 
oil  as  manure  was  held  by  early  writers.  He  also  referred  to  the  experiments  of  Earl  Spen- 
cer with  oil,  to  the  use  of  whale-blubber,  which,  however,  no  doubt  owed  much  of  its  value 
to  the  flesh.  He  showed  also  that  many  of  the  substances  known  as  powerful  manures,  and 
containing  nitrogenous  matter,  also  contained  oil.  Thus  woollen  rags,  rape-cake.,  &c.  might 
owe  part  of  their  efficacy  to  this  cause.  Rape-cake  contained  about  4  per  cent,  of  nitrogen, 
while  its  oil  varied  from  12  to  15  per  cent. 

On  the  whole,  this  subject  of  oil,  as  manure.,  was  well  worth  looking  into ;  not  that  oil 
would  be  likely  to  be  used  directly  as  a  manure,  (its  value  for  other  purposes  being  opposed 
to  such  a  use  of  it,)  but  that  we  might  be  able  to  value  more  correctly  substances  in  which 
occurred,  and  could  not  profitably  be  extracted,  as  suitable  for  manure.  The  other  main 
ingredient  of  fish  was  the  ash  or  mineral  matter,  which,  although  of  less  importance  than 
the  others,  (on  account  of  the  smallness  of  its  proportion,)  was  not  to  be  overlooked.  Mr. 
Way  here  referred  to  the  analyses  of  different  fish,  showing  that  in  the  lobster  the  quantity 
of  phosphate  of  lime  was  as  much  as  5  per  cent,  of  the  fish  in  its  dried  state,  and  about  the 
same  in  the  mackerel :  this  phosphate  of  lime  could  not  be  without  its  use. 

Mr.  Way  next  directed  attention  to  the  various  methods  of  preserving  fish  that  had  been 
proposed,  including  those  of  Mr.  Petit,  by  sulphuric  acid;  of  Mr.  Elliott,  by  the  use  of  alkali ; 
of  Mr.  Bethell,  by  the  employment  of  tar-oils;  and  of  M.  de  Molons,  by  treatment  with  high- 
pressure  steam.  He  also  mentionod  the  plan  which  was  adopted  by  a  manufacturer  of 
manure,  (Mr.  Stevens,)  who  had  a  contract  for  the  refuse  fish  of  Billingsgate  market,  of  incor- 
porating the  fish  in  super-phosphate  of  lime,  the  quantity  of  water  in  the  fish  serving  to 
dilute  the  acid,  and  being  dried  up  by  the  natural  heat  of  the  process.  He  remarked,  how- 
ever, that  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  preserving  the  fish,  if  it  could  be  obtained.  It  was 
not  so  much  a  question  of  this  or  that  process,  but  of  the  supply  of  raw  material.  He  could 
not  help  believing  that  this  was  not  an  insuperable  difficulty,  if  systematic  measures  were 
taken  to  effect  the  purpose.  Was  it  affirmed  that  our  system  of  taking  fish  was  incapable  of 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  157 

improvement?  "Were  the  nets  and  other  appliances  of  the  fisherman,  which  were  the  same 
in  kind  as  we  read  of  1800  years  ago,  although  possibly  improved  in  detail, — were  they  the 
last  and  supreme  effort  of  ingenuity  and  invention?  Was  nothing  to  be  accomplished  in 
the  way  of  extracting  from  the  waters  of  the  sea  a  greater  supply  of  its  teeming  population? 
Surely  it  was  open  to  improvement.  But  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  calculations  and  argu- 
ments on  this  question  were  not  usually  quite  to  the  point.  Everybody  talked  of  "  refuse" 
fish,  that  is  to  say,  the  offal  .of  edible  fish,  and  the  fish  accidentally  caught  which  were  unfit 
for  the  food  market;  and  it  was  said  by  those  who  certainly  well  understood  the  subject,  "a 
boat  with  so  many  men  will  take  in  the  day  such-and-such  a  quantity  of  fish,  of  which  the 
uneatable  fish  will  amount  to  so-and-so,  and  that  quantity  will  not  keep  a  factory  in  work  or 
create  a  manufacture  of  any  national  importance."  But  he  said  that  fishing  for  manure 
must  be  the  primary,  and  the  capture  of  edible  fish  the  secondary,  consideration,  if  they 
desired  to  raise  this  into  a  great  national  question.  And  we  had  yet  to  learn  what  would  be 
the  result  of  a  day's  labor  of  a  given  number  of  men,  when  their  attention  was  directed,  not 
as  now,'  to  the  comparatively  rare  and  valuable  fish,  but  to  those  which  hitherto  they  had 
despised  and  avoided.  In  his  opinion,  the  statistics  hitherto  put  forward  were  worth  nothing, 
because  they  were  not  derived  from  this  point  of  view.  In  the  search  after  fish  for  the 
manufacture  of  manure,  the  proverb  that  "All  is  fish  that  comes  to  the  net"  ought  to  be 
varied  to  "All  is  fish  that  the  net  can  reach." 

Prof.  Way  concluded  his  lecture,  as  he  had  begun  it,  by  urging  the  necessity  of  encourag- 
ing every  attempt  to  obtain  new  sources  of  raw  material  for  the  manufacture  of  manure. 
Without  this,  a  term  would  be  reached  when  the  competition  for  manufactured  manures, 
with  an  insufficient  supply,  would  raise  the  price  up  to  the  extreme  limits  at  which  their  use 
would  be  remunerative;  for  a  time  the  deficiency  would  be  met  by  adulteration  and  inferiority 
of  the  article ;  and  this,  together  with  the  scramble  to  get  manure,  would  soon  wean  farmers 
from  their  partiality  to  artificial  manures.  Then,  indeed,  the  progress  of  agriculture  in  this 
country,  at  all  events  in  the  use  of  artificial  manures,  would  receive  a  serious  check.  lie 
did  not  wish  to  draw  a  gloomy  picture,  but  such  a  state  of  things  must  inevitably  result,  if 
the  increasing  demand  for  manures  were  not  met  with  some  new  and  abundant  supply  of  the 
raw  material. — Farmer's  Magazine. 

Sewage  Manure. 

THOMAS  WICKSTEED,  of  Leicester,  England,  has  secured  a  patent  for  making  sewage 
manure,  by  mixing  charcoal  reduced  to  fine  powder  with  milk  of  lime,  of  the  thickness  of 
cream,  and  then  causing  this  mixture  to  flow  ihto  a  stream  of  the  sewage  water  by  means 
of  pumps. 

A  Fact  in  Manuring. 

A  PERSON  carrying  some  orange-trees  from  China  to  the  Prince  of  Wales'  Island,  when 
they  had  many  hundred  fruit  on  them,  expected  a  good  crop  the  next  year,  but  was  utterly 
disappointed ;  they  produced  but  few.  A  Chinese,  settled  in  the  island,  told  him  if  he  would 
have  his  trees  bear,  he  must  treat  them  as  they  were  accustomed  to  in  China;  and  he 
described  the  following  process  for  providing  manure: — "A  cistern,  so  lined  and  covered  as 
to  be  air-tight,  is  half-filled  with  animal  matter ;  and  to  prevent  bursting  from  the  genera- 
tion of  air,  a  valve  is  fixed  which  gives  way  with  some  difficulty,  and  lets  no  more  gas  escape 
than  is  necessary :  the  longer  the  manure  is  kept  the  better,  till  four  years,  when  it  is  in 
perfection;  it  is  taken  out  in  the  consistence  nearly  of  jelly,  and  a  small  portion  buried  at 
the  root  of  every  orange-tree,  the  result  being  an  uncommonly  great  yield."  A  person  hear- 
ing of  the  above  fact,  and  wishing  to  abridge  the  term  of  the  preparation,  thought  that  boil- 
ing animals  to  a  jelly  might  have  a  similar  if  not  so  strong  an  effect.  Accordingly,  he  boiled 
several  puppies,  and  applied  the  jelly  to  the  roots  of  a  sterile  fig-tree:  the  benefit  was  very 
great,  the  tree  from  that  time  for  several  years  bearing  in  profusion.  Hints  of  this  kind  are 
well  worth  preserving,  for  though  a  farmer  may  neither  have  the  apparatus  of  the  Chinese, 


158  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

nor  puppies  enough  to  become  an  object  of  attention,  yet  the  reduction  of  manure  to  a  muci- 
laginous state  ought  perhaps  to  be  carried  further  than  it  is. — Horticulturist. 

How  to  Use  Guano. 

THE  London  Mark  Lane  Express,  gives  the  following  directions  respecting  the  use  of 
guano. 

First. — Never  mix  it  with  any  thing ;  all  lime,  compost,  ashes,  and  similar  ingredients, 
too  often  contain  enough  caustic  alkali  to  drive  off  the  ammoniacal  parts  before  the  soil  can 
surround  and  absorb  them.  A  vast  amount  of  mischief  and  loss  often  follows  this  sad  mis- 
take. If  applied  alone,  the  soil  will  best  adapt  it  for  plants. 

Second. — Mix  as  much  as  possible  with  the  soil,  not  too  deeply,  but  plow  it  in  after  sowing 
it  broadcast,  unless  it  be  for  beans  or  drilled  and  ridged  crops,  when  it  may  be  sown  on  tho 
surface  before  the  ridges  are  made. 

Third. — If  applied  as  a  top  dressing,  always  apply  it,  if  possible,  before  rain,  or  when 
snow  is  on  the  ground ;  and  if  on  arable  land,  harrow,  hoe,  or  scuffle,  if  possible,  immediately 
after  the  operation. 

Fourth. — The  best  mode  to  apply  it  is  by  water.  A  slight  solution  of  it  is  by  far  the  most 
powerful  and  speedy  application. 

Fifth. — If  sowed  with  drilled  grain,  or  indeed  any  seed  whatever,  it  should  never  come  in 
contact.  It  is  not  a  bad  plan  to  sow  broadcast,  after  the  corn-drill,  and  then  harrow,  as  it 
is  kept  in  the  nearest  proximity  to  the  seed,  without  coming  in  contact  with  it. 

Lastly. — Be  sure  to  get,  if  possible,  the  genuine  article;  cheap  guano  there  is  none. 

The  quantity  of  genuine  guano  per  acre  used  is  from  two  to  three  hundred  pounds.  The 
latter  quantity,  when  the  land  is  deficient  and  requires  speedy  renovation. 

Guano  Deposits  of  the  Atlantic. 

IT  is  now  well  known  that  the  guano  of  the  Chincha  Islands  and  other  sources,  under  rain- 
less skies,  is  a  product  of  a  peculiar  fermentation,  in  which  ammoniacal  salts  and  nitroge- 
nous products  are  formed  from  a  variety  of  animal  matter.  Not  only  the  dung,  bodies,  and 
eggs  of  several  varieties  of  birds,  but  a  large  amount  of  flesh  and  bones  of  seals,  make  up 
the  substance  of  the  decomposing  mass. 

On  the  islands  of  the  Atlantic,  the  dung,  bodies,  and  eggs  of  birds  are  found ;  but  the 
frequency  of  rain  modifies  the  decomposition,  so  that  the  resulting  matter  differs  essentially 
from  that  of  the  Peruvian  shores.  It  possesses,  however,  a  high  value  in  special  applica- 
tions, and  presents  some  interesting  scientific  points. 

Dr.  A.  A.  Hayes,  of  Boston,  has  fully  investigated  the  composition  of  the  guanos  of  different 
islands,  including  ancient  as  well  as  recent  deposits.  On  some  of  these,  two  species  of 
birds  are  still  found  in  countless  numbers,  which  make  daily  additions  to  the  accumulated 
remains  of  former  years. 

The  substance  of  this  kind  of  guano  is  matter  derived  from  the  fish-food  of  birds.  Its 
color  is  light,  yellowish  brown,  becoming,  when  air-dried,  nearly  white.  It  has  no  ammo- 
niacal odor,  but  smells  strongly  of  freshly-disturbed  earth.  It  is  never  so  finely  divided  as 
the  Peruvian,  its  particles  being  sometimes  as  coarse  as  mustard-seed,  resembling  closely  the 
sand  from  oolite  limestone.  There  is,-  however,  always  some  finely-divided  organic  matter, 
in  the  state  of  humus,  either  between  the  particles  or  making  part  of  the  substance  of  them. 
An  average  composition  is  the  following  : 

Moisture  after  being  air-dried 4-40 

Organic  matter,  crenates,  humates,  oleates  and  stearates,  magnesia  and  lime 6-40 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 46*60 

Carbonate  of  lime 39-80 

Phosphate  magnesia 1"20 

Sulphate  lime '80 

Sand -21 

Traces  of  chloride  and  sulphate  of  soda - 

99-41 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  159 

The  carbonate  of  lime  here  given  is  an  essential  part  of  each  particle  of  the  bone  re- 
mains, and  does  not  exist,  except  occasionally  as  mixture  to  the  amount  of  one  or  two  per 
cents.,  independently.  The  humic  acid  is  often  in  union  with  ammonia  and  magnesia,  the 
whole  percentage  of  ammonia,  or  rather  nitrogen,  not  exceeding  in  the  ancient  deposits 
more  than  two  per  cent.  A  more  solid  aggregate  of  grains  afforded — 

Moisture  from  air-dried  state 5'40 

Organic  matter,  huinates,  humus — 

Oleates  and  stearates 8-40 

Bone  phosphate  lime 64-80 

Carbonate  of  lime 16-20 

Sulphate 2-80 

Phosphate  magnesia. 1-60 

Sand -46 

99-66 

The  grains  adhered  slightly  ;  the  dry  mass  was  /of  a  pale,  nankin  color,  and  exhibited  the 
first  step  in  a  change  which  results  in  a  consolidation  of  the  arenaceous  remains  into  a  solid 
rock. 

It  will  be  observed  that,  if  we  admit  the  moisture  and  organic  matter,  there  are  seventy- 
five  parts  of  bone  phosphate  of  lime  in  one  hundred  of  the  dry  guano,  constituting  a  source 
of  this  prime  requisite  in  the  constitution  of  fertile  soils  highly  important.  From  the  nature 
of  the  decomposition,  this  bone  phosphate  is  soluble  to  some  extent  in  water,  and  thus 
adapted  to  application  when  the  immediate  effects  are  desired. 

Comparing  the  composition  here  given  with  that  of  fish-bones,  we  observe  an  increased 
amount  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  are  led  to  the  consideration  of  the  cause  of  this  anomalous 
composition. 

Another  variety  of  this  guano  appears  as  a  solid  compact  rock,  banded  in  lines  by  dark- 
brown  colors.  Although  the  irregular  forms  of  the  masses  mark  it  as  an  aggregate,  its  hard- 
ness, next  to  that  of  feldspar  and  greater  than  that  of  fluorspar,  removes  it  from  the  class 
of  ordinary  calcareous  aggregates.  But  the  chemical  composition  is  more  remarkable. 

One  hundred  parts  afford — 

Moisture  from  air-dried  state 0'80 

Organic  matter  and  water 11-00 

Bone  phosphate  of  lime 110-20 

Sulphate  of  lime 7«90 

Sand  and  dirt -80 

130.70 

The  50-47  parts  of  phosphoric  acid  are,  for  convenience  of  comparison,  supposed  to  be 
united  with  lime  to  constitute  bone  phosphate  of  lime.  For  economical  purposes;  it  is  neces- 
sary to  grind  the  masses  to  a  fine  powder ;  it  then  dissolves  slowly  in  water. 

This  compound  generally  forms  a  covering  of  ten  to  twenty-four  inches  thick  over  the 
guano  on  those  islands  not  frequented  by  birds.  Some  rough  masses  are  found  in  the  mass 
of  the  arenaceous  guano ;  but  they  appear  to  have  been  once  a  surface-covering. 

Dr.  Hayes  explains  the  singular  composition  of  this  aggregate  and  the  guanos  more  rich  in 
bone  phosphate  than  the  bones  of  birds  by  referring  to  the  kind  of  fermentation  which  organic 
animal  matter  undergoes  in  presence  of  excess  of  humidity.  Briefly,  it  is  the  reverse  of  that 
which  produces  ammonia  salts  in  the  Peruvian  guano,  acids  being  the  result  here.  The  whole 
series  of  acids,  the  products  of  humus  decomposition,  carbonic  acid,  and  probably  acetic 
acid,  being  generated  in  the  mass,  have  dissolved  the  carbonate  of  lime  of  the  deposit,  while 
the  resulting  salts  have  been  washed  away  by  the  rains,  leaving  the  phosphate  of  lime  in 
excess.  Where  daily  depositions  are  taking  place,  this  effect  does  not  follow,  as  the  first  de- 
composition produces  ammonia ;  but,  under  other  conditions,  the  carbonate  of  lime  of  the 
bony  structure  is  removed,  and  the  phosphate  is  left  in  excess. 

The  occurrence  of  rocky  masses  at  the  surface  is  explained  by  the  well-known  fact  that 
the  solutions  of  salts  formed  tend  to  the  surface ;  and,  as  the  water  evaporates  under  the 
sun's  rays,  the  earthy  salts  dissolved  by  the  acid  fluids  below  are  left  in  the  interstices  existing 
in  the  sand-like  deposits  of  food-remains  until  they  are  filled,  and  every  trace  of  granules  ob- 
literated. The  increased  amount  of  sulphate  of  lime,  the  uniform  acid  state  of  these  guanos 


160  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

and  cavities  lined  with  crystals,  are  all  according  facts  in  favor  of  the  conclusion  adopted. 
The  experiments,  in  their  extended  application  to  other  aggregates,  are  proving  that  many 
compact  rocks  may  be  formed  at  common  temperatures  by  a  similar  action,  not  always  in- 
volving a  chemical  solution  of  the  materials. 


On  the  Mixing  of  Common  Salt  and  Guano, 

THE  following  experiments,  performed  by  Mr.  Barral,  editor  of  the  Journal  tf  Agriculture 
Pratique,  prove  the  value  of  common  salt  as  a  fixer  of  ammonia.  M.  Barral  took  two  sam- 
ples of  guano  :  the  one  he  kept  pure — the  other  he 'mixed  with  a  refuse  salt  obtained  in  the 
manufacture  of  gunpowder,  (and  consisting  principally  of  common  salt  with  a  small  quan- 
tity of  saltpetre,  nitrate  of  potassa,)  in  the  proportion  of  50  per  cent,  of  this  salt.  "The 
sample  of  pure  guano  which  we  analyzed,"  says  M.  Barral,  "contained  12-56  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen ;  the  sample  mixed  with  salt  contained  only  6-23  per  cent.  We  do  not  take  into 
account  the  nitrogen  in  the  state  of  nitrate  mixed  with  the  salt.  We  subjected  equal  weights 
of  the  two  samples  to  heat  for  three  hours  in  the  same  stove,  in  a  current  of  air,  maintained 
at  100°.  They  were  spread  out  so  as  to  have  the  same  thickness,  and  occupy  an  equal  sur- 
face, and  they  had  been  equally  pulverized.  At  the  end  of  the  three  hours,  on  examining 
the  two  samples,  we  found  that  the  pure  guano  had  lost  5'7  per  cent,  of  its  nitrogen,  while 
the  mixture  had  lost  only  1-9  per  cent,  of  its  nitrogen. 

"  Though  this  experiment  appeared  to  us  to  be  in  favor  of  the  preservative  power  of  salt,  we 
repeated  it  under  another  form.  We  left  in  the  open  air,  in  plates,  during  fifteen  days,  equal 
weights  of  the  pure  and  the  mixed  guano.  At  the  end  of  that  time  we  examined  anew  the 
amount  of  nitrogen,  and  found  that  the  pure  guano  had  lost  11-6  per  cent,  of  its  nitrogen; 
while  that  mixed  with  salt  had  lost  only  5  per  cent.  Thus  we  see  salt  can  be  usefully 
employed  for  mixing  with  guano." 

This  property  of  salt,  as  a  fixer  of  ammonia,  has  not  been  sufficiently  attended  to  in  agri- 
culture. While  chemists  recommend  gypsum,  nitrate  of  lead,  chloride  of  zinc,  sulphate  of 
iron,  and  chloride  of  manganese  for  this  purpose,  common  salt  is  but  rarely  alluded  to.  It 
has  been  used  extensively  of  late,  with  nitrate  of  soda  as  a  top  dressing,  with  the  view  of 
strengthening  the  straw  of  the  cereals.  It  has  been  alleged  that  guano  tends  very  much  to 
increase  the  growth  of  vines  in  the  potato  crop.  We  are  of  opinion,  from  numerous  experi- 
ments before  us,  that,  when  applied  to  this  crop,  the  guano  should  always  be  mixed  with 
some  fixer  of  the  ammonia,  such  as  gypsum,  salt,  or  charcoal:  at  present  prices,  the  most 
expensive  of  these,  at  the  rate  of  one  hundredweight  per  acre,  will  not  cost  more  than  2s.  per 
acre.  Another  important  fact,  independent  of  the  value  of  the  salt,  brought  out  by  M.  Bar- 
ral's  experiment,  is  the  great  waste  of  ammonia  which  takes  place  on  exposing  guano  to 
the  air.  It  will  be  remarked  that,  in  the  case  before  us,  upwards  of  one-tenth  of  the 
nitrogen  was  lost  in  the  course  of  fifteen  days.  This  shows  the  necessity  of  farmers  hus- 
banding as  much  as  possible  this  important  ingredient  of  their  manure.  Instead  of  throwing 
their  guano  in  exposed  sheds,  as  is  too  often  done,  it  should  be  carefully  covered  up,  and 
mixed,  immediately  on  their  receiving  it,  with  some  preserver  of  its  ammonia. 

Superphosphate  of  Lime  for  Root  Crops. 

SUPERPHOSPHATE  of  lime  is  used  to  a  great  extent  in  England  as  a  manure  for  turnips,  ruta 
bagas,  mangel-wurzels,  and  other  root  crops.  When  sown  broadcast,  it  has  very  little  influ- 
ence on  the  crop  ;  but  when  drilled  with  the  seed  its  effects  are  oftentimes  astonishing.  Philip 
Pusey  and  some  others  have  shown,  too,  that,  when  the  superphosphate  is  dissolved  in  water 
and  applied  in  the  seed-drills  in  a  liquid  form,  the  effect  is  still  more  beneficial.  Alfred  S. 
Ruston,  in  the  London  Farmer's  Magazine,  gives  the  results  of  some  carefully-conducted 
experiments  on  the  subject.  There  were  seven  separate  experiments  made ;  but.  as  the  results 
agree  pretty  closely,  we  select  one  as  a  sample  of  the  whole. 

Three  plots  were  dressed  with  eleven  loads  of  barn-yard  manure  per  acre,  thrown  into 
ridges,  and  sown  with  mangel-wurzels,  April  17th.  The  first  plot  received  no  artificial 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  161 

manure.  The  second,  one  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  of  Lawes's  superphosphate  of  lime  per 
acre,  drilled  in  dry,  and  the  third  plot,  one  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  of  Lawes's  superphos- 
phate of  lime  drilled  in  a  liquid  state.  The  crops  were  weighed  October  4th.  The  first  plot 
yielded  per  acre  eight  tons  and  fifteen  hundredsweight ;  the  second,  thirteen  tons  and  fifteen 
hundredsweight ;  and  the  third,  seventeen  tons  and  seven  hundredsweight.  In  other  words, 
one  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  of  superphosphate  per  acre,  drilled  in  dry,  gave  an  increase 
of  five  tons,  and  the  same  quantity  applied  in  a  liquid  state,  an  increase  of  eight  tons  and 
twelve  hundredsweight  per  acre.  The  cost  of  the  superphosphate  was  $1.80  per  acre.  This 
is  a  good  result,  although  it  is  usually  found  that  superphosphate  has  a  more  marked  effect 
on  turnips  than  on  ruta  bagas,  and  even  still  more  than  on  mangel-wurzel. 

The  above  yield  will  appear  small  to  those  who  are  frequently  reading  of  crops  of  one 
thousand  five  hundred  to  two  thousand  bushels  per  acre.  The  great  drought  of  last  year, 
doubtless,  materially  injured  the  crop,  especially  where  no  superphosphate  was  applied.  But, 
as  the  weather  in  England  last  summer  approximated  more  closely  to  what  it  usually  is  in 
this  country,  the  experiment  may  be  looked  upon  as  pretty  correctly  indicating  what  would 
be  the  effect  of  an  application  of  good  superphosphate  of  lime,  in  a  dry  and  in  a  liquid  state, 
to  mangel-wurzels  in  this  climate. — Albany  Cultivator. 


Amount  of  Manure  applied  per  Acre. 

THE  following,  from  the  Rural  New  Yorker,  displays  the  minute  quantity  of  concentrated 
manure  which  falls  upon  a  square  yard  of  surface-soil  when  applied  at  ordinary  rates  : — 

An  acre  of  land  contains  forty-three  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty  square  feet,  four 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty  square  yards,  or  one  hundred  and  sixty  square  rods.  By 
those  who  have  used  guano,  it  is  said  three  hundred  pounds  is  sufficient  to  manure  an  acre ; 
two  hundred  and  two  pounds  would  give  just  one  ounce  avoirdupois  to  the  square  yard.  One 
cubic  yard  would  give  a  trifle  over  one  cubic  inch  to  the  square  foot.  A  cubic  yard  of  highly- 
concentrated  manure,  like  night-soil,  would,  if  even  and  properly  spread,  manure  an  acre 
very  well.  A  cubic  yard  of  long  manure  will  weigh  about  one  thousand  four  hundred 
pounds  ;  a  cubic  foot  not  far  from  fifty  pounds.  A  cord  contains  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
eight  cubic  feet ;  a  cord  and  a  quarter  would  give  about  a  cubic  foot  to  the  square  rod.  If 
liquid  manure  be  used,  it  would  take  one  hundred  and  seventy  barrels  to  give  one  gill  to  a 
square  foot  upon  an  acre,  which  would  bo  equal  to  about  fifty  pipes  or  large  hogsheads.  It 
would  be  quite  useful  if  farmers  would  be  a  little  more  specific  as  to  the  amount  of  manure 
applied. 

Natural  Supply  of  Ammonia  in  Ordinary  Soils. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  Professor  Way,  in  the  course  of 
some  remarks  on  the  atmospheric  supply  of  manuring  or  fertilizing  matter,  called  attention 
to  the  large  amount  of  ammonia  constantly  taken  up  by  the  soil,  and  washing  into  the  land 
by  rain,  and  to  the  great  importance^  consequently,  of  exposing  the  soil  in  such  a  manner  to 
atmospheric  influences  as  may  best  tend  to  this  ammoniacal  absorption.  Fallowing  of  land, 
he  remarked,  had  given  way  to  rotation  of  crops ;  but  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  such 
a  simple  resting  as  fallowing  was  supposed  to  imply  in  this  case,  for  an  alteration  of  the  soil 
under  the  influence  of  oxygen  was  constantly  going  on.  Every  interval,  even,  between  one 
crop  and  another,  was  in  reality  a  fallow.  Land  should  be  laid  up  as  lightly  as  possible,  for 
the  purpose  of  its  aeration.  The  working  of  the  land,  with  a  view  to  this  abundant  aeration, 
was  one  important  means  of  improvement.  He  regarded  it  as  indispensable,  to  the  full  de- 
velopment of  the  powers  of  soil,  that  steam-power  should  be  brought  to  bear  effectively  upon 
its  cultivation.  The  amazing  bulk  of  ammonia  locked  up  in  the  land  itself  could  not  be 
taken  up  by  plants,  and  would  therefore  remain  in  a  form  unavailable  for  vegetation,  unless 
the  management  of  soil  tended  to  release  such  manuring  matter,  and  bring  it  within  reach 
of  the  roots.  He  had  calculated,  from  data  furnished  by  some  rich  loamy  land  of  tertiary 
drift,  that  the  soil  within  available  depths  contained  ammonia  at  the  rate  of  one  ton  (equal 

11 


162  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

to  six  tons  of  guano)  per  acre.  This  was  a  stock  of  wealth  which  would  repay  the  most 
active  measures  being  taken  for  its  release  and  distribution. — British  Farmer. 

In  a  lecture  before  the  Massachusetts  Legislative  Agricultural  Society,  in  the  spring  of 
the  present  year,  by  Dr.  A.  A.  Hayes,  of  Boston,  substantially  the  same  views  were  ex- 
pressed. Dr.  Hayes  has  found,  by  experiment,  that  the  quantity  of  ammonia  contained  in 
the  majority  of  the  soils  of  New  England  is  very  great,  far  beyond  what  is  generally  sup- 
posed. In  the  state  in  which  it  exists,  however,  it  is  unavailable  for  fertilizing  purposes, 
being  combined  with  vegetable  and  organic  acids,  and  forming  neutral  and  insoluble  salts. 
In  applying  manures,  therefore,  to  lands  in  this  state,  the  object  sought  for  it  is  to  produce 
&  fermentation,  or  a  chemical  action,  which  will  break  up  the  ammonia  compounds  in  the 
soil,  and  render  them  available  for  the  support  of  vegetation. 

The  type  of  manures  best  calculated  to  effect  this  is  dried  blood  or  animal  matter,  which, 
under  nearly  all  circumstances,  when  exposed  to  ordinary  temperatures  and  moisture,  fer- 
ments most  powerfully. — Editor  of  Agricultural  Year-Book. 

Use  of  Nitrate  of  Soda  as  a  Fertilizer. 

THE  Royal  (English)  Agricultural  Society  having  offered  a  prize  for  a  manure  equal  to 
guano,  at  a  cost  of  £5  a  ton,  Mr.  Pusey  has  shown  that  the  conditions  are  satisfied  by  nitrate 
of  soda,  and  at  a  charge  less  than  that  specified.  He  says,  in  illustration,  that  forty-six 
acres  of  land,  if  cropped  with  barley,  and  dressed  with  seventeen  hundredsweight  of  nitrate, 
would  yield  an  increase  of  eighty  sacks  beyond  the  quantity  usually  obtained.  A  cargo  of 
this  fertilizer  was  brought  to  England  in  1820,  but  for  want  of  a  purchaser,  was  thrown 
overboard.  A  second  importation  took  place  in  1830;  and  from  that  date  up  to  1850,  the 
quantity  brought  from  Peru,  where  the  supply  is  inexhaustible,  was  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty  tons;  value,  £5,000,000.  With  the  price  reduced  to 
£8  a  ton,  Mr.  Pusey  observes — "  Our  farmers  might  obtain  from  their  own  farms  the  whole 
foreign  supply  of  wheat,  without  labor,  and  with  but  a  few  months'  outlay  of  capital.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  no  failures  will  yet  occur  before  we  obtain  a  complete  mastery  over  this 
powerful  substance ;  but  I  am  confident  that,  as  California  has  been  explored  in  our  day,  so 
vast  a  reservoir  of  nitrogen — the  main  desideratum  for  the  worn-out  fields  of  Europe — can- 
not be  left  within  a  few  miles  of  the  sea,  passed  almost  in  sight  by  our  steamers,  yet  still 
nearly  inaccessible,  at  the  foot  of  the  Andes." 

Experiments  with  Manures. 

FROM  the  Report  of  the  Superintendent  of  the  Model  Farm  of  the  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  Union  Agricultural  Society,  published  in  the  ''Southern  Farmer,"  we  extract  the 
following  results  of  some  experiments  on  oats  with  various  manures : — 

200  pounds  of  Peruvian  guano  gave  2240  pounds  of  oats  per  acre,  say  70  bushels. 

250  pounds  of  De  Burg's  superphosphate  of  lime  gave  1712  pounds,  say  53£  bushels. 

227  pounds  bone-dust  gave  1676  pounds,  say  52^  bushels. 

An  acre  without  any  manure  gave  1140  pounds,  say  35 £  bushels. 

On  another  portion  of  the  field,  which  contained  30  acres,  where  the  soil  was  of  "  a  slightly 
lighter  texture,"  100  pounds  of  Peruvian  guano  gave  1672  pounds  per  acre,  say  52  bushels. 

183  pounds  of  Chilian  guano  gave  800  pounds,  say  25  bushels. 

100  Bounds  of  Mexican  guano  gave  1225  pounds,  say  38J  bushels. 

Experiments  made  last  season  with  artificial  manures  on  carrots,  on  the  State  Farm  of 
Massachusetts,  gave  the  following  results.  The  manure  was  apportioned  according  to  its 
cost,  each  acre  being  dressed  with  twelve  dollars'  worth : — 

Barn-yard  manure 753  pounds  per  acre. 

Guano 660      " 

Potash....*. 628      « 

De  Burg's  superphosphate  of  lime 586      " 

Mapes's  improved  ditto 572 

Reservoir  manure...,  540      " 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  163 

Experiment  with  Nitrate  of  Soda  and  Guano  on  a  Peat-Bog, 

THE  land  on  which  the  following  experiment  was  made,  was  a  peat-bog,  reclaimed  in 
1850,  thoroughly  drained,  and  six  inches  of  clay  applied  over  the  whole  surface ;  the  only 
crops  raised  upon  it  had  been  oats,  turnips,  and  again  oats  sown  out  with  grass.  In  March 
last,  I  sowed  on  one  portion  of  the  new  grass  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  pounds  of  nitrate 
of  soda,  with  one  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  of  salt ;  on  another  portion,  four  hundred  and 
forty-eight  pounds  of  guano ;  and  on  the  remainder  of  the  field  no  manure  was  applied. 

The  nitrate  gave,  per  imperial  acre,  6600  pounds  of  hay,  at $56.00 

Guano  gave  5940  pounds,  value 50.40 

Nothing  gave  3080  pounds,  "    26.13 

Independently  of  the  increase  of  weight  of  hay  from  nitrate,  I  prefer  that  manure  for 
either  new  or  old  grass,  as  it  appears  to  require  little  moisture  to  put  it  down  to  the  roots 
of  the  plants.  A  strong  dew  in  the  course  of  one  night  appeared  sufficient  for  that  purpose, 
and  in  about  thirty-six  hours  after  its  application  the  grass  turned  to  a  luxuriant  dark-green 
color ;  whereas  the  guano  requires  a  good  shower  of  rain  to  put  it  down :  unless  it  gets  such 
fall  of  rain,  it  does  little  good. 

My  trial  of  nitrate  on  oats  and  barley  last  year  leads  me  to  prefer  guano  for  these  crops. 
I  applied  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pounds  of  nitrate  on  one  portion,  and  three  hundred 
and  thirty-six  pounds  of  guano  on  another ;  but  the  oats,  top  dressed  with  nitrate,  kept  a 
blueish  sort  of  color  throughout  the  season,  did  not  ripen  equally,  and  left  the  ear  soft; 
while  those  which  had  guano  ripened  equally,  had  a  harder,  crisper  ear,  and  weighed  better. 
The  land  upon  which  that  experiment  was  made,  had  not  been  previously  cropped,  and  was 
of  a  mossy  loam,  with  a  mixture  of  clay. — JAMES  DYCB  NICOL,  in  Journal  of  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society. 

Experience  in  Land  Drainage. 

THE  London  Agricultural  Gazette  gives  the  following  results  of  the  experience  in  draining 
on  several  of  the  largest  estates  in  Great  Britain : — 

Mr.  G.  Guthrie  states :  During  the  last  thirty  years  I  have  drained  many  thousand  acres  ; 
the  result  in  all  cases  was  highly  satisfactory,  the  tenants  being  generally  willing  to  pay 
6  J  or  7  per  cent,  on  the  expense,  and  the  advantage  to  them,  I  am  aware,  greatly  exceeds 
that  interest.  The  drainage  I  have  adopted  is  the  parallel  system.  For  some  years  I  have 
allowed  no  drainage  under  3J  feet  deep  in  hard  land,  and  in  moss  or  bog,  4J  or  5  feet.  At 
one  time  (twenty  years  ago)  our  drains  were  only  27  or  30  inches ;  but  experience  has  shown 
us  the  great  advantage  of  deeper  drains.  Our  present  drains  are  3  J  feet  deep,  at  24  feet 
distance.  The  direction  of  our  minor  drains  is  with,  the  fall.  We  do  not  regard  the  furrows, 
the  land  in  this  district  being  sown  out  flat.  I  have  used  2-inch  and  2£-inch  pipes  for  minor 
drains,  and  4-inch  to  6-inch  tiles  with  soles  for  leaders.  Collars  or  socket-pipes  have 
not  been  used  in  this  district,  although  I  believe  they  ought  to  be.  We  have  generally 
stones  thrown  out  of  drains,  with  which  we  fix  the  joints  of  pipes  very  firmly.  I  have  not 
tried  the  practice  of  giving  air  at  places  to  drains,  and  do  not  consider  it  at  all  necessary. 
The  average  number  of  acres  to  one  outlet  I  cannot  accurately  say ;  perhaps  8,  10,  or  12 
acres,  according  to  circumstances.  In  conclusion,  I  believe  there  is  no  expenditure  of  capital 
more  profitable  than  that  of  drainage. 

The  agent  of  the  estates  of  Lord  Yarborough  states,  that  until  within  the  last  four  years 
the  drains  were  put  in  from  16  to  24  inches  from  the  surface ;  but  during  the  last  four  years 
a  great  part  of  these  have  been  taken  up,  and  put  in  not  less  than  3  feet.  No  difference  is 
made  between  arable  and  grass  land.  The  soil  generally  is  clay,  with  the  subsoil  of  the 
same  character ;  where  the  latter  has  sand  veins,  or  is  at  all  gravelly,  a  greater  depth  is 
adopted — in  some  few  cases  they  are  5,  6,  and  even  8  feet  deep,  the  object  being  to  go  wherever 
the  water  is.  On  the  strong  soils,  3  feet  draining  is  found  so  far  to  be  effectual ;  the  system 
is  to  drain  down  each  furrow,  the  lands  being  generally  about  8  yards  wide.  Egg-shaped 
pipes,  2|  inches  by  1£,  without  collars,  have  been  partially  used;  but  open  tiles  (with  sides 


164  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

•where  necessary)  have  been  more  generally  used,  and  are  preferred.     The  average  depth  of 
rain-fall  in  the  neighborhood  is  a  little  over  20  inches. 

Mr.  G.  T.  Bosanquet  gives  the  following  as  the  result  of  his  experience  in  draining ;  he 
says  :  The  result  of  our  drainage  operations  on  all  descriptions  of  land  has  been  most  satis- 
factory. I  believe  nothing  pays  better  than  draining  land.  The  drainage  adopted  has  been 
generally  on  the  parallel  system ;  but  that  must  depend  a  good  deal  upon  the  nature  of  the 
ground  and  the  fall.  The  prevailing  depth  of  the  drain  is  about  3  feet.  I^have  not  laid 
drains  quite  so  near  each  other  on  grass  land  as  on  arable.  The  direction  of  the  minor  drains 
has  been  generally  with  the  fall.  I  have  found  2-inch  pipes  answer  best  for  the  minor 
drains ;  I  would  not  advise  that  smaller  should  be  used  on  any  ground.  I  have  never  used 
collars,  as  I  think  they  would  have  a  tendency  to  displace  the  pipes  and  destroy  the  regu- 
larity of  the  channel.  I  have  not  sufficient  experience  to  say  if  there  is  any  benefit  by 
giving  air  at  places  to  either  main  or  minor  drains.  The  average  number  of  acres  dis- 
charging at  the  several  outlets  is  about  3  acres,  sometimes  more.  I  am  quite  convinced, 
from  experience,  that  nothing  pays  better  than  draining,  if  well  done,  and  the  drains  are 
not  placed  at  too  great  a  distance.  I  have  one  field  on  my  estate  which  was  utterly  worth- 
less until  drained :  it  would  not  grow  the  poorest  grass ;  it  now  produces  good  crops  of  corn 
and  roots.  But  I  strongly  advise  that  whatever  is  done  in  draining  should  be  well  and  effec- 
tually done,  and  that  the  pipes  should  never  be  less  than  2  inches.  I  am  of  opinion,  also, 
that  although  the  water  will  find  its  way  down  to  very  deep  drains,  say  4  or  5  feet,  this  does 
not  obviate  the  necessity  of  close  draining.  We  are  also  less  careful  than  we  ought  to  be  in 
forming  the  outlets. 

Clay-Ball  Draining. 

A  PLAN  for  draining,  entitled  "Clay-Ball  Draining,"  has  been  recently  patented  in  England 
by  Capt.  Norton,  R.  A.,  which  consists  in  using  hard  spherical  balls  of  clay  as  the  draining 
medium.  The  clay  of  which  the  balls  are  made  is  moulded  by  any  convenient  machinery, 
preserving  the  spherical  form  as  accurately  as  possible.  When  dried,  the  balls  are  burned  to 
a  crystalline  hardness,  so  that  when  deposited  in  the  earth  they  will  literally  endure  for 
ages.  The  size  or  diameter  of  these  drainage  balls  must  be  varied  to  suit  different  circum- 
stances ;  but  a  diameter  of  four  or  five  inches  is  the  average  size  preferred.  Such  balls,  when 
laid  in  drain  cuts  in  the  soil,  allow  the  surface  water  to  descend  and  pass  freely  through  or 
between  them,  and  thus  get  clear  off  the  land.  Spherical  stones  would  obviously  perform  just 
as  effectively  as  the  clay  balls,  but  the  latter  are  preferred,  for  the  reason  that  in  them  absolute 
sphericity  may  be  secured,  while  that  would  be  impossible  even  with  the  use  of  the  smoothest 
and  roundest  pebbles. 

Fig.  1.  is  a  longitudinal  section  of  a  portion  of  a  field  drain  of  this  kind,  &ndjig.  2  is  a  cor- 
responding transverse  section.     A  rectangular  cut  A  is  first  made  in  the  soil  B  in  any  conve- 
nient manner ;  and  when  a  sufficient  depth  has  been  attained,  the  bottom  of  the  recess  is  le- 
velled off,  and  made  hard  and  substantial  as  a  base,  by  laying  thereon  lengths  of  slate  or  other 
Fig.  if  pig.  2.  conveniently  and  economically  available 

material  C,  filling  up  the  entire  width  of 
the  drain  cut.  In  this  condition  of  the 
work,  a  bottom  row  or  layer  of  spherical 
clay  balls  D  is  laid  into  the  drain,  the 
two  diameters  of  each  transverse  pair 
of  balls  being  in  the  same  transverse 
line  of  the  drain  as  indicated  in.  fig.  2. 
This  drain  is  supposed  to  be  eight  inches 
in  width,  so  that  two  clay  balls,  each 
four  inches  in  diameter,  suffice  to  fill  it. 
When  the  entire  base  of  the  drain  is  thus 
filled  in,  a  second  layer  of  balls  E  is  set  above  the  lower  layer,  the  diametrical  lines  of  the 
balls  coinciding  vertically  in  the  manner  shown  in^.  2.  This  completes  the  draining  medium, 
and  the  two  layers  of  balls  are  then  covered  over  with  a  cover  layer  of  slates  F,  to  carry  the 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY. 


165 


earth  thrown  in  above  in  levelling  and  making  fair  the  field.  It  is  preferred  that  the  sod-side 
of  the  superincumbent  earth  should  be  downwards.  This  relation  of  the  balls  gives  a  clear 
thoroughfare  for  the  drainage  water  through  the  central  space  enclosed  by  each  set  of  four 
balls,  as  in  fig.  2 ;  at  the  same  time  there  are  three  half  passages  or  thoroughfares  for  the 
water  at  the  bottom  and  top  of  the  ball  layer,  and  one  half  passage  on  each  side.  Hence 
there  is  always  a  free  passage  for  the  water  to  drain  down,  and  percolate  through  the  enclosed 
spaces  due  to  the  contour  of  the  balls,  getting  clear  away  along  the  slate  base  of  the  drain 
channel  to  the  main  outfall. 

Captain  Norton  illustrates  his  contrivance  under  several  forms,  the  balls  being  variously 
disposed  in  the  drain  cuts,  while,  in  one  instance,  three  several  sizes  of  balls  are  used  in  com- 
bination. Drains  made  in  this  way  always  present  a  full,  free  passage  for  the  descent  of  the 
water,  as  the  spaces  between  the  balls  can  never  be  diminished  except  by  the  introduction  of 
other  solid  bodies ;  and  the  roundness  of  the  balls  is  itself  a  point  in  favor  of  the  avoidance 
of  such  foreign  deposits ;  like  the  links  of  a  chain,  the  balls  will  always  conform  to  the  ac- 
tual surface  of  the  ground,  and  no  sinking  can  effect  any  serious  dislocation,  or  prevent  the 
drainage  from  being  full  and  free. 

Analysis  of  the  Ashes  of  Oak  and  Pine  Leaves,  and  their  Comparison  with 
those  of  Cotton  and  Corn. 

AT  the  request  of  the  Black  Oak  Agricultural  Society,  of  South  Carolina,  Prof.  C.  U.  Shep- 
herd has  recently  analyzed  the  ashes  of  the  oak  and  pine  leaves,  together  with  those  of  the 
cotton  and  corn  plants,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining  the  value  of  the  former  as  a  manure  for 
the  latter,  so  far  as  the  mineral  ingredients  of  the  oak  and  pine  leaves  are  concerned.  From 
the  published  report  of  Prof.  S.  we  derive  the  following  particulars : — 

"  The  agreement  Hfetween  the  ashes  of  the  pine  and  of  the  oak  leaves,  in  regard  to  soluble 
and  insoluble  substances,  is  striking ;  the  ratio  being  as  one  to  twelve  in  pine-leaf  litter,  and 
as  one  to  thirteen  in  that  of  the  oak ;  while  a  very  remarkable  contrast  subsists  between  their 
contents  of  carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia  and  of  silica.  The  carbonate  of  lime  and  of 
magnesia  in  one  hundred  pounds  of  oak-leaves  is  six  times  greater  than  in  the  same  weight  of 
pine-leaf,  while  the  silica  of  the  latter  surpasses  that  of  the  former  by  two  and  a  half  times. 
In  all  other  respects  the  difference  between  the  two  species  of  ash  are  inconspicuous. 

"  Prof.  Shepherd  states  that  one  hundred  pounds  of  pine  or  oak  leaves  contain  but  one- 
third  the  quantity  of  the  highly-important  alkaline  carbonate  requisite  for  one  hundred  pounds 
either  of  cotton  or  corn ;  but  as  this  ingredient  is  afforded  to  some  extent  by  all  clayey  soils, 
through  the  gradual  decomposition  of  the  feldspar  and  mica  they  contain,  it  seems  probable 
that  this  amount  of  leaf-litter  would  be  adequate  to  maintain  the  soil  in  fertility  for  both  of 
these  crops.* 

Table,  showing  (in  pound*  and  decimals  of  pounds)  the  Mineral  Constituent*  in  60  pound*  Indian  Corn, 
in  60  pound*  Pine-Leave*,  and  in  60  pounds  Oak-Leave*. 


Corn. 

Pine- 
leaves. 

Oak- 

IfVTffc 

Potash  

Ibs. 
0-1111 

Ibs. 
0-0596 

Ibs. 
0-800 

Phosphate  lime  and  magnesia..... 
Carbonate  lime  and  magnesia  
Silica  

0-1766 
1-0265 
0-2192 

0-1566 
0-1987 
0-5647 

0-223 
1-172 
0-267 

Sulphate  potash  

0-0127 

0-0082 

0-042 

"  One  hundred  pounds  (or  rather  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds,  making  allowance  for  hygro- 
metric  moisture  in  the  atmospherically  dry  leaf)  of  either  of  these  kinds  of  leaf-litter  will 
fully  supply  the  phosphates  indispensable  for  the  same  weight  of  cotton  and  corn  ;  while  of 
the  less  important  carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia,  it  will  (except  in  the  case  of  the  pine- 
leaf  for  cotton)  generally  give  a  large  surplus.  In  the  one  hundred  pounds  of  pine-leaves, 


*  Still  it  might  be  useful  to  add,  along  with  this  quantity,  all  the  wood-ashes  at  command  upon  the  plantation. 
These  usually  contain  about  fifteen  per  cent,  carbonate  potash. 


166  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

there  are  three  times  too  much  of  organized  silica  for  corn,  and  forty  for  that  of  cotton.  In 
the  one  hundred  pounds  of  oak-leaves,  there  is  only  a  sufficiency  of  the  same  element  for  the 
corn,  but  eleven  times  more  than  is  needed  for  the  cotton.  Of  sulphate  of  potash  and  the 
chlorides,  the  one  hundred  pounds  of  leaves  of  either  kind  will  supply  all  that  is  demanded 
by  either  crop,  in  like  quantity. 

k 

On  the  Absorption  of  Nitrogen  by  Plants. 

A  DEBATE  of  great  interest  has  been  entered  into  in  the  French  Academy  between  the  cele- 
brated agricultural  chemist,  M.  Boussingault,  and  M.  Ville,  respecting  the  absorption  of  ni- 
trogen by  plants,  which  has  been  conducted  with  unusual  interest  and  some  acrimony. 

The  question  discussed  by  these  gentlemen  was  this :  May  we  ascertain  whether  or  not  vege- 
tables possess  the  faculty  of  directly  absorbing  to  their  advantage  a  portion  of  this  gaseous 
azote  which  forms  the  greatest  part  of  the  atmosphere  ?  The  importance  of  the  question  is 
evident :  if  the  free  and  gaseous  azote  may  directly  enter  into  vegetable  organisms  without 
passing  through  some  intermediate  combination,  the  veritable  source  of  agricultural  wealth  is 
in  the  atmosphere ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  before  the  azote  commingles  with  the  plant,  it  must 
unite  itself  to  some  other  element,  the  agricultural  chemist  must  turn  his  attention  to  the 
search  of  some  new  and  better  method  of  favoring  the  slow  and  difficult  formation  of  combi- 
nations of  azote.  In  both  of  the  hypotheses  the  importance  of  manure  remains  incontestable, 
but  their  functions  will  not  be  so  important.  If  azote  gas  is  not  capable  of  assimilation,  if  it 
is  simply  destined  to  temper  the  action  of  the  oxygen  with  which  it  is  mixed  in  the  air,  it 
is  evident  how  important  organic  matters  are  in  manures,  bringing  as  they  do  the  elements 
of  the  azotic  principles  elaborated  by  the  plants.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  azote  of  air  is  ab- 
sorbed during  the  act  of  vegetation,  if  it  becomes  in  this  way  an  integral  part  of  the  vege- 
table, then  the  mineral  substances  of  manures  contain  the  greatest  part  of  their  fertilizing  pro- 
perties ;  for  the  azote  element  would  have  been  abundantly  furnished  by  the  atmospheric  air. 
Why,  then,  has  the  chemist  not  yet  determined  this  important  point,  whether  gaseous  azote  is 
or  is  not  directly  assimilated  by  plants.  The  great  obstacle  lies  in  the  difficulties  of  making 
the  experiment,  which  should  resolve  the  question.  When  the  chemist  would  place  a  plant 
under  a  definitive  regimen,  to  ascertain  what  it  obtains  from  the  mineral  kingdom,  whence  it 
extracts  a  portion  of  its  aliment,  it  is  indispensable  to  measure,  to  weigh,  to  analyze  every 
thing — the  air  it  respires,  the  water  which  moistens  it,  the  soil  which  upholds.  M.  Boussin- 
gault and  M.  Ville  use  different  methods,  of  which  they  are  tenacious.  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  M.  Boussingault  exhibits  a  great  deal  of  art  in  the  process  he  used  in  his  experiments. 
He  first  abandoned  the  ridiculous  pretension — commonly  entertained  before  him — of  measur- 
ing by  default  the  azote  a  plant  would  have  absorbed  while  it  lived  during  a  certain  time  in  a 
limited  quantity  of  air.  He  substituted  in  its  stead,  raising  the  plants  in  a  completely  sterile 
soil,  and  comparing  the  composition  of  the  seed  and  the  composition  of  the  small  crops  so  ob- 
tained at  the  expense  of  air  and  water  alone.  A  handful  of  earth  previously  calcined,  and 
watered  with  distilled  water,  evidently  can  furnish  no  organic  matter  to  the  plant  which  is 
developed  there ;  and  consequently,  if,  after  the  crop  is  gathered,  the  chemical  analysis  shows 
it  contains  more  azote  than  the  grains  sown  contained,  it  is  manifest  that  this  azote  came  by 
the  air :  this  result  M.  Boussingault  obtained  by  experimenting  with  the  seed  of  clover  and 
of  peas. 

But  in  communicating  this  result  to  the  world,  M.  Boussingault  did  not  pretend  to  do  more 
than  to  exhibit  the  bare  fact.  He  made  no  deduction  to  demonstrate  that  it  came  by  the  air 
in  its  normal  state,  or  by  the  rare  ammoniacal  vapors  from  which  the  atmosphere  is  never  ex- 
empt. M.  Ville  did  not  imitate  his  silence.  He  studied  the  question,  and  found  the  azote  of 
the  crops  was  ten,  twenty,  thirty  times  greater  than  the  azote  of  the  seed.  However,  M. 
Boussingault,  pursuing  his  researches,  (using  a  different  method,)  attained  diametrically  op- 
posite results,  or  results  which  are  completely  negative.  To  avoid  any  objection  which  might 
be  urged  on  the  ground  of  the  permanent  communication  of  the  apparatus  with  the  external 
air,  he  planted  the  objects  of  his  experiments  in  a  completely  closed  vase,  and  furnished  them 
in  the  beginning  with  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  and  of  water  necessary  to  their  alimenta- 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  167 

tion  during  the  whole  course  of  their  development.  The  apparatus  was  thus  made  extremely 
simple,  being  nothing  but  a  large  glass  globe,  capable  of  holding  some  sixty  or  eighty  quarts ; 
he  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  globe  (after  having  made  it  sufficiently  humid)  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  pumice-stone,  pounded,  which  had  been  washed,  heated  red  hot,  and,  after  it  had 
cooled,  mixed  with  the  ashes  of  barn-yard  manure  and  of  seed  similar  to  those  about  to  be 
planted.  The  opening  of  the  globe  was  immediately  covered  with  a  cork,  which  was  itself 
covered  with  a  caoutchouc  cap.  Forty-eight  hours  after  this  had  been  done  the  cork  was 
again  removed,  and  enough  pure  water  added  to  bathe  the  base  of  the  pumice-stone,  which 
had  been  disposed  in  a  heap.  Then  the  seeds  were  planted — they  being  inserted  in  a  glass 
tube,  which  guided  them  to  the  place  where  they  should  lie.  After  the  seeds  were  introduced, 
the  tube  was  again  closed,  and,  when  the  seed  had  germinated  sufficiently,  the  confined  atmo- 
sphere was  charged  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  by  substituting  in  the  place  of  the  cork  a  second 
globe  superposed  on  the  first,  having  about  one-tenth  of  the  capacity  of  the  first,  and  con- 
taining the  acid  gas  prepared  beforehand ;  the  juncture  between  them  was  then  filled  with 
sealing-wax,  and  half  of  the  apparatus  was  buried  in  the  ground.  The  experiment  was  now 
abandoned  to  itself,  and  the  experimenter  had  little  more  to  do  besides  to  observe  the  plants' 
progress,  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportune  moment  to  transfer  them  to  his  laboratory.  The 
result  of  M.  Boussingault's  experiments  is,  that  there  is  no  azote  fixed  in  an  appreciable  quan- 
tity during  the  course  of  the  vegetation :  the  azote  of  the  seed  passed  into  the  plant,  the  azote 
of  the  air  remained  fixed  in  the  air.  M.  Ville  urges  that  a  positive  result  is  of  more  import- 
ance than  a  mere  negative  result ;  that  he  has,  to  sustain  his  position,  the  gramme  of  azote 
which  he  discovered  in  the  plants  he  reared  on  a  perfectly  sterile  soil ;  besides  that,  during 
his  experiments,  he  ascertained  the  circumstances  in  which  M.  Boussingault  placed  his  plants 
are  peculiarly  unfavorable  to  the  health  of  the  plant,  and  to  the  exercise  of  the  function  of 
assimilating :  they  pervert  the  function  whose  office  they  both  are  studying. 

This  discussion,  although  no  positive  results  were  attained,  will  nevertheless  be  read  with 
interest. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  a  communication  previously  presented  to  the  French  Acade- 
my by  M.  Ville,  on  the  absorption  of  nitrogen : — 

After  stating  that  it  has  often  been  asked  if  air,  and  especially  nitrogen,  contributes  to  the 
nutrition  of  plants,  and,  as  regards  the  latter,  that  this  question  has  always  been  answered 
negatively,  the  author  remarks  that  it  is,  however,  known  that  plants  do  not  draw  all  their 
nitrogen  from  the  soil,  the  crops  produced  every  year  in  manured  land  giving  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  nitrogen  than  is  contained  in  the  soil  itself.  The  question  which  he  has  proposed 
to  himself  for  solution  is,  Whence,  then,  comes  the  excess  of  nitrogen  which  the  crops  con- 
tain, and,  in  a  more  general  manner,  the  nitrogen  of  plants,  which  the  soil  has  not  furnished  ? 
He  divides  his  inquiry  into  the  three  following  parts : — 

First.  Inquiry  into  and  determination  of  the  proportion  of  the  ammonia  contained  in  the 
air  of  the  atmosphere. 

Second.  Is  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  absorbed  by  plants  ? 

Third.  Influence  on  vegetation  of  ammonia  added  to  the  air. 

1.  The  author  remarks,  that  since  the  observation  of  M.  Theodore  de  Saussure,  that  the  air 
is  mixed  with  ammoniacal  vapors,  three  attempts  have  been  made  to  determine  the  proportion 
of  ammonia  in  the  air ;  a  million  of  kilogrammes  of  the  air,  according  to  M.  Grayer,  contain 
0-333  kil.  ammonia ;  according  to  Mr.  Kemp,  3-880  kil. ;  according  to  M.  Fre*senius,  of  the  air 
of  the  day,  0-098  kil. ;  and  of  night  air,  0-169  kil.     He  states  that  he  has  shown  the  cause  of 
these  discrepancies,  and  proved  that  the  quantity  of  ammonia  contained  in  the  air  is  22-417 
grms.  for  a  million  of  kilogrammes  of  the  air,  and  that  the  quantity  oscillates  between  17-14 
grms.  and  29-43  grms. 

2.  The  author  states  that,  though  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  is  absorbed  by  plants,  the  ammonia 
of  the  air  contributes  nothing  to  this  absorption.     Not  that  ammonia  is  not  an  auxiliary  of 
vegetation,  but  the  air  contains  scarcely  0-0000000224,  and  in  this  proportion  its  effects  are 
inappreciable.     These  conclusions  are  founded  upon  a  great  number  of  experiments  in  which 
the  plants  lived  at  the  expense  of  the  air,  without  deriving  any  thing  from  the  soil.     For  the 
present,  he  confines  himself  to  laying  down  these  two  conclusions :  1.  The  nitrogen  of  the  air 


168  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

is  absorbed  by  plants,  by  the  cereals,  as  by  all  others.  2.  The  ammonia  of  the  atmosphere 
performs  no  appreciable  part  in  the  life  of  plants  when  vegetation  takes  place  in  a  limited  at- 
mosphere. After  describing  the  apparatus  by  means  of  which  he  carried  on  his  experiments 
on  the  vegetation  of  plants  placed  in  a  soil  deprived  of  organic  matter,  and  the  manner  in 
which  the  experiments  were  conducted,  he  adduces  the  results  of  these  experiments  in  proof 
of  the  above  conclusions. 

3.  With  reference  to  the  influence  of  ammonia  on  vegetation,  the  author  states  that,  if  am- 
monia  be  added  to  the  air,  vegetation  becomes  remarkably  active.  In  the  proportion  of  four 
ten-thousandths,  the  influence  of  this  gas  shows  itself  at  the  end  of  eight  or  ten  days,  and 
from  this  time  it  manifests  itself  with  continually  increasing  intensity.  The  leaves,  which  at 
first  were  of  a  pale-green,  assume  a  deeper  and  deeper  tint,  and  for  a  time  become  almost 
black ;  their  petals  are  long  and  upright,  and  their  surface  wide  and  shining.  In  short,  when 
vegetation  has  arrived  at  its  proper  period,  the  crop  is  found  far  beyond  that  of  the  same 
plants  growing  in  pure  air,  and,  weight  for  weight,  they  contain  twice  as  much  nitrogen.  Be- 
sides these  general  effects,  there  are  others  which  are  more  variable,  which  depend  upon  par- 
ticular conditions,  but  which  are  equally  worthy  of  interest.  In  fact,  by  means  of  ammonia 
we  can  not  only  stimulate  vegetation,  but,  further,  we  can  modify  its  course,  delay  the  action 
of  certain  functions,  or  enlarge  the  development  and  the  modification  of  certain  organs.  The 
author  further  remarks,  that,  if  its  use  be  ill  directed,  it  may  cause  accidents.  Those  which 
have  occurred  in  the  course  of  his  experiments  appear  to  him  to  throw  an  unexpected  light 
upon  the  mechanism  of  the  nutrition  of  plants.  They  have  at  least  taught  him  at  the  expense 
of  what  care  ammonia  may  become  an  auxiliary  of  vegetation.  These  experiments,  which 
were  made  under  the  same  conditions  as  those  upon  the  absorption  of  nitrogen,  are  then  de- 
scribed, and  their  numerical  results  given. 

To  the  conclusions  already  stated,  the  author  adds  that  there  are  periods  to  be  selected  for 
the  employment  of  ammonia  during  which  this  gas  produces  different  effects.  If  we  com- 
mence its  use  when  several  months  intervene  before  the  flowering  season  of  the  "plants,  it  pro- 
duces no  disturbance ;  they  follow  the  ordinary  course  of  vegetation.  If  its  use  be  commenced 
at  the  time  of  flowering,  this  function  is  stopped  or  delayed.  The  plant  covers  itself  with 
leaves ;  and  if  the  flowering  takes  place,  all  the  flowers  are  barren. 


Chemical  Investigation  of  the  Phenomena  of  Vegetation. 

THE  following  are  the  details  of  experiments  recently  presented  to  the  French  Academy 
by  M.  Boussingault,  on  the  phenomena  of  vegetation,  the  researches  described  being  mainly 
undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  question,  whether  plants  obtain  their  supplies  of 
nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere  directly,  by  absorption: — 

On  the  17th  of  May,  1854,  the  author  sowed  three  seeds  of  the  garden-cress  (Cresson 
aUnoisa)  in  a  flower-pot  containing  three  kilogrammes  of  earth ;  and  at  the  same  time  three 
similar  seeds  were  placed  in  the  same  quantity  of  earth,  enclosed  in  a  glass  vessel  capable  of 
containing  68  litres,  which  was  then  closed  so  as  to  exclude  all  air.  On  the  16th  of  June, 
the  plants  in  the  closed  space  were  twice  as  large  as  those  in  the  flower-pot,  which  had 
remained  in  the  open  air.  On  the  15th  of  August,  the  plants  were  collected :  the  enclosed 
plants  had  flowered  normally,  and  bore  the  usual  quantity  of  ripe  fruit. 

In  the  second  series  of  experiments,  the  seeds  were  placed  in  a  soil  which  had  previously 
been  calcined.  To  this  the  ashes  of  various  plants  were  added.  The  plants  vegetated  in  an 
air-tight  case  of  plate  glass,  capable  of  containing  about  104  litres.  Air  was  then  constantly 
drawn  in  by  an  aspirator,  after  passing  over  pumice-stone  moistened  with  sulphuric  acid. 
By  a  simple  arrangement  of  the  apparatus,  carbonic  acid  was  allowed  to  enter  the  receiver 
in  such  quantity,  that  the  air  carried  with  it  from  2  to  3  per  cent,  of  this  gas.  The  pumice- 
stone  in  which  the  seeds  were  placed  was  contained  in  pots  containing  4  decilitres ;  the  pots 
being  previously  heated  to  redness.  The  ashes  were  prepared  with  particular  care,  in  order 
that  no  carbon  should  be  mixed  with  them.  The  carbon,  which  is  of  no  consequence  in  itself, 
would  possess  an  influence  if  nitrogenous  bodies  were  contained  in  the  ashes.  The  amount 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  169 

of  nitrogen  in  the  ashes  was  carefully  determined :  they  contain  cyanides.     The  author  found 
in  one  gramme  of  the  ashes  of 

Meadow  hay 5  milligrammes  of  nitrogen. 

Ears  of  corn 5-8          " 

Peas 3-1         « 

Oats  (grain) £5 

Couch-grass *>5 

The  mixed  ashes  mentioned  in  the  following  experiments  were  those  obtained  by  the  com- 
bustion of  the  stems  and  leaves  of  beans  and  lupines:  1  grin,  of  these  ashes  contained  0-1 
miiligrm.  of  nitrogen.  Besides  this,  the  washed  ashes  of  stable  manure  were  frequently 
added.  The  seeds  of  beans  and  lupines  employed  in  the  experiment  contained  the  following 
quantities  of  nitrogen:  dwarf  beans,  4-475;  lupines,  5-820  per  cent.  The  experiment  lasted 
two  months  and  a  week.  A  seed  weighing  0-337  grins.,  and  consequently  containing  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  stated  below,  was  sown  on  May  12,  1854.  The  soil  consisted  of  pumice- 
stone,  to  which  0-05  grm.  of  mixed  ashes  were  added.  On  July  19th,  the  plant  had  eleven 
leaves,  and  the  cotyledons  were  withered.  In  this  experiment,  37,000  litres  of  air  were 
passed  through  the  apparatus  in  which  the  plant  was  enclosed.  The  result  of  the  first 
experiment  was  as  follows :  In  this,  as  in  all  the  other  experiments,  A  represents  the  amount 
of  nitrogen  found  in  the  plant  and  in  the  soil  at  the  conclusion  of  the  experiment,  and  B  the 
nitrogen  contained  in  the  seed  from  which  the  plant  was  raised.  In  this  case  no  nitrogen 
was  taken  up  by  the  plant: — 

A  ==          ..          0-0187  grm. 

B=i 0-0196     " 

Loss  of  nitrogen  during  growth  = 0-0009    " 

Vegetation  of  a  Sean  in  two  months  and  ten  days. — The  seed  weighed  0-720  grm.  It  was 
sown  May  14,  1854:  0-01  grm.  of  mixed,  and  5  gnns.  of  washed  ashes,  were  added  to  the 
soil.  On  June  22d,  the  plant  had  six  normal  dark-green  leaves.  The  seed-lobes  were  strong 
and  very  fleshy ;  they  had  withered  on  July  2d.  The  plant  began  to  bloom  on  July  20th, 
when  these  leaves  had  fallen  from  the  stem.  On  July  25th  the  plant  bore  four  open  flowers, 
twelve  fully-developed  leaves,  of  a  pale-green  color,  and  three  young  dark-green  leaves :  the 
stem  was  23  centims.  in  height.  The  plant,  dried  on  the  water-bath,  weighed  2  grms. 
During  its  growth,  41,500  litres  of  air  had  passed  through  the  apparatus.  No  nitrogen  was 
absorbed. 

A  = 0-0325  grm. 

B  = 0-0322     " 

Gain  in  nitrogen  = 0-0003     " 

Two  Beans  vegetated  for  three  months  and  a  week. — The  two  seeds  weighed  1-510  grm.  They 
were  sown  on  May  12th.  The  soil  had  added  to  it  0-3  of  mixed,  and  8  grms.  of  washed  ashes. 
On  July  17th,  the  plants  had  twenty-six  leaves  and  thirteen  flowers.  On  the  25th,  there  were 
four  small,  dark-green  pods,  and  the  leaves  were  very  pale.  On  the  10th  of  August,  two  of 
the  pods  were  fully  developed;  they  contained  three  well-formed  seeds,  nearly  as  large  as 
those  from  which  the  plants  were  grown ;  they  weighed  7  centigrms.  The  dried  plants 
weighed  5-15  grms.  During  the  experiment,  55,500  litres  of  air  passed  through  the  appa- 
ratus. Result: — 

A  = 0-0666  grm. 

B  = 0-0676    " 

Loss  = 0-0010    " 

In  this  case,  also,  there  was  no  absorption  of  nitrogen. 

In  the  following  experiments,  all  the  preceding  arrangements,  as  regards  the  soil,  the 
addition  of  ashes  and  water,  were  retained ;  but  the  pots  in  which  the  plants  were  grown 
were  placed  so  that  the  wind  could  not  move  their  leaves,  while  the  plants  were  sheltered 
from  rain  by  a  glass  apparatus.  They  stood  upon  a  balcony,  10  metres  from  the  ground. 

A  Bean  vegetated  for  three  and  a  half  months  in  the  open  air. — The  seed,  which  weighed  0.78 


170  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

grms.,  was  sown  on  June  27th.     Manure  ashes  were  added  to  the  soil.     On  October  12th,  the 
plant  bore  one  pod,  containing  a  single  imperfect  seed.     Result: — 

A  = 0-0380  grm. 

B  = v 0-0349    " 

Gain  = 0-0031    " 

Vegetation  of  Oats  three  months  and  a  half  in  the  open  air. — The  stalk  bore  grains.  Four 
grains  of  oats,  weighing  0-151  grm.,  were  sown  on  May  20,  1852.  Manure  ashes  were  added 
to  the  soil.  On  September  1st,  the  plants  had  from  six  to  nine  leaves,  and  each  of  them  a 
lateral  shoot.  The  straws  were  very  straight,  find  each  bore  a  ripe,  well-formed,  but  very 
small  seed.  The  five  seeds  together  weighed  two  centigrms.  The  dry  plants  weighed  0-67 
grm.  Result: — 

A== 0-0051  grm. 

B  = 0-0041    " 

Gain= 0-0010    " 

Vegetation  of  a  dwarf  Bean  in  two  and  a  half  months. — The  plant  was  watered  with  water 
saturated  with  carbonic  acid.  The  seed  weighed  0-655  grm. ;  sown  May  17,  1853  ;  manure 
ashes  added  to  the  soil.  On  July  9th  the  plant  had  seven  expanded  flowers.  On  August 
20th  the  flowers  had  produced  no  fruit.  The  stalk  was  33  centims.  in  height,  and  bore  15 
leaves :  the  cotyledons  and  seed-lobes  had  withered,  but  still  adhered.  The  plant  was  strong, 
and  weighed  2-72  grms.  Result: — 

A  = 0-0270  grm. 

B  = 0-0293     " 

Loss  = 0-0023    " 

Vegetation  of  two  Lupines  in  two  months. — The  two  seeds  weighed  0-630  grm. :  they  were 
planted  June  30, 1854.  2  grms.  of  washed  ashes  were  added  to  the  soil.  On  September  5th, 
each  lupine  bore  eight  leaves:  the  cotyledons  were  withered:  the  plants  11  centims.  high: — 

A  = 0-0387  grm. 

B= 0-0367    " 

Gain=  0-0020    " 

Vegetation  of  Cress  in  two  months. — Seeds  were  produced.  The  seed  weighed  0-50  grm., 
and  was  sown  on  July  15,  1854.  The  soil  had  an  addition  of  0-1  grm.  of  mixed,  and  1  grm. 
of  washed  ashes.  The  water  given  to  it  was  saturated  with  carbonic  acid.  The  seed-leaves 
were  evolved  on  July  24th,  and  normal  leaves  appeared  on  the  30th.  On  August  6th,  the 
seed-leaves  were  withered:  they  were  taken  off  and  preserved.  The  plants  began  to  flower 
on  August  18th.  The  leaves  were  very  small.  The  flowering  went  on  from  the  18th  to  the 
28th  of  August:  the  flower-leaves  became  dry  in  proportion  as  the  upper  ones  flourished. 
On  September  15th,  each  stalk  bore  a  very  small  seed,  although  the  fruit  differed  but  little  in 
size  from  that  of  garden-cress: — 

A  = 0-0272  grm. 

B  = 0-0259     " 

Gain= 0-0013     " 

These  last  results  of  the  vegetation  of  plants  in  the  open  air  show  that  the  quantity  of 
nitrogen  which  may  be  absorbed  from  the  atmosphere  by  plants  is  not  greater  than  may  be 
accounted  for  by  errors  of  determination.  It  certainly  appears  that  a  little  nitrogen  was 
taken  up.  In  his  memoir,  the  author  further  refers  to  the  question,  whether  this  nitrogen 
is  derived  from  the  minute  organic  bodies  which  float  in  the  air,  or  from  carbonate  of 
ammonia.  He  observed  the  formation  of  green  spots,  produced  by  minute  green  cryp- 
togamia,  on  the  outside  of  the  flower-pots,  which  were  never  seen  on  those  excluded  from  the 
air.  He  also  saw  those  green  filaments  produced  in  rain  water,  which  had  been  collected  at 
the  beginning  of  a  shower,  and  kept  in  a  flask.  Bineau  has  observed  that  these  filaments 
consume  all  the  ammonia  of  rain  water.  The  author  concludes  with  some  observations  on 
the  part  played  in  vegetation  by  the  nitrogenous  body  pre-existing  in  the  seed,  or  that  formed 
by  the  aid  of  the  manure.  He  describes  the  vegetation  of  a  plant  from  seeds  which  weighed 
only  y'y  milligrm.,  and  which  must  therefore  have  contained  a  scarcely  ponderable  quantity 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  171 

of  nitrogen,  and  finds  in  the  vegetation  of  this  plant  a  convincing  proof  that  the  gaseous 
nitrogen  of  the  atmosphere  is  not  assimilated  by  plants. — Comptes  Rendus,  Oct.  2, 1854,  p.  601. 


On  the  Agricultural  Value  of  Gypsum. 

BY    SAMUEL   W.  JOHNSON. 

IT  is  nearly  one  hundred  years  since  gypsum  (plaster  of  Paris,  sulphate  of  lime)  began  to 
acquire  its  agricultural  significance.  Since  that  time  it  has  become  celebrated  on  account  of 
the  successes  that  have  attended  its  use ;  while  the  ill  results,  and  want  of  results,  that  have 
followed  its  application,  have  not  failed  to  make  it  many  enemies.  Franklin,  in  the  United 
States,  and  Schubert  Von  Kleefeld,*  in  Germany,  towards  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
simultaneously  gave  a  great  impulse  to  the  use  of  gypsum.  Within  the  last  seventy  years,  an 
immense  number  of  observations  and  experiments  have  been  made  with  it ;  and  yet  to  this 
day  the  method  and  condition  of  its  action  are  very  imperfectly  understood. 

Before  we  attempt  to  learn  that  which  is  now  unknown,  we  must  first  of  all  carefully  ex- 
amine our  existing  stores  of  knowledge ;  we  must  have  in  mind  all  that  has  been  done  and 
learned  relating  to  the  subject :  we  thus  acquire  points  of  departure,  discover  the  trails  which 
may  guide  us  through  the  maze,  and  save  ourselves  the  trouble  of  repeating  what  has  been 
already  either  well  or  vainly  done. 

What  is  gypsum  f    When  pure  and  unburned,  100  pounds  contain — 

Lime 32J  pounds. 

Sulphuric  acid 46*      " 

Water... 21        " 

100        < 

The  water  is  in  chemical  combination  with  the  sulphate  of  lime.  By  heating  the  com- 
pound, the  21  per  cent,  of  water  is  driven  off;  and  what  remains,  called  burned  or  boiled 
plaster,  consists  in  100  parts  of — 

Lime 41  parts. 

Sulphuric  acid 59    " 

100     « 

The  agricultural  effect  of  burned  and  unburned  plaster,  so  far  as  we  know,  is  precisely  alike ; 
for  when  the  former  is  exposed  to  dews  or  rains,  it  immediately  recovers  its  water,  unless  it 
has  been  too  strongly  heated,  in  which  case  it  attracts  water  slowly  or  not  at  all.  This  at- 
traction of  water  is  in  itself  no  advantage,  for  the  water  attracted  combines  chemically  with 
the  plaster,  and  can  never  be  of  avail  to  the  plant  any  more  than  the  water  already  contained 
in  xinburned  gypsum.  When  the  plaster  has  thus  satisfied  its  chemical  thirst  for  water,  it 
has  no  more  absorbent  power  for  that  substance  than  so  much  ordinary  soil ;  and  hence  the 
notion  that  plaster  helps  vegetation  to  water,  and  is  thus  of  agricultural  value,  is  not  sup- 
ported by  a  particle  of  evidence.  The  advantages  of  burned  plaster  are,  that  it  is  more  easily 
reduced  to  a  fine  powder,  which  facilitates  its  solution  in  water  and  its  distribution  through- 
out the  soil.  Besides,  by  its  use  the  transportation  of  21  per  cent,  of  water  is  saved.  On  the 
other  hand,  unburned  plaster  is  cheaper  by  so  much  as  the  burning  costs  ;  and  burned  plas- 
ter, if  too  strongly  heated,  may  become  a  little  less  readily  soluble  in  water.  This  latter  con- 
sideration is  not  probably  of  much  weight,  so  that  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  on  the  soil 
79  pounds  of  plaster  =  100  pounds  of  unburned  plaster.  Actual  experiments  have  failed  to 
establish  any  superiority  in  the  agricultural  effect  of  one  form  over  the  other,  in  case  both 
were  equally  pulverized. 

The  above  statements  refer  to  pure  sulphate  of  lime ;  but  plaster,  as  quarried  for  agricul- 
tural purposes,  often  contains  several  per  cent,  of  admixture,  as  clay,  carbonate  of  lime,  &c. 
These  are  of  little  consequence  unless  their  quantity  be  quite  considerable.  The  presence  of 
quick-lime  in  calcined  may  perhaps  account  for  the  ill  success  of  some  in  fixing  ammonia 

*  Schubert  of  Clover-field,  so  knighted  by  Joseph  I.,  on  account  of  his  merit  in  extending  the  cultivation 
of  clover. 


172  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

with  help  of  gypsum ;  for,  as  is  well  known,  caustic  lime  expels  ammonia  from  all  substances 
that  contain  it. 

What  crops  are  benefited  by  plaster? — It  were  not  difficult  to  find  authentic  cases  of  plaster 
having  proved  useful  on  almost  every  field  crop,  and  there  is  no  lack  of  instances  in  which  it 
has  failed  on  every  one.  But  the  loose  way  in  which  thfe  statements  of  farmers  are  often 
given  to  the  public  makes  many  of  them  of  little  or  no  value.  It  is  a  well-recognised  fact 
that  circumstances  alter  cases ;  when  we  know  the  circumstances,  we  can  understand  the 
difference  in  the  cases.  Usually,  in  the  records  of  experience  and  experiment  which  we  find 
in  the  papers,  so  few  circumstances  are  taken  into  the  account  that  we  are  actually  no  better 
enlightened  at  the  end  of  the  story  than  before ;  there  is  no  making  out  the  case.  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  statements  with  regard  to  plaster ;  and  hence  we  find  contradiction  upon 
contradiction,  and  contradiction  contradicted.  It  is  not  that  statements  do  not  contain  the 
truth ;  they  may  contain  nothing  but  the  truth,  but  they  rarely  include  the  whole  truth.  This 
is  not  at  present  to  be  entirely  helped,  but  there  is  vast  room  for  improvement.  In  attempt- 
ing, therefore,  to  give  a  summary  of  the  results  of  practice  in  the  use  of  gypsum,  it  is  only 
possible  to  assume  as  facts  those  statements  which  have  been  confirmed  by  the  according 
voices  of  many  observers. 

It  is  the  result  of  all  experience  that  plaster  is  especially  advantageous  to  the  cultivated 
leguminous  plants — viz.  clover,  lucerne,  esparsette,  vetches,  peas,  and  beans.  Its  effects  upon 
clover  in  particular  have  been  remarkable.  European  writers  assert  that  to  gypsum  is  largely 
due  the  introduction  of  clover  into  agriculture,  and  the  many  improvements  that  have 
followed  its  cultivation.  On  other  crops  it  seems  to  be  beneficial  only  by  way  of  exception, 
and  yet  the  exceptions  are  numerous  and  often  striking.  After  the  above-specified  plants, 
tobacco,  cabbage,  rape,  hemp,  flax,  and  buckwheat  are  mentioned  by  Girardin  as  benefited 
by  plaster.  All  writers  agree  that  grain  crops  are  rarely  influenced  by  it.  In  the  United 
States,  gypsum  has  been  reported  useful  on  almost  all  crops.  It  is  a  favorite  application  to 
meadows.  Professor  Norton  used  to  mention  the  case  of  meadows  near  Springfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, on  which  the  mere  application  of  a  few  bushels  of  gypsum  (two  to  three  bushels,  if  I 
remember  rightly)  per  acre  ensured  a  good  yield  of  grass,  where  otherwise  the  growth  was 
very  inferior.  It  is  also  very  common  to  apply  a  handful  of  plaster  to  each  hill  of  corn  and 
potatoes  at  the  time  of  planting,  or  when  the  plants  are  some  inches  high  ;  how  often  profit- 
ably, we  have  no  means  of  knowing.  It  has  indeed  been  found  useful  on  wheat. 

There  is  obviously  need  of  new  trials  on  every  kind  of  crop.  W§  reasonably  hope  one  day  to 
learn  under  what  circumstances  plaster  can  be  useful,  even  to  those  crops  for  which  it  is  not 
usually  recommended.  Undoubtedly,  those  conditions  which  cause  the  occasional  failure  of 
plaster  to  benefit  the  leguminous  plants,  are  closely  related  to  those  which  make  it  more 
generally  unreliable  when  applied  to  other  crops  ;  and  the  conditions  that  make  it  generally 
useful  to  the  former,  make  it  sometimes  valuable  for  the  latter. 

What  part  of  the  plant  is  most  developed  by  plaster  ? — With  regard  to  this  question,  expe- 
rience answers  that  the  increased  development  of  a  plant  consequent  on  the  use  of  gypsum  is 
disproportionately  great  in  the  stem  and  foliage :  the  production  of  seed  is  not  greatly  in- 
creased. This  observation  stands  naturally  connected  with  the  fact  that  plaster  is  most  effi- 
cacious on  those  plants  used  for  fodder  which  yield  a  large  mass  of  vegetation,  and  least  valu- 
able on  the  grains  which  are  cultivated  mostly  for  their  seed.  Tobacco  and  maize,  which 
have  much  foliage  and  stem,  potatoes,  which  develope  much  foliage  under  cultivation,  and 
produce  fleshy  tubers  and  little  seed,  are  further  examples.  A  few  experiments  are  on  record 
in  which  plaster  applied  to  peas  produced  a  decided  increase  of  straw,  but  hardly  affected  the 
amount  of  seed.  Stockhardt,  however,  says  that  the  seed-production  is  usually  increased, 
though  not  proportionately  to  the  straw. 

The  effect  of  gypsum  on  the  quality  of  the  plant. — Whether  crops,  which  have  attained  a  larger 
growth  in  consequence  of  the  use  of  gypsum,  contain  a  larger  proportion  of  sulphuric  acid 
and  lime  than  similar  crops  produced  by  the  same  without  plaster,  is  not  yet  fully  ascer- 
tained, since  experiments  made  to  determine  this  point  have  not  agreed  in  their  results.  New 
investigations  would  easily  settle  this  matter — one  very  important  for  the  theory  of  the  action 
of  plaster. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  173 

It  is  well  known  that  peas  often  refuse  to  cook  soft,  even  after  hours  of  boiling.  The 
reason  of  this  is  not  at  all  understood.  It  has  been  asserted  that  manuring  the  crop  with 
plaster  gives  the  peas  this  quality ;  but  the  contrary  is  also  asserted.  This  is  a  point  to  bo 
studied. 

Influence  of  the  soil  on  the  action  of  plaster. — The  character  of  the  soil  must  necessarily 
greatly  affect  the  operation  of  this  fertilizer.  A  soil  already  rich  in  sulphate  of  lirne  of  course 
cannot  be  greatly  benefited  by  addition  of  more.  A  poor,  light,  or  exhausted  soil,  deficient 
in  mineral  plant-food,  as  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  &c.,  cannot  be  expected  to  become  fertile 
by  treatment  with  plaster ;  for  this  substance  cannot  supply  those  matters  which  are  want- 
ing, and  without  which  no  plant  can  flourish.  Cold,  wet,  heavy,  and  impenetrable  soils  are 
usually  almost  unaffected  by  plaster;  sometimes,  its  use  has  been  apparently  disadvantageous 
on  them.  Porous  soils,  either  sandy  or  loamy,  which  readily  dry  after  rains,  and  which  are 
well  dunged,  experience  the  most  benefit  from  plastering.  Excess  of  moisture  and  poverty  of 
the  soil  are  the  chief  hinderances  to  the  action  of  gypsum.  On  lime  and  chalk  soils  it  is  no  less 
effectual  than  on  others.  In  general,  it  may  be  stated  that  unless  the  other  conditions  of  good 
culture  be  observed  and  provided  for,  the  farmer  who  uses  gypsum  will  "lose  his  money  and 
his  trouble."  It  is  undoubtedly  a  fact,  that  the  circumstances  which  insure  the  best  effect 
from  gypsum  are  nearly  identical  with  those  which  are  otherwise  most  favorable  to  vegetable 
growth. 

Effect  of  climate  and  weather. — Countries,  like  South  England,  the  greater  part  of  France, 
Bohemia,  &c.,  where,  on  account  of  the  vicinity  of  the*  sea,  or  the  existence  of  forest  and  hill 
ranges,  the  climate  is  uniform ;  and  where,  during  the  growing  season,  the  rain-falls  are  fre- 
quent, but  moderate ;  where,  in  other  words,  it  is  neither  too  wet  nor  too  dry, — there  gypsum 
stands  in  greatest  favor.  It  is  doubtless  the  fact  that  the  frequent  wetting  of  the  soil  assists 
the  action  of  plaster  by  bringing  it  into  solution ;  yet  the  weather  probably  exerts  more  influ- 
ence on  the  plant  itself  directly  than  on  the  action  of  the  plaster  with  which  it  is  manured. 
Climate  modifies  the  conditions  of  vegetable  growth  to  a  wonderful  degree.  In  the  more 
northern  part  of  our  temperate  zone,  a  stiff  clay  soil  is  very  intractable  and  unproductive ; 
while  in  Egypt,  where  it  never  rains,  a  similar  soil  yields  the  most  profitable  returns.  We 
should,  therefore,  expect  to  hear  from  a  Canadian  farmer  that  plaster  has  little  good  effect  on 
clay  soils  ;  while  in  the  warmer  South,  they  might  be  benefited  most  of  all. 

Quantity  and  time  of  application. — In  England  and  Germany,  it  has  been  found  that  250  to 
400  pounds  per  acre  is  the  best  quantity  to  apply.  The  advantage  of  larger  applications  is 
usually  very  inconsiderable.  Gypsum  is  usually  applied  in  the  spring,  and  in  case  of  clover, 
&c.,  when  the  vegetation  is  3  to  4  inches  high.  In  the  United  States,  it  is  applied  to  corn  and 
potatoes  in  the  hill  at  planting,  but  more  frequently  when  they  have  attained  the  above- 
mentioned  height. 

Many  farmers  are  of  opinion  that  plaster  acts  best  when  it  remains  adhering  to  the  leaves 
for  some  time.  Accordingly,  it  is  highly  recommended  to  sow  plaster  just  before  or  after  a 
gentle  rain,  or  when  the  dew  is  on  the  plants.  Warm,  moist  weather  insures  the  full  action 
of  plaster.  If  the  weather  be  cold  at  the  time  of  sowing,  its  effect  is  stated  to  be  very  insig- 
nificant. This  is,  however,  doubtful.  In  Germany,  the  first  of  May  is  generally  considered 
the  best  season  for  plastering  ;  and  experiments  made  in  Saxony,  especially  to  ascertain  the 
most  favorable  time,  have  confirmed  the  opinion.  Not  a  few,  however,  deem  it  indifferent 
whether  the  plaster  adhere  to  the  plant  or  fall  directly  upon  the  soil. 

Dombasle  employed  the  following  method :  He  plastered  his  meadows  at  the  time  of  seed- 
ing, and  repeated  the  dose  in  the  following  spring.  Clover  treated  in  this  way  grew  very 
luxuriantly;  sometimes  even  to  the  detriment  of  the  grain  with  which  it  was  sown.  It  is  re- 
ported that  clover  thus  plastered  is  less  injured  by  frosts,  and  is  ready  to  cut  a  week  or  two 
earlier  than  when  gypsum  is  not  applied. 

Duration  of  effect. — According  to  Girardin,  "  experience  has  established  that  plastering  (of 
clover?)  should  not  be  repeated  oftener  than  once  in  five  or  six  years,  if  any  action  is  to  be 
expected  from  it."  Other  writers  agree  in  admitting  that  its  benefit  continues  nearly  or  quite 
as  long.  Its  effect  has  often  been  observed  to  be  greater  the  second  than  the  first  year  after 
application,  and  is  often  unabated  the  third  season.  The  duration  of  its  action  is  doubtless 


174  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

somewhat  dependent  on  the  quantity  applied,  and  must  be  materially  influenced  by  the 
weather  in  the  second,  third,  and  following  seasons,  as  well  as  in  the  first. 

I  have  thus  given  a  condensed  statement  of  the  results  and  opinions  of  practical  men  rela- 
tive to  the  use  of  plaster.  The  conclusion  adopted  are  those  which  are  sustained  by  the  ma- 
jority of  facts.  It  is  apparent  what  uncertainty  prevails1  in  our  knowledge  of  this  subject. 
It  remains,  by  means  of  new  and  more  careful  observations  and  by  more  rigid  experiments,  to 
determine  the  actual  value  of  these  statements,  and  to  acquire  additional  information. 

Hundreds  of  single  results  that  have  been  published  are  of  no  value  whatever  in  deducing 
general  rules,  because  the  vagueness  of  many  agricultural  terms  makes  it  impossible  to  know 
what  degree  of  truth  a  statement  possesses.  A  soil  is  a  very  complex  thing,  and  may  include 
many  conditions  which  effect  the  action  of  a  fertilizer ;  yet  in  a  report  of  a  trial  of  plaster  we 
find  nothing  written  of  the  soil  except  the  prefix  clayey,  or  sandy,  or  loamy.  The  important 
characteristics  upon  which  the  whole  result  of  the  experiment  hinges  may  never  be  recognised 
nor  mentioned ;  and  hence,  while  the  fact  is  true  that  the  crop  was  benefited  or  not,  we  have 
no  logical  ground  to  assume  that  any  of  the  mentioned  causes  or  circumstances  had  any  thing 
to  do  with  the  effect,  more  than  a  number  of  other  unnoticed  causes  which  must  have  been 
present  and  operative. 

Admitting  that  much  remains  to  be  learned,  still  it  is  evident  that  for  practical  purposes  so 
much  may  be  accepted — viz. : 

1.  Leguminous  plants  are  especially  benefited  by  plaster,  while — 

2.  All  other  plants  of  large  foliage,  whose  agricultural  value  does  not  consist  in  the  produc- 
tion of  seed,  are  usually  aided  by  it  in  growth,  upon — 

3.  Soils  not  already  containing  sulphate  of  lime,  but — 

4.  In  which  all  other  parts  of  mineral  plant-food  are  present  in  available  form,  and  in  suffi- 
cient quantity ;  which  are,  in  practical  language,  well  dunged,  if  not  rich  without  manure ; 
and  which,  further, 

5.  Present  no  physical  obstacles  to  vegetable  growth — which  are  dry,  sufficiently  porous, 
and  well  tilled,  when — 

6.  The  climate  and  weather  are  favorable  to  vegetation,  when  the  temperature  is  mild,  and 
rains  are  frequent  but  moderate. 

Does  plaster  exhaust  the  soil. — This  frequently-asked  question  is  easily  answered,  and  by 
the  word  no.  A  soil  is  never  exhausted  by  what  is  added  to  it,  but  always  by  what  is  re- 
moved. But  a  little  explanation  is  needed,  for  although  plaster  cannot  exhaust  the  soil, 
plastering  is  usually  followed  by  exhaustion;  and  for  the  simple  reason,  that  by  its  use 
nothing  but  sulphate  of  lime  (ammonia  indirectly?)  is  added,  while  phosphoric  acid,  potash, 
silica,  &c.  are  removed.  A  purse  soon  gets  empty  if  eagles  are  constantly  taken  out,  though 
cents  be  now  and  then  put  in.  The  crops  which  plaster  enables  the  farmer  to  remove  from 
the  soil  exhausts  it.  Suppose  that  a  few  bushels  of  plaster  raise  the  yield  of  clover  upon  a 
field  ten  per  cent. ;  then,  ten  per  cent,  more  of  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  &c.  pass  from  the  soil 
into  the  crop  than  would  have  passed  had  no  plaster  been  used.  If  plaster  only  be  added, 
then  the  field  will  be  exhausted  in  one-tenth  less  time  than  if  nothing  at  all  had  been  applied. 
In  both  cases,  the  total  amount  of  vegetation  produced  until  exhaustion  supervenes  will  be  the 
same,  and  the  amount  of  exhaustion  the  same.  In  the  one  instance,  the  final  result  might  be 
reached  in  ten  years ;  in  the  other,  in  nine  years.  The  difference  is  merely  one  of  time.  If 
benefit  is  to  be  derived  from  the  use  of  plaster,  it  must  be  accompanied  with  other  manure,  or 
its  action,  however  good  at  first,  will  ultimately  cease.  Manuring  a  poor  soil  with  nothing 
but  plaster  is  attempting  to  sustain  vegetation  on  plaster  alone ;  and  this,  like  feeding  chil- 
dren on  little  else  than  arrow-root,  is  a  stupendous  folly.  It  is  trying  to  build  brick  houses 
without  brick.  Plants  cannot  be  made  of  sulphate  of  lime  any  more  than  men  can  be  made 
out  of  starch.  "Out  of  nothing,  nothing  comes."  The  healthy  plant  is  the  result  of  the  co-ope- 
ration of  many  causes — the  coincidence  of  many  conditions.  One  cause,  one  condition  can  only  act 
favorably  when  all  the  others  but  this  are  present.  There  is,  there  can  be,  no  agricultural 
panacea. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  175 

New  Method  of  Determining  Nitrogen. 

DR.  SIMPSON,  of  Dublin,  has  presented  to  the  Chemical  Society  a  communication  re- 
specting a  new  process  for  estimating  nitrogen.  There  are  two  modifications  of  his  method. 
The  first  served  for  determining  the  comparative  amount  of  nitrogen  and  carbonic  acid 
formed  during  the  combustion  of  an  azotized  organic  substance.  It  did  not  differ  widely 
from  Liebig's  process  now  in  use,  except  that  oxide  of  mercury,  diluted  with  oxide  of  cop- 
per, was  employed  for  burning  the  substance,  and  chlorate  of  potash  was  placed  at  the  end 
of  the  tube  to  yield  a  supply  of  oxygen.  The  absolute  method  resembled  Dumas's  in  prin- 
ciple; carbonate  of  manganese,  however,  being  the  substance  employed  for  the  production 
of  carbonic  acid,  and  some  peculiar  arrangements  being  introduced,  especially  in  the 
receiver  over  the  mercury  trough.  These  processes  had  been  worked  out  in  Bunsen's  labora- 
tory ;  and  were  equally  applicable  to  the  determination  of  nitrogen  in  such  substances  as  the 
vegeto-alkaloids,  in  nitrates,  or  in  salts  of  ammonia. 

Phosphate  of  Lime— A  New  Test. 

THE  action  of  boracic  acid  upon  the  phosphate  of  lime,  as  described  by  C.  Tissier  in  the 
Comptes  Rcndus,  (Paris,)  is  exceedingly  interesting  to  agricultural  chemists:  If  to  an  acid 
solution,  either  nitric  or  muriatic,  containing  phosphate  of  lime  (or  a  soluble  phosphate  and 
chloride  of  lime)  and  an  excess  of  boracic  acid,  there  be  added  borate  of  soda  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  saturate  the  acid  which  holds  the  phosphate  in  solution,  no  borate  of  lime  is 
precipitated,  but  all  the  phosphoric  acid  is  thrown  down  in  the  form  of  phosphate  of  lime. 
This  precipitate  has  not  a  variable  composition,  like  that  formed  by  being  saturated  with 
ammonia,  but  has  a  constant  composition  and  a  well-defined  formula.  It  corresponds  with 
that  for  which  Berzelius  gives  the  formula,  8  Ca.  0,  3  P  O5,  and  which  contains  phosphoric 
acid,  49-09;  lime,  50-91.  This  method  of  precipitating  phosphoric  acid  from  its  solution  will 
greatly  facilitate  the  determination  of  the  quantity  of  phosphates  contained  in  soils  and 
manures. 

Value  of  Soil-Analyses. 

AT  a  late  meeting  of  the  Farmers'  Club  in  New  York,  Prof.  Mapes  adduced  the  follow- 
ing circumstances,  as  showing  the  value  of  soil-analyses: — At  the  meeting  of  the  National 
Agricultural  Society  in  Washington,  Mr.  G.  W.  Custis  stated  that  he  was  owner  of  the 
Arlington  Estate,  containing  some  5000  acres  of  land  and  several  hundred  negroes.  For 
several  years  he  had  found  it  necessary,  in  order  to  pay  his  own  expenses  and  those  of  his 
family,  (including  the  negroes,)  to  mortgage  the  estate.  He  had  an  analysis  made  of  his 
soil,  with  a  view  to  ascertain  its  deficiencies  for  a  wheat  crop,  and,  under  proper  instructions, 
he  had  those  deficiencies  supplied;  and  "Now,"  said  he,  "gentlemen,  I  can  say,  instead  of 
mortgaging  my  estate,  I  am  continually  lessening  the  mortgages  I  had  previously  obtained, 
and  this  year  I  have  ten  thousand  bushels  of  wheat  for  the  miller,  while  until  the  analysis 
was  made  I  never  was  able  to  sell  a  single  bushel  of  wheat  above  what  was  used  for  the 
hands."  Mr.  John  Jones,  of  Delaware,  the  largest  wheat-grower  within  two  hundred  miles 
of  Washington,  said  he  bought  a  farm  for  $10  an  acre,  which  he  agreed  to  pay  in  small 
instalments  and  on  a  very  long  mortgage ;  the  owner  being  glad  to  sell  at  that  low  price  and 
on  those  easy  terms.  When  he  commenced  operations,  his  first  crop  of  wheat  was  some  seven 
or  eight  bushels  to  the  acre,  on  the  plan  of  cultivation  usual  in  the  neighborhood.  He  sent 
his  soil  North  to  have  it  analyzed.  On  the  basis  of  the  analysis  he  planned  his  operations ; 
and,  "  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  I  raised  a  larger  crop  of  wheat  than  any  other  man  within  the 
same  distance  of  Washington.  The  assessors  this  year  valued  my  land  at  $70  an  acre,  cal- 
culating from  the  value  of  the  crop  of  wheat."  These  cases  had  come  under  his  (Prof.  M.'s) 
supervision,  and  the  preparation  which  he  recommended,  after  analyzing  the  soils,  was  a 
mixture  of  guano  with  bones  dissolved  by  sulphuric  acid.  They  had  added  sulphate  of 
ammonia,  which  had  cost  them  only  as  much  as  the  carting  of  barn-yard  manure  had  usually 


176  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

cost.  The  soils  of  those  gentlemen  contained  rather  more  potash  than  usual.  But  he  had 
yet  to  find  the  first  soil  which  is  not  capable  of  being  benefited  by  the  addition  of  the  super- 
phosphate of  lime. 

Phosphates  in  Turnips. 

LIEBIG,  in  his  recent  work,  appends  the  following  note  on  the  amount  of  phosphates  found 
in  turnips.  The  note  occurs  in  connection  with  the  following  sentence,  and;  has  special 
reference  to  some  experiments  of  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert,  of  England,  which  are  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  views  of  Liebig: — 

"The  small  percentage  of  phosphates  contained  in  the  turnip  is  the  reason  why,  in  Ger- 
many and  France,  there  is  often  obtained  after  grain  a  stubble  crop  of  this  root  in  the  same 
year." 
„   The  note  is  as  follows: — 

"If  we  calculate  from  the  results  of  ash-analyses  the  quantities  of  phosphoric  acid  which 
are  required  respectively  by  a  wheat  crop,  including  grain  and  straw,  and  by  a  turnip  crop, 
including  roots  and  leaves,  we  find  that  wheat  removes  less  of  this  substance  from  the  soil 
than  turnips.  This  result  is  apparently  in  contradiction  to  the  fact  so  well  established  by 
practical  experience,  that  wheat  requires  more  abundant  supplies  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the 
soil  than  the  turnip.  The  two  facts  become  reconciled  when  we  take  into  account  the  longer 
time  that  the  latter  has  in  which  to  accumulate  this  mineral  ingredient. 

"  The  turnip  requires  phosphoric  acid  to  be  supplied  through  the  whole  of  its  long  period 
of  growth,  four  or  five  months,  but  uniformly  and  always  in  small  quantity  only  in  a  given 
time.  Wheat  needs  the  greater  share  of  its  phosphoric  acid  during  the  growth  of  the  seed. 
This  is  the  period  in  which,  as  practical  men  believe,  the  soil  suffers  the  greatest — is  most 
exhausted.  If  the  wheat-plant  finds  a  sufficient  quantity  of  phosphoric  acid  within  reach  of 
its  roots  during  the  few  weeks  in  which  its  seed  is  formed,  then  each  kernel  attains  a  full  and 
normal  development;  if  there  be  a  slight  deficiency  of  phosphoric  acid,  then  the  seeds  are 
less  numerous  or  less  large ;  if  the  deficiency  be  very  considerable,  then  nothing  but  straw 
is  produced. 

"The  quantity  of  phosphoric  acid  which  a  wheat  soil  should  contain  does  not  therefore 
stand  in  relation  to  the  sum  total  which  the  plant  needs,  but  to  the  quantity  which  the  ker- 
nels require  during  the  period  of  their  development. 

"When  we  compare  the  quantity  of  phosphoric  acid  which  the  soil  must  yield  to  a  wheat 
crop  during  the  month  in  which  its  seeds  are  forming,  with  that  needed  by  a  turnip-crop  in 
any  equal  space  of  time,  it  is  plain  that  wheat  requires  the  presence  of  a  far  larger  amount 
of  this  indispensable  body  in  the  soil  than  the  turnip.  This  is  a  fact  not  to  be  disregarded 
in  manuring  the  soil  for  these  crops. 

"  The  produce  of  a  field  stands  related  to  the  amount  of  that  mineral  ingredient  which  its 
soil  contains  in  smallest  quantity. 

"As  a  general  rule,  the  manuring  of  a  field  should  not  be  calculated  from  the  sum  total 
of  mineral  ingredients  which  the  plant  takes  from  the  soil,  but  must  be  proportioned  to 
that  maximum  of  these  substances  which  is  required  by  the  plant  in  a  certain  period  of  its 
growth." 

In  respect  to  the  above,  Mr.  S.  W.  Johnson,  of  England,  in  a  letter  published  in  the 
Working  Farmer,  says: — 

"The  above  makes  evident  how  necessary  it  is  that  not  only  the  kind  and  quantity  of 
substances  removed  by  a  plant  from  the  soil  be  considered,  but  also  the  time  and  circum- 
stances in  which  the  supply  should  be  made.  The  latter  are  of  equal  moment  with  the 
former.  Plants  differ  physiologically  and  structurally.  These  differences  must  be  investi- 
gated, and  taken  into  account.  The  chemist  has  hitherto  too  much  neglected  them.  He  has 
attempted  in  many  cases  to  deduce  the  whole  list  of  the  plant's  chemical  needs  from  its 
chemical  analysis.  Nothing  could  be  more  fallacious.  He  has  found  that  an  average  crop 
of  wheat  and  turnips  contain  nearly  the  same  amount  of  phosphoric  acid.  He  cannot, 
therefore,  conclude  that,  so  far  as  this  ingredient  is  concerned,  they  will  both  flourish  equally 
in  the  same  soil." 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  177 

Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert  deduced  from  their  experiments  that  turnips  require  more 
phosphoric  acid  in  the  soil  than  wheat,  because  that,  on  what  they  considered  an  exhausted 
soil,  the  addition  of  superphosphate  of  lime  enabled  them  to  raise  turnips.  Prof.  Liebig,  in 
his  new  work,  has  objected  to  this  that  the  soil  was  not  exhausted,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact 
that  it  yielded  tolerable  crops  of  wheat;  and  expresses  his  belief  that  the  yield  of  turnips 
was  not  due  to  the  supply  of  phosphoric  acid,  but  to  the  solvent  action  exercised  on  the 
silicates  of  the  soil  by  the  free  sulphuric  acid  of  the  agricultural  superphosphate  which  was 
applied  in  large  quantities.  The  considerations  contained  in  the  above  note  explain  why 
wheat  requires  a  soil  richer  in  phosphoi'ic  acid  than  the  turnip  does. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  a  soil  does  exist  which  produces  wheat,  but  refuses  entirely 
to  grow  turnips,  as  the  experimental  soil  of  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert.  In  the  majority  of 
cases  we  should  expect  the  reverse.  This  shows  the  danger  of  too  hasty  generalization,  and 
the  importance  of  having  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  the  circumstances  which  act  in  any 
particular  case. 

On  the  Amounts  of  Ammonia  and  Nitric  Acid  in  Rain  Water. 

AT  the  British  Association,  Dr.  Gilbert  and  Mr.  Lawes  communicated  the  results  of  their 
investigations  on  the  amounts  of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid  in  rain  water.  Their  results  during 
many  months  of  the  last  two  years  were  tabulated  and  compared  with  those  of  Boussingault ; 
the  great  result  being  that  rain  water  contains  not  quite  one  part  of  nitrogen  to  the  million 
in  the  form  of  ammonia,  and  about  five  parts  to  the  million  in  that  of  nitric  acid.  The 
ammonia  is  found  in  largest  quantity  in  mists  and  dews,  as  might  naturally  be  expected  from 
its  being  evolved  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  being  absorbed  by  any  moisture.  In  answer 
to  questions  put  to  him  afterwards,  Dr.  Gilbert  stated  that  the  nitric  acid  was  found  most 
nl>uii'l:mtl y  :it't»-r  storms,  and  varied  very  greatly  at  different  periods  of  the  year.  The  amount 
of  ammonia  which  descended  in  a  month's  rain  was  more  constant.  The  doctor  expressed  hi.-- 
opinion,  but  with  hesitation,  that  nitric  acid  and  ammonia  were  about  equally  efficient  in 
supplying  nitrogen  for  plants ;  and  therefore,  as  nitric  acid  is  the  more  abundant  in  the  atmo- 
sphere, he  conceived  that  it  afforded  actually  the  larger  quantity  of  azote  to  the  vegetable  world. 

Boussingault  has  recently  published  some  additional  researches  on  the  above  subject,  from 
which  it  appears  that  the  rain  of  the  country  contains  less  ammonia  than  that  of  the  city,  and 
that  the  ammonia  is  more  abundant  at  the  beginning  than  at  the  end  of  a  shower.  He  has 
also  examined  the  dew,  and  always  found  it  to  contain  ammonia.  The  proportions  by  several 
trials  were  six  milligrammes  to  the  litre ;  but  the  amount  is  reduced  to  1^02  after  a  rainy 
day.  On  the  14th  to  the  16th  of  November,  a  thick  mist  prevailed  so  rich  in  ammonia  that 
the  water  had  an  alkaline  reaction ;  a  litre  of  the  water  contained  about  two  decigrammes  of 
carbonate  of  ammonia.  Seventy-five  rains,  including  the  dew  and  mist  examined,  contained 
as  a  mean  half  a  milligramme  of  ammonia.  The  great  quantity  of  ammonia  contained  in  the 
mist  appears  interesting  in  its  bearing  on  vegetable  pathology ;  in  fact,  although  ammonia  in 
small  quantity  is  favorable  to  vegetation,  a  large  proportion  would  be  injurious,  and  would 
show  its  effects,  especially  on  the  leaves  of  flowers.  Moreover,  such  a  storm  might  have  a 
deleterious  influence  upon  respiration,  and  especially  on  the  lungs  of  persons  with  pulmonary 
affections. 

New  Theories  in  Agricultural  Science. 

M.  BAUDRIMONT,  professor  of  chemistry  at  the  Faculty  of  Sciences  at  Bordeaux,  has  pub- 
lished a  work  "On  the  Existence  of  Interstitial  Currents  in  Arable  Soil,  and  the  influence 
which  they  exert  on  Agriculture,"  in  which,  after  a  long  study  of  the  subject,  he  states  that 
there  is  a  natural  process  at  work  by  which  liquid  currents  rise  to  the  surface  from  a  certain 
depth  in  the  ground,  and  thus  bring  up  materials  that  help  either  to  maintain  its  fertility  or 
to  modify  its  character.  Many  phenomena  of  agriculture  and  of  vegetation  have  at  different 
times  been  observed,  which,  hitherto  inexplicable,  are  readily  explained  on  this  theory. 
Such,  for  example,  the  improvements  which  take  place  in  fallows ;  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  these  currents  materially  influence  the  rotation  of  crops. 

12 


178  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

In  Germany,  Schleiden  is  attracting  much  attention  by  his  masterly  views  on  the  phe 
nomena  of  vegetation ;  and  it  will  surprise  many  to  hear  that  he  admits  of  no  relation  between 
the  fertility  of  a  soil  and  the  quantity  of  fertilizing  matters  expended  upon  it.  "The  good- 
ness of  the  soil,"  he  says,  "depends  upon  its  inorganic  constituents,  so  far,  at  least,  as  they 
are  soluble  in  water,  or  through  continued  action  of  carbonic  acid;  and  the  more  abundant 
and  various  these  solutions,  the  more  fruitful  is  the  ground."  Arguing  from  this  view,  it 
is  not  richness  of  soil  or  humus  that  produces  the  multiplied  varieties  of  Alpine- plants  in  Ger- 
many, or  the  absence  of  it  that  produces  but  few.  "  Soluble  mineral  constituents"  are  shown 
to  be  the  characteristic  of  our  cultivated  field;  and  "an  agricultural  plant"  is  defined  as  one 
"distinguished  from  wild  individuals  of  the  same  species  by  peculiar  qualities  which  consti- 
tute its  fitness  for  culture,  and  which  depend  upon  a  modification  of  chemical  action."  The 
amazing  yield  of  Indian  corn  in  Mexico — from  two  hundred  to  six  hundred-fold — is  something 
which,  with  all  our  skill,  we  cannot  accomplish,  and  is  a  fact  in  favor  of  the  argument  "that 
in  no  case  do  the  organic  substances  contained  in  the  ground  perform  any  direct  part  of  the 
nutrition  of  lants."  The  annual  destruction  of  organic  matter  all  over  the  earth  is  estimated 
at  one  hundred  and  forty-five  billions  of  pounds,  equal  to  two  and  one-fourth  billions  of  cubic 
feet ;  and  if  all  vegetation  depends  on  organic  matter  for  nutrition,  to  satisfy  this  consump- 
tion "there  must  have  been,  five  thousand  years  back,  ten  feet  deep  of  pure  organic  substance 
on  its  surface."  Another  illustration  is  furnished  by  taking  the  number  of  cattle  and  other 
animals  in  France  in  a  given  year,  (1844,)  and  observing  the  amount  of  food  they  consume. 
The  process  of  nutrition  would  require  76,789,000,000  pounds  of  organic  matter;  six  times 
more  than  the  whole  number  contribute  of  organic  matter  towards  reproduction,  and  in  one 
hundred  years  "the  whole  organic  material  of  the  country  would  be  consumed." 

Again:  look  at  a  farm.  How  much  more  is  carried  off  from  it  than  is  given  back  again! 
Generally  the  amount  of  its  yield  is  three  times  greater  than  that  of  the  organic  matter  it 
receives;  while  of  the  manure  applied,  the  greater  part  is  not  taken  up,  but  imperceptibly 
decomposed.  Carbon  is  the  most  important  of  the  constituents  of  plants:  an  acre  of  sugar 
plantation  produces  7500  pounds  of  canes,  of  which  1200  pounds  are  carbon,  and  yet  sugar 
plantations  are  rarely  manured,  and  then  only  with  the  ashes  of  the  burnt  canes.  With 
bananas  the  result  is  still  more  striking:  the  yield  is  98,000  pounds  of  fruit  in  a  year  from  a 
single  acre,  and  of  this  17,000  pounds — more  than  a  fifth — is  carbon;  and  the  same  acre  will 
give  the  same  return  year  after  year  for  twenty  or  thirty  years;  and  the  ground  at  the  end 
of  that  time  will  be  richer  than  at  the  commencement,  from  nothing  more  than  the  decay  of 
the  large  leaves  of  the  plant.  Here  in  Europe,  too,  the  difference  in  weight  and  in  carbon 
between  the  seed  and  the  produce  has  often  been  noted:  in  wheat,  89  per  cent;  in  red  clover, 
158  per  cent. ;  and  in  peas,  361  per  cent.  These  facts  afford  evidence  of  a  supply  of  carbon 
derived  from  other  sources  than  those  commonly  supposed  to  exist;  and  while  we  know  that 
seeds  will  germinate  and  become  vigorous  plants  in  pure  quartzose  sand,  or  in  cotton-wool, 
or  on  a  board,  we  seem  to  have  proof  that  the  chief  source  of  supply  is  the  atmosphere.  This 
is  an  interesting  point,  which  further  research  will  verify :  Schleiden  shows  the  process  to  be 
eminently  simple.  He  says,  in  his  work,  of  which  a  translation  has  been  published  by  the 
Horticultural  Society — "According  to  Link,  Schwartz,  and  others,  an  acre  of  water-meadow 
contains  4400  pounds  of  hay,  which,  when  dry,  contains  45-8  per  cent,  of  carbon.  The  hay 
then  yields  2000  pounds  of  carbon,  to  which  1000  pounds  may  be  added  for  the  portion  of 
the  year  in  which  the  grass  is  not  cut,  and  the  roots.  To  produce  these  3000  pounds  of  car- 
bon, 10,980  pounds  of  carbonic  acid  is  requisite,  which  may  be  raised  to  12,000  pounds,  to 
compensate  for  the  nightly  expiration.  Now,  Schubler  has  shown  that  an  acre  of  so  wretched 
a  grass  as  Poa  annua  exhales  in  120  days  (too  low  a  computation)  of  active  vegetation, 
6,000,000  pounds  of  water.  To  supply  the  exigencies  of  the  plants,  therefore,  it  is  only 
necessary  for  the  meadow  to  imbibe  3£  grains  of  carbonic  acid  with  every  pound  of  water. 

Mr.  Lawes  has  found,  also,  that  in  a  plant  of  any  one  of  our  ordinary  crops,  more  than 
200  grains  of  water  must  pass  through  it  for  a  single  grain  of  solid  substance  to  accumulate 
within  it.  He  states  the  evaporation  from  an  acre  of  wheat  during  the  period  of  its  growth 
to  be  114,860  gallons,  or  73,510,000  gallons  per  square  mile.  With  clover,  it  is  rather  more: 
with  peas  and  barley,  less.  When  we  apply  these  calculations  to  a  county  or  a  kingdom,  we 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  179 

are  lost  in  the  magnitude  of  the  processes  by  which  nature  works ;  but  we  see  the  more 
clearly  that,  on  such  a  scale,  the  quantity  of  material  supplied  by  the  air,  though  minute  to 
the  individual,  becomes  vast  in  the  aggregate.  We  see,  moreover,  the  necessity  for  under- 
standing the  relations  between  evaporation  and  rate  of  growth,  and  the  laws  and  effects  of 
absorption  in  soils.  A  thousand  pounds  of  dry  calcareous  sand  will  gain  two  pounds  in 
weight  in  twelve  hours  when  the  air  is  moist,  while  pure  agricultural  clay  will  gain  thirty- 
seven  pounds. 

The  source  of  nitrogen  comes  next  to  be  considered ;  and  this  also  is  seen  to  be  independent 
of  manures.  Hereupon,  it  is  observed  that  "  our  domestic  plants  do  not  require  a  greater 
supply  than  in  a  state  of  nature.  A  water-meadow  which  has  never  received  any  dung, 
yields  yearly  from  forty  to  fifty  pounds  of  nitrogen,  while  the  best  plowed  land  yields  only 
about  thirty-one  pounds.  The  plants  for  which  most  dung  is  used,  as  potatoes  and  turnips, 
are  in  fact  proportionally  the  poorest  in  nitrogen."  That  there  is  a  supply  independent  of 
the  soil,  is  further  seen  in  the  millions  of  hides  furnished  every  year  by  the  cattle  of  the 
Pampas,  without  any  diminution  of  produce;  and  in  the  great  quantities  of  nitrogenous 
matters,  hay,  butter,  and  cheese,  carried  off  from  pasture-land ;  far  more  than  is  returned  by 
the  animals  fed  thereon.  Experiments  with  various  kinds  of  plants  on  various  soils  have 
satisfactorily  demonstrated  that  increase  of  nitrogen  in  the  land  and  in  the  crop  does  take 
place,  quite  irrespective  of  supplies  of  manure. 

With  respect  to  ammonia,  "it  appears  that  one-thirteenth  of  a  grain  in  every  pound  of 
water  is  sufficient  for  the  exigencies  of  vegetation,  and  there  is  perhaps  no  spring-water  in 
the  universe  which  contains  so  little."  Then  as  to  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  which  are  also 
among  the  constituents  of  plants,  the  quantity  needed  in  proportion  to  the  time  of  vegetation 
is  so  small,  that  540,000th  of  a  grain  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  per  cubic  foot,  diffused 
through  the  atmosphere  to  a  height  of  3000  feet,  is  all  that  is  required. 

The  consideration  that  cereals  would  soon  disappear  from  the  north  of  Europe,  if  not  culti- 
v.itfl.  Mini  perhaps  from  nearly  the  whole  of  this  quarter  of  the  globe,  adds  weight  to  the 
arguments  in  favor  of  enlightened  attention  to  the  inorganic  constituents  of  plants.  The 
point  is  to  bring  the  soil  into  harmony  with  the  conditions  by  which  growth  may  best  be  pro- 
moted. Much  depends  on  the  nature  of  the  soil ;  the  darkest-colored  lands  are  generally  the 
highest  in  temperature ;  hence  the  advantage  of  vegetable  mould ;  while  deep,  light  sands, 
and  clay,  which  turns  almost  to  stone  in  dry  weather,  weary  and  vex  the  cultivator  by  their 
unprofitableness.  It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  soils  which  have  the  highest  tem- 
perature of  their  own,  may  not  be  those  most  susceptible  of  receiving  heat — that  is,  from 
the  sun,  because  some  lands  are*  warmed  by  the  springs  that  irrigate  them.  Here  we  have 
an  explanation  of  the  phenomena  of  certain  soils  which  are  warm  in  winter  and  cool  in  sum- 
mer. The  application  of  humus  evolves  heat  by  the  process  of  combustion;  and  sand,  lime, 
clay,  and  humus  are  the  combinations  needed,  the  clay  being  in  a  proportion  of  from  40  to 
60  per  cent. ;  if  less  than  10  per  cent,  the  land  will  be  too  light  and  poor. 

Although  Schleiden's  views  apply  chiefly  to  the  practice  of  German  agriculturists,  they 
will  be  found  to  bear  on  the  whole  science  of  cultivation.  In  summing  up,  he  insists  strongly 
on  the  necessity  for  selecting  good  seed;  that  from  a  barren  soil,  he  observes,  is  likely  to  be 
more  true  to  its  kind  than  from  well-manured  land.  Also,  that  the  time  of  sowing  should  be 
adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the  plant;  rye  and  barley,  for  instance,  should  be  sown  in 
drier  weather  than  oats.  And  it  will  surprise  many  to  read  that  he  advocates  a  less  frequent 
use  of  the  plow.  He  holds  plowing  to  be  a  "necessary  evil,  one  to  be  employed  only  so  far 
as  necessity  requires;"  because,  by  the  too  frequent  loosening  of  the  soil,  the  decomposition 
of  humus  is  so  rapid  as  to  overbalance  the  benefit  supposed  to  arise  from  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere.  He  shows,  too,  that  covered  fallows  are  in  most  cases  preferable  to  naked 
fallows,  as  the  latter  tend  to  waste  the  valuable  qualities  of  the  soil;  while,  in  a  field  sown 
with  clover,  the  quantity  of  humus  and  carbonic  acid  is  increased  by  the  leaves  preventing 
evaporation.  Naked  fallowing  is  to  be  adopted  only  when  the  soil  cannot  be  loosened  in  any 
other  way;  but  there  is  to  be  no  stand-still;  "the  notion  of  rest,  so  prevalent  among  culti- 
vators, is  clearly  wrong,  except  it  be  rest  from  the  destructive  influence  of  the  plow:"  and 
always  must  it  be  borne  in  mind  "that  manures  do  not  act  immediately  on  vegetation  by 


180  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

means  of  their  organic  contents,  but  by  reason  of  the  inorganic  substances  which  they 
involve." 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  some  of  the  views  of  one  who  holds  a  high  position  among  men 
of  science ;  and  though  in  some  particulars  they  may  seem  to  be  at  variance  with  practice  in 
this  country,  there  is  much  in  them  worthy  the  attention  of  intelligent  cultivators.  It  is 
remarkable  how  different  branches  of  science  help  in  advancing  the  question,  and  facts  arise 
in  support  of  the  philosopher's  theories.  By  a  recent  inquiry  into  the  amount  and  nature 
of  the  rain-fall  at  the  observatory,  Paris,  it  has  been  proved,  that  from  the  1st  of  July,  1851, 
to  the  end  of  1852,  the  quantity  of  azote  combined  therewith  was — omitting  fractions — 22 
kilogrammes  per  acre,  being  12  kilogrammes  iu  the  form  of  azotic  acid,  and  10  kilogrammes 
of  ammonia.  The  quantity  of  uncombined  ammonia  in  the  same  time  was  13  kilogrammes 
per  acre ;  and  of  uncombined  azotic  acid,  46  kilogrammes.  In  the  months  when  azotic  acid 
was  most  abundant,  there  was  least  ammonia;  the  former  always  increases  with  stormy 
weather.  Besides  these  elements,  the  quantity  of  chlorine  present  was  equivalent  to  18  kilo- 
grammes of  marine  salt,  leaving  out  the  insoluble  matters  held  in  suspension. 

In  all  this  we  seem  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  law  of  supply  and  demand  in  the  great  vegeta- 
tive operations  of  nature ;  and  we  see  that  those  who  advocate  a  more  sparing  employment 
of  manures  are  not  without  good  reason  for  their  arguments.  In  the  middle  of  Russia,  corn 
is  grown  year  after  year  on  the  same  land,  with  no  other  fertilizer  than  the  burnt  straw ; 
and  in  parts  of  Spain,  wheat  and  barley  succeed  each  other  without  any  manure  at  all.  And, 
without  going  so  far  for  facts,  we  have  them  close  at  hand,  in  one  of  our  midland  coun- 
ties. A  few  years  ago,  the  Rev.  S.  Smith,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Banbury,  England,  in- 
stituted a  course  of  experiments  on  this  very  point,  and  with  results  which  are  singularly 
interesting.  He  took  a  field  of  four  acres,  having  a  gravelly  soil,  with  clay,  marl,  and  gravel 
as  the  subsoil.  It  had  been  hard  worked  for  a  hundred  years ;  but  except  a  thorough  plow- 
ing, no  other  means  were  taken  to  improve  it:  not  a  particle  of  manure  was  supplied. 
Wheat  was  then  sown  in  single  grains,  three  inches  apart,  and  in  rows  a  foot  apart, 
a  space  of  three  feet  being  left  quite  bare  between  each  three  rows,  and  this  was  con- 
tinued in  alternate  stripes  all  across  the  field.  The  sowing  took  place  at  the  begining 
of  autumn ;  and  in  November,  when  the  planted  rows  began  to  show,  all  the  intervening 
three-feet  spaces  were  trenched  by  the  spade,  and  six  inches  of  the  subsoil  made  to  change 
places  with  the  surface.  "In  the  spring,"  says  the  reverend  agriculturist,  "  I  well  hoed  and 
hand-weeded  the  rows  of  wheat,  and  stirred  the  intervals  with  a  one-horse  scarifier  three  or 
four  times,  up  to  the  very  period  of  flowering  in  June."  The  crop  looked  thin  and  miserable 
until  after  April,  when  it  began  "to  mat  and  tiller;"  it  did  not  turn  yellow  in  May,  and  the 
stalk  grew  so  stout  and  strong  as  to  bear  up  well  against  the  storms.  When  harvested,  the 
result  was  highly  gratifying,  for  the  yield  amounted  to  from  thirty-six  to  forty  bushels  per 
acre,  or  rather  per  half-acre,  seeing  that  as  the  alternate  stripes  were  left  bare,  only  one- 
half  of  the  field  was  really  planted.  The  quantity  of  seed  used  per  half  acre  was  a  little 
more  than  a  peck. 

Adjoining  the  field  in  which  these  experiments  were  carried  on  was  another  which  had  four 
plowings,  ten  tons  of  manure,  six  or  seven  times  as  much  seed,  and  yet  it  gave  a  quarter  less 
to  the  acre.  This  might  be  looked  on  as  an  accident,  were  it  not  that  Mr.  Smith  has  repeated 
his  experiment  year  after  year,  and  always  with  greater  success.  He  believes  that  if  all  the 
conditions  be  literally  fulfilled,  the  same  favorable  result  may  invariably  be  obtained.  No 
manure  whatever  is  to  be  used ;  and  in  the  second  year,  the  stripe  is  to  be  sown  which  was 
left  bare  in  the  first ;  and  so  on,  changing  from  one  to  the  other,  year  after  year. 

Here  arises  the  question  as  to  cost,  and  in  contrasting  the  expense  of  plowing  with  that 
of  spade-labor,  he  finds  that  he  takes  up  only  so  much  of  the  subsoil  as  the  atmosphere  will 
readily  decompose  in  the  year — four,  five,  or  six  inches,  descending  gradually  to  two  spits. 
He  employs  six  men  at  2s.  a  day,  and  they  dig  an  acre  in  five  days,  making  an  outlay  of  60s. 
for  the  whole;  but  as  only  one-half  is  to  be  dug  for  the  year's  crop,  the  time  and  cost  are 
reduced  by  one-half,  and  thus  brought  down  to  the  cheapest  rate  of  plowing.  The  cost  per 
acre,  in  the  instance  above  mentioned,  was  £3  14s. ;  the  return  from  the  four  quarters  and 
two  bushels  of  wheat  and  the  straw,  £11  14s.,  leaving  a  profit  of  £8.  It  should  be  under- 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY   AND   GEOLOGY. 


181 


stood  that  the  cost  includes  rates,  taxes,  interest,  scarifying,  reaping — in  short,  all  the  opera- 
tions from  digging  to  harvest. 

The  parish  in  which  Mr.  Smith  resides  contains  two  hundred  wheat-growing  acres ;  he 
calculates  that  fifty  laborers  would  have  dug  these  in  two  months  and  eight  days,  so  that, 
beginning  the  last  week  in  September,  all  would  be  finished  by  the  first  week  in  December, 
leaving  five  months  for  the  occurrence  of  casualties  and  their  reparation  before  the  crop  has 
grown.  His  system,  after  the  first  plowing,  it  will  be  seen,  is  based  entirely  on  spade- 
husbandry;  he  is  of  opinion,  that  it  is  applicable  to  thousands  of  acres  "of  hitherto  imprac- 
ticable and  unremunerating  clay." 

Schleiden  and  Smith  agree  in  their  faith  in  nature's  unassisted  fertilizing  powers,  if  not  in 
their  mode  of  clearing  the  way  for  the  exercise  of  those  powers.  The  system  of  the  latter 
combines  fatlow  without  loss,  for  the  yield  is  double ;  nature  is  left  to  drop  the  ammonia,  and 
the  time  is  given  for  its  combination  with  mineral  matters  in  the  soil.  The  atmosphere  con- 
tains all  the  organic  elements  of  wheat,  and  if  the  ground  be  kept  stirred,  uncrusted,  and 
loosened  to  a  suitable  depth,  they  will  find  their  way  in ;  and  nitrogen  even,  as  late  experi- 
ments demonstrate,  will  be  absorbed.  As  for  inorganic  constituents,  Mr.  Smith  believes  that 
they  always  exist  in  sufficient  abundance,  if  sought  for  by  frequent  digging. 


Capillary  Attraction  of  the  Soil. 

FROM  numerous  observations  which  have  been  made  at  different  times  on  the  peculiar  ap- 
pearance of  the  surface  «>t  -  .  .luring  the  warm  summer  months,  and  the  fact 
that  they,  when  covered  with  boards,  stones,  or  other  materials,  so  as  to  prevent  them  from 
supporting  vegetation,  become,  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  much  more  productive  than 
the  adjacent  uncovered  soil,  led  to  the  belief  that  the  soil  possessed  some  power  within 
itself,  aside  from  the  roots  of  plants,  of  elevating  soluble  materials  from  deep  sources  to  the 
surface. 

To  throw  some  light  upon  the  subject,  in  May,  1852,  I  sunk  three  boxes  into  the  soil — 
one,  forty  inches  deep ;  another,  twenty-eight  inches  deep ;  and  a  third,  fourteen  inches  deep. 
All  three  of  the  boxes  were  sixteen  inches  square.  I  then  placed  in  the  bottom  of  each  box 
three  pounds  of  sulphate  of  magnesia.  The  soil  to  be  placed  in  the  boxes  above  the  sul- 
phate of  magnesia,  was  then  thoroughly  mixed,  so  as  to  be  uniform  throughout;  the  boxes 
were  then  filled  with  it.  This  was  done  on  the  li-"ith  <>f  May,  1852.  After  the  boxes  were 
filled,  a  sample  of  soil  was  taken  from  each  box,  and  the  percentage  of  magnesia  which  it 
contained  accurately  determined.  On  the  28th  of  June,  another  sample  of  surface  soil  was 
taken  from  each  box,  and  the  percentage  of  magnesia  carefully  obtained  as  before.  The  re- 
sult in  each  case  pointed  out  clearly  a  marked  increase  of  magnesia. 

On  the  17th  of  July,  a  sample  of  the  surface  soil  was  taken  for  a  third  time  from  each  box, 
and  carefully  examined  for  the  magnesia.  Its  percentage  was  found  to  be  very  perceptibly 
greater  than  on  the  28th  of  the  preceding  month.  On  the  loth  of  the  months  of  August  and 
September  following,  similar  examinations  severally  were  made,  with  the  same  evident  gra- 
dual increase  of  the  magnesia  in  the  surface  soil. 

The  following  are  the  results  as  obtained : — 


Box 
40  inches 
high. 

Box 
28  inches 
high. 

Box 

16  inches 
high. 

Percentage  of  magnesia,  May   25  

0-18 

0-18 

0-18 

"                    "           June  28. 

0-25 

0-30 

0-32 

"                      «            July  17  

0-42 

0-46 

0-47 

"                       "            Aug.  15  

0-47 

0-53 

0-54 

"                    "           Sept.  15  

0-51 

0-58 

0-61 

Before  the  middle  of  October,  when  it  was  intended  to  make  another  observation,  the  fall 
rains  and  frosts  had  commenced ;  on  this  account  the  observations  were  discontinued.  The 
elevation  of  the  magnesia,  as  shown  in  the  above  experiments,  depends  upon  capillary  attrac- 


182  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

tion,  or  the  property  which  most  liquids  have  to  rise  in  tubes,  or  between  plane  and  curved 
surfaces. 

The  minute  interstices  between  the  particles  composing  the  soil  are,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, small  tubes,  and  act  as  such  in  elevating  moisture  from  below  to  the  surface.  The 
particles  held  in  solution  by  the  water  are  likewise  elevated  with  it,  and  are  left,  on  the  eva- 
poration of  the  water,  distributed  throughout  the  surface  soil.  This  explains  the  reason  why 
manures,  when  applied  for  a  short  or  longer  time  upon  the  surface  of  soils, 'penetrate  to  so 
slight  a  depth.  Every  agriculturist  is  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  the  soil  directly  under 
his  barn -yard,  two  feet  below  the  surface,  (that  is,  any  soil  of  any  ordinary  fineness,)  is  quite 
as  poor  as  that  covered  with  boards  or  otherwise,  two  feet  below  the  surface,  in  his  meadow ; 
the  former  having  been  for  years  directly  under  a  manure-heap,  while  the  latter,  perhaps, 
has  never  had  barn-yard  manure  within  many  rods  of  it.  The  former  has  really  Wn  sending 
its  soluble  materials  to  the  surface  soil,  the  latter  to  the  surface  soil  and  the  vegetation 
grown  near,  or  upon  it,  if  uncovered. 

The  capillary  attraction  must  vary  very  much  in  different  soils ;  that  is,  some  have  the 
power  of  elevating  soluble  materials  to  the  surface  from  much  deeper  sources  than  others. 
The  pores  or  interstices  in  the  soil  correspond  to  capillary  tubes.  The  less  the  diameter  of 
the  pores  or  tubes,  the  higher  the  materials  are  elevated ;  hence,  one  very  important  con- 
sideration to  the  agriculturist,  when  he  wishes  nature  to  aid  him  in  keeping  his  soil  fertile, 
is  to  secure  soil  in  a  fine  state  of  mechanical  division  and  of  a  high  retentive  nature.  Nothing 
is  more  common  than  to  see  certain  soils  retain  their  fertility  with  the  annual  addition  of 
much  less  manure  than  certain  others.  In  fact,  a  given  quantity  of  manure  on  the  former 
will  seem  to  maintain  their  fertility  for  several  years ;  while  a  similar  addition  to  the  latter 
quite  loses  its  good  effects  in  a  single  season.  The  former  soils  have  invariably  the  rocks, 
minerals,  &c.  which  compose  them  in  a  fine  state  of  division;  while  the  latter  have  their 
particles  more  or  less  sandy  and  coarse. — S.  M.  SALISBURY,  M.D.,  in  Prairie  Farmer. 


Benefit  of  Droughts. 

IT  may  be  a  consolation  to  those  who  have  felt  the  influence  of  long  and  protracted  dry 
weather,  to  know  that  droughts  are  one  of  the  natural  causes  to  restore  the  constituents  of 
crops  and  renovate  cultivated  soils.  The  diminution  of  the  mineral  matter  of  cultivated 
soils  takes  place  from  two  causes  : 

1.  The  quantity  of  mineral  matter  carried  off  in  crops,  and  not  returned  to  the  soil  in 
manure. 

2.  The  mineral  matter  carried  off  by  rain  water  to  the  sea  by  means  of  fresh- water  streams. 
These  two  causes,  always  in  operation,  and  counteracted  by  nothing,  would  in  time  render 

the  earth  a  barren  waste,  in  which  no  verdure  would  quicken  and  no  solitary  plant  take 
root.  A  rational  system  of  agriculture  would  obliterate  the  first  cause  of  sterility,  by  always 
restoring  to  the  soil  an  equivalent  for  that  which  is  taken  off  by  the  crops ;  but  as  this  is 
not  done  in  all  cases,  Providence  has  provided  a  way  of  its  own  to  counteract  the  thriftless- 
ness  of  man,  by  instituting  droughts  at  proper  periods,  to  bring  up  from  the  deep  parts  of 
the  earth  food  on  which  plants  might  feed  when  rains  should  again  fall.  The  manner  in 
which  droughts  exercise  their  beneficial  influence  is  as  follows : — During  dry  weather,  a  con- 
tinual evaporation  of  water  takes  place  from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  which  is  not  supplied 
by  any  from  the  clouds.  The  evaporation  from  the  surface  creates  a  vacuum,  (so  far  as  the 
water  is  concerned,)  which  is  at  once  filled  by  the  water  rising  up  from  the  subsoil  of  the 
land ;  the  water  from  the  subsoil  is  replaced  from  the  next  below,  and  in  this  manner  the 
circulation  of  water  in  the  earth  is  the  reverse  to  that  which  takes  place  in  wet  weather. 
This  progress  to  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  earth  manifests  itself  strikingly  in  the  dry- 
ing up  of  springs  and  of  rivers  and  streams  which  are  supported  by  springs.  It  is  not, 
however,  only  the  water  which  is  brought  to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  but  also  all  that  which 
the  water  holds  in  solution.  These  substances  are  salts  of  lime,  and  magnesia  of  potash  and 
soda,  and,  indeed,  whatever  the  subsoil  or  deep  strata  of  the  earth  may  contain.  The  water, 
on  reaching  the  surface  of  the  soil,  is  evaporated,  and  leaves  behind  the  mineral  salts,  which 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  183 

I  -will  here  enumerate — namely,  lime,  as  air-slaked  lime ;  magnesia,  as  air-slaked  magnesia ; 
phosphate  of  lime,  or  bone-earth ;  sulphate  of  lime,  or  plaster  of  Paris ;  carbonate  of  potash 
and  soda,  with  silicate  of  potash  and  soda,  and  also  chloride  of  sodium  or  common  salt, — all 
indispensable  to  the  growth  and  production  of  plants  which  are  used  for  food.  Pure  rain 
water,  a*  it  falls,  would  dissolve  but  a  very  small  proportion  of  some  of  these  substances; 
but  when  it  becomes  soaked  into  the  earth,  it  there  becomes  strongly  imbued  with  carbonic 
acid  from  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  matter  in  the  soil,  and  thus  acquires  the  property 
of  readily  dissolving  minerals  on  which  it  before  could  have  very  little  influence. 

I  was  first  led  to  the  consideration  of  the  above  subjects  by  finding,  on  the  re-examination 
of  a  soil  which  I  analyzed  three  or  four  years  ago,  a  larger  quantity  of  a  particular  mineral 
substance  than  I  at  first  found,  as  none  had  been  applied  in  the  mean  time.  The  thing  was 
difficult  of  explication  until  I  remembered  the  late  long  and  protracted  drought.  I  then  also 
remembered  that  in  Zacatecas  and  in  several  provinces  in  South  America,  soda  was  ob- 
tained1 from  the  bottom  of  ponds,  which  were  dried  in  the  dry,  and  again  filled  up  in  the 
rainy,  season.  As  the  above  explanation  depended  on  the  principles  of  natural  philosophy, 
I  at  once  instituted  several  experiments  to  prove  its  truth. 

Into  a  glass  cylinder  was  placed  a  small  quantity  of  chloride  of  barium  in  solution ;  this 
was  then  filled  with  a  dry  soil,  and  for  a  long  time  exposed  to  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  on 
the  surface.  The  soil  on  the  surface  of  the  cylinder  was  now  treated  with  sulphuric  acid, 
and  gave  a  copious  precipitate  of  sulphate  of  baryta. 

The  experiment  was  varied  by  substituting  chloride  of  lime,  sulphate  of  soda,  and  car- 
bonate of  potash,  for  the  chloride  of  barium  ;  and  on  the  proper  reagents  being  applied,  in 
every  instance  the  presence  of  those  substances  were  detected  in  large  quantities  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  soil  in  the  cylinder.  Here,  then,  was  proof  positive  and  direct,  by  plain  experi- 
ments in  chemistry  and  natural  philosophy,  of  the  agency,  the  ultimate  beneficial  agency  of 
droughts. 

We  see,  therefore,  in  this,  that  even  those  things  which  we  look  upon  as  evils  by  Provi- 
dence, are  blessings  in  disguise,  and  that  we  should  not  murmur  even  when  dry  seasons 
afflict  us,  for  they,  too,  are  for  our  good.  The  early  and  the  later  rain  may  produce  at  once 
abundant  crops;  but  dry  weather  is  also  a  beneficial  dispensation  of  Providence,  in  bringing 
to  the  surface  food  for  future  crops,  which  otherwise  would  be  forever  useless.  Seasonable 
weather  is  good  for  the  present ;  but  droughts  renew  the  storehouses  of  plants  in  the  soil, 
and  furnish  an  abundant  supply  of  nutriment  for  future  crops. — JAMES  HIQGINS,  Mary- 
land State  Chemist. 

New  Method  of  Using  and  Dissolving  Bones. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Hillsborough  Agricultural  Society,  at  Manchester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, General  Riddle  being  called  upon  by  the  president  to  relate  his  experience  in  the  use 
of  guano  and  other  special  manures,  made  some  statements  in  regard  to  the  way  of  dis- 
solving and  using  bones,  of  which  the  following  is  a  condensed  summary : — 

General  Riddle  took  sixty  gallons  of  ley  from  oyster-shell  lime  to  two  hundred  pounds  of 
bones,  and  boiled  them  together  a  few  hours,  and  the  bones  were  all  dissolved  or  reduced  to 
a  powder.  A  bushel  of  lime,  he  says,  will  make  six  gallons  of  ley ;  and  further,  that  bones 
dissolved  or  reduced  in  this  ley  make  a  dry  powder,  which  may  be  applied  like  ashes.  He 
put  a  gill  of  this  powder  to  a  hill,  on  twenty  rows  of  corn,  and  omitted  it  on  five  rows 
through  the  field.  There  was  an  astonishing  difference  in  the  appearance  of  these  different 
portions  of  the  field.  The  corn  where  the  bone-dust  was  applied  was  much  the  largest,  and 
of  a  far  deeper  green  in  color. — NasKs  Valley  Farmer. 

Liebig's  Fifty  Propositions. 

THE  following  fifty  propositions  are  copied  from  the  recent  work  of  Liebig  on  Agricultural 
Chemistry,  or  his  reply  to  the  statements  and  experiments  of  Messrs.  Lawes  and  Gilbert. 
These  fifty  propositions  are  claimed  by  him  to  be  distinct  truths,  established  by  the 
researches  of  chemistry  as  applied  to  agriculture. 


184  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  growth  of  a  plant  presupposes  a  germ,  a  seed ;  the  land-plant  requires  a  soil ;  •with- 
out the  atmosphere,  without  moisture,  the  plant  does  not  grow.  The  words  soil,  atmosphere, 
and  moisture  are  not  of  themselves  conditions ;  these  are  lime,  clay,  sand-soils,  soils  origin- 
ating from  granite,  from  gneiss,  from  mica-slate,  from  clay-slate,  all  entirely  different  in 
their  compositions  and  qualities.  The  word  soil  is  a  collective  word  for  a  large  number  of 
conditions.  In  a  fruitful  soil  these  conditions  are  combined  in  proportions  adapted  to  vege- 
table growth ;  in  an  unproductive  soil  some  of  them  are  wanting.  In  the  same,  manner,  the 
words  manure  and  atmosphere  include  a  plurality  of  terms  or  conditions.  The  chemist,  with 
the  means  at  his  command,  analyzes  all  kinds  of  soil ;  he  analyzes  manures,  the  air,  and  the 
water ;  he  resolves  the  collective  words  which  express  the  sum  of  the  conditions  of  vegetable 
growth  into  their  single  factors,  and,  in  his  explanations,  substitutes  the  individual  for  the 
combined  values.  In  this  process,  it  is  evident  there  is  nothing  hypothetical.  If  it  pass  for 
a  perfectly-established  truth  that  the  soil,  the  atmosphere,  water,  and  manures  exercise  a 
influence  upon  the  growth  of  the  plant,  it  is  no  less  beyond  doubt  that  this  influence  is 
entirely  due  to  the  constituents  of  the  soil,  &c.;  and  the  province  of  the  chemist  is  to  set 
these  ingredients  before  the  eyes  of  those  occupied  with  vegetable  cultivation,  and  to  illus- 
trate their  qualities  and  relations. 

1.  Plants  in  general  derive  their  carbon  and  nitrogen  from  the  atmosphere;  carbon  in  the 
form  of  carbonic  acid,  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia.     From  water  (and  ammonia)  they 
receive  hydrogen.     Their  sulphur  comes  from  sulphuric  acid. 

2.  Cultivated  in  soils,  situations,  and  climates  the  most  various,  plants  contain  a  certain 
number  of  mineral  substances,  and,  in  fact,  always  the  same  substances,  whose  nature  is 
learned  from  the  composition  of  the  ash.     These  ingredients  of  the  ash  were  ingredients  of 
the  soil.     All  fruitful  soils  contain  a  certain  quantity  of  them.     They  are  absent  from  no 
soil  in  which  plants  flourish. 

3.  In  the  produce  of  a  field  is  carried  off  and  removed  from  the  soil  the  entire  quantity 
of  those  soil-ingredients  which  have  become  constituents  of  the  plant.     The  soil  is  richer  at 
seed-time  than  at  harvest.     The  composition  of  the  soil  is  changed  after  the  harvest. 

4.  After  a  series  of  years,  and  after  a  corresponding  number  of  harvests,  the  productive- 
ness of  a  field  diminishes.     When  all  other  conditions  remain  unchanged,  the  soil  alone 
becomes  different  from  what  it  was  previously ;  the  change  in  its  composition  is  the  pro- 
bable cause  of  its  becoming  unproductive. 

5.  By  means  of  manures,  as  stable-dung  and  animal  excrements,  the  lost  fertility  may  be 
restored. 

6.  Manures  consist  of  decayed  vegetable  and  animal  matters,  which  contain  a  certain 
quantity  of  soil-ingredients.     The  excrements  of  animals  and  of  man  represent  the  ashes  of 
food  burned  in  the  animal  or  human  body;  i.e.  the  ashes  of  plants  which  have  been  gathered 
from  the  soil.     In  the  urine  are  found  those  ingredients  of  the  plant,  derived  from  the  soil, 
which  are  soluble  in  water ;  the  solid  excrements  contain  those  which  are  insoluble.     Manures 
contain  the  materials  which  the  consumed  crops  have  removed  from  the  soil.     It  is  plain  that 
by  incorporating  manures  with  the  soil  the  latter  receives  again  the  withdrawn  ingredients. 
The  restoration  of  its  original  composition  is  accompanied  with  the  recovery  of  its  original 
fertility.     It  is  certain  that  one  of  the  conditions  of  fertility  is  the  presence  of  certain 
mineral  ingredients  in  the  soil.     A  rich  soil  contains  more  of  them  than  a  poor  one. 

7.  The  functions  of  the  roots  of  plants,  in  reference  to  the  absorption  of  atmospheric  food, 
are  similar  to  those  of  the  leaves;  i.e.  the  former,  like  the  latter,  possess  the  property  of 
taking  up  and  assimilating  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia. 

8.  Ammonia,  which  is  contained  in  or  added  to  the  soil,  comports  itself  as  a  soil-constitu- 
ent.    The  same  is  equally  true  of  carbonic  acid.  ' 

9.  Animal  and  vegetable  bodies  and  animal  excrements  enter  into  putrefaction  and  decay. 
The  nitrogen  of  the  nitrogenous  matters  is  thereby  converted  into  ammonia,  a  small  portion 
of  the  ammonia  decays  (oxydizes)  further  into  nitric  acid. 

10.  We  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  nitric  acid  may  replace  ammonia  in  the  processes 
of  vegetable  nutrition;  i.e.  that  its  nitrogen  may  be  applied  by  the  plant  to  the  same  pur- 
poses as  that  of  ammonia.     Animal  manures  accordingly  furnish  the  plant  not  only  with 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  185 

those  mineral  substances  which  it  is  the  function  of  the  soil  to  furnish,  but  also  with  those 
forms  of  food  which  it  naturally  derives  from  the  atmosphere.  This  supply  is  an  addition 
to  that  quantity  which  the  atmosphere  contains. 

11.  Those  forms  of  vegetable  food  contained  in  the  soil  which  are  not  gaseous  or  volatile 
enter  the  plant  through  its  roots.     The  vehicle  of  their  transmission  is  water,  by  the  agency 
of  which  they  become  soluble  and  transportable.     Many  of  these  kinds  of  food  dissolve  in 
pure  water,  others  only  in  water  which  contains  carbonic  acid  or  a  salt  of  ammonia. 

12.  All  those  substances  which  exert  a  solvent  action  on  such  ingredients  of  the  soil  as 
are  themselves  insoluble,  cause,  by  their  presence,  a  given  volume  of  rain  water  to  take  up 
a  larger  quantity  of  vegetable  food  than  it  otherwise  could. 

13.  From  the  progressive  decay  of  the  organic  matters  of  manure  originate  carbonic  acid 
and  ammonia  salts;  they  constitute  an  active  source  of  carbonic  acid  in  the  soil,  whereby 
the  air  and  water  present  in  the  soil  are  made  richer  in  carbonic  acid  than  they  could  be  in 
their  absence. 

14.  Animal  manures  not  only  offer  to  the  plant  a  certain  amount  of  soil  and  atmospheric 
food,  but  in  their  decay  is  supplied,  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia,  an  indispen- 
sable means  of  rendering  soluble  and  available  to  the  plant  the  insoluble  ingredients  of  the 
soil  in  greater  quantity  and  in  shorter  time  than  could  occur  in  the  absence  of  decaying 
organic  matter. 

15.  Other  things  being  equal,  vegetation  receives  less  water  through  the  soil  in  warm, 
dry  seasons  than  in  wet  years ;  the  harvests  in  different  years  stand  in  relation  thereto.     A 
field  of  given  quality  yields  smaller  crops  in  dry  seasons ;  by  the  same  average  temperature 
the  yield  increases  to  a  certain  limit  with  the  increase  of  the  quantity  of  rain. 

16.  Of  two  fields— one  richer,  one  poorer  in  plant- food — the  richer  yields  in  dry  seasons 
more  produce  than  the  poorer,  other  things  being  equal. 

17.  Of  two  fields  alike  in  character,  and  containing  an  equal  amount  of  soil-ingredients, 
one  of  which,  however,  has  besides  a  source  of  carbonic  acid — viz.  decomposable  vegetable 
or  animal  matter — the  latter  yields  more  in  dry  seasons  than  the  former. 

18.  The  cause  of  this  difference  in  yield  lies  in  the  unequal  supply  of  matters,  both  as  con- 
cerns quality  and  quantity,  which  the  plant  receives  from  the  soil  in  a  given  time. 

19.  All  obstacles  present  in  the  soil,  which  hinder  the  solution  and  absorbability  of  the 
plant-food,  proportionally  destroy  its  ability  to  serve  as  food;   they  make  the  plant-food 
ineffective.     A  certain  physical  state  of  t^e  soil  is  a  needful  preliminary  condition  to  the 
efficacy  of  the  food  therein  contained.     The  soil  must  allow  the  access  of  air  and  moisture, 
and  permit  the  roots  of  plants  to  extend  themselves  in  all  directions,  and  seek  out  their 
nutriinant.     The  expression,  telluric  conditions,  comprises  every  thing  necessary  to  vegetable 
growth  that  depends  upon  the  physical  qualities  and  composition  of  the  soil. 

20.  All  plants  need  as  nourishment  phosphoric  acid,  sulphuric  acid,  the  alkalies,  lime,  magnesia, 
and  iron.  Certain  families  of  plants  require  silica ;  those  that  grow  on  the  sea-shore  and  in  the  sea 
itself  require  common  salt,  soda,  and  iodine.     In  some  families  of  plants  the  alkalies  may 
be  in  part  replaced  by  lime  and  magnesia,  and  vice  versa.     All  these  bodies  are  collectively 
designated  as  mineral  food.     The  atmospheric  food  of  plants  is  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia. 
Water  serves  itself  as  food  and  also  as  a  general  medium  of  nutrition. 

21.  The  bodies  that  are  necessary  as  food  for  the  plant  have  an  equal  value  in  this  respect; 
*'.«.  if  any  one  of  the  entire  number  be  wanting,  the  plant  cannot  flourish. 

22.  Fields  which  are  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  all  species  of  plants  contain  all  the  soil- 
ingredients  that  are  necessary  for  these  plants ;  the  words  poor  or  unfruitful,  and  rich  or 
fruitful,  express  the  relations  of  these  soil-ingredients  in  quantity  or  quality. 

Among  qualitative  differences  are  understood  differences  in  the  solubility  of  the  mineral 
ingredients,  or  in  their  capability  of  entering  the  vegetable  structure  through  the  agency  of 
water. 

Of  two  soils  which  contain  equal  quantities  of  mineral  food,  one  may  be  fruitful,  (con- 
sidered as  rich,)  the  other  unfruitful,  (considered  as  poor,)  when  in  the  latter  these  nutritive 
inces  are  not  free,  but  exist  in  the  state  of  chemical  compound.  A  body  in  chemical 
combination  opposes,  by  its  attraction  for  the  bodies  it  is  combined  with,  an  obstacle  to 


186  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

another  body  that  tends  to  unite  with  it.     This  opposition  must  be  overcome  before  the  two 
will  unite. 

23.  All  soils  adapted  for  cultivation  contain  the  mineral  nutritive  matters  in  both  these 
forms.     Taken  together  they  represent  the  capital  of  the  soil ;  the  freely  soluble  parts  are 
the  movable  or  available  capital. 

24.  The  improvement — enriching,  making  fruitful — of  a  soil  by  proper  means,  but  with- 
out addition  of  mineral  plant-food,  implies  a  conversion  of  a  part  of  the  inactive,  unavail- 
able capital  into  a  form  available  for  the  plant. 

25.  The  mechanical  operations  of  tillage  have  the  object  to  overcome  chemical  obstacles, 
to  set  free  and  render  directly  useful  the  plant-food  that  is  in  insoluble  chemical  combina- 
tion.    This  object  is  accomplished  through  the  co-operation  of  the  atmosphere,  of  carbonic 
acid,  oxygen,  and  water.     This  action  is  called  weathering.     The  presence  of  standing  water 
in  the  soil,  which  cuts  off  the  access  of  the  atmosphere  to  the  chemical  compounds  in  the 
soil,  hinders  the  process  of  weathering. 

26.  Fallow  is  the  period  of  weathering.     During  fallow,  by  means  of  air  and  rain,  car- 
bonic acid  and  ammonia  are  added  to  the  soil.     The  latter  remains  there  when  substances 
are  present  capable  of  fixing  it,  i.e.  depriving  it  of  volatility. 

27.  A  soil  is  fruitful  for  a  given  species  of  plant  when  it  contains  the  mineral  substances 
needed  by  that  plant  in  proper  quantity  and  proportion,  and  in  a  form  adapted  for  enter- 
ing it. 

28.  When  this  soil  has  become  unfruitful  by  continued  use,  by  the  removal  of  a  series  of 
crops  without  replacing  the  mineral  ingredients  carried  off,  it  will  recover  its  productiveness  for 
this  kind  of  plant  by  lying  one  or  more  seasons  in  fallow,  if,  in  addition  to  the  soluble  and 
removed  ingredients,  it  had  contained  a  certain  store  of  the  same  substances  in  an  insoluble 
form,  which,  during  the  fallow,  by  mechanical  division  and  weathering,   are  capable  of 
becoming  soluble.     By  the  so-called  green  manuring  this  result  is  effected  in  a  shorter  time. 

29.  A  field  which  does  not  contain  these  mineral  forms  of  plant-food  cannot  become  fruit- 
ful by  lying  in  fallow. 

30.  The  increase  of  the  productiveness  of  a  field  by  fallow  and  tillage,  and  the  removal  of 
soil-ingredients  in  the  crops,  without  a  return  of  the  latter,  brings  about,  in  shorter  or 
longer  time,  a  state  of  permanent  unfruitfulness. 

31.  In  order  that  the  fertility  of  a  soil  be  permanent,  the  removed  substances  must  be 
replaced  at  certain  intervals  ;  i.e.  its  original  composition  must  be  re-established. 

32.  Various  species  of  plants  require  the  same  kinds  of  mineral  food  to  their  develop- 
ment, but  in  unlike  quantities,  or  at  different  times.     Some  cultivated  plants  need  that 
silica  be  present  in  soluble  form  in  the  soil. 

33.  When  a  given  field  contains  a  certain  amount  of  all  kinds  of  mineral  plant-food  in 
equal  proportion,  and  in  suitable  form,  it  will  become  unproductive  of  a  single  species  of 
plant  so  soon  as,  in  consequence  of  continuous  cropping,  any  single  kind  of  plant-food — e.g. 
soluble  silica — is  so  far  exhausted  that  its  quantity  is  insufficient  for  a  new  crop. 

34.  A  second  plant  which  does  not  require  this  ingredient   (silica,  e.g. )  will  yield  one  or 
more  crops  on  the  same  soil,  because  the  other,  for  it  necessary,  ingredients,  although  in 
changed  proportions,  (i.e.  not  in  equal  quantities,)  are  yet  present  in  quantity  sufficient  for 
its  perfect  development. 

After  the  second,  a  third  kind  of  plant  will  flourish  in  the  same  field,  if  the  remaining 
soil-ingredients  be  enough  for  its  wants ;  and  if,  during  the  growth  of  these  kinds  of  plants, 
a  new  supply  of  the  wanting  plant-food  (soluble  silica)  has  been  made  available  by  weather- 
ing, then,  the  other  conditions  being  as  before,  the  first  plant  will  again  flourish. 

35.  On  the  unequal  quantity  and  quality  of  the  mineral  ingredients  of  the  soil,  and  on 
the  differing  proportions  in  which  they  serve  as  food  for  the  different  kinds  of  plants,  is 
based  the  alternation  or  rotation  of  crops  in  general,  as  well  as  the  peculiar  method  accord- 
ing to  which  it  is  carried  out. 

36.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  growth  of  a  plant,  its  increase  in  bulk,  and  its  perfect 
development  in  a  given  time,  stand  in  relation  to  the  surface  of  the  organs  whose  function 
is  to  take  up  the  food  of  the  plant.     The  quantity  of  plant-food  that  is  derived  from  the 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  187 

atmosphere  depends  upon  the  number  and  surface  of  the  leaves ;  that  which  is  taken  from 
the  soil,  upon  the  number  and  surface  of  the  roots. 

37.  If  to  two  plants  of  the  same  species,  during  the  formation  of  leaves  and  roots,  an 
unequal  amount  of  nourishment  be  offered  in  the  same  space  of  time,  their  increase  of  mass 
is  unequal  in  this  time.     That  plant  which  has  received  more  food  increases  more,  its  de- 
velopment is  facilitated.     The  same  difference  in  growth  is  manifest  when  two  plants  receive 
the  same  amount  of  food,  but  in  unlike  forms  as  to  solubility. 

The  rapidity  of  the  development  of  a  plant  is  facilitated  by  furnishing  it  with,  all  the 
necessary  atmospheric  and  telluric  nutritive  matters  in  proper  form  and  at  the  right  time. 
The  conditions  that  shorten  the  time  of  development  are  the  same  as  those  that  contribute 
to  its  amount. 

38.  Two  plants,  whose  roots  have  an  equal  length  and  extension,  do  not  flourish  so  well 
near  or  after  each  other  as  two  plants  whose  roots,  being  of  unequal  length,  acquire  their 
nourishment  at  different  depths  in  the  soil. 

39.  The  nutritive  substances  needed  by  the  plant  must  act  together  in  a  given  time,  in 
order  that  the  plant  attain  full  development  in  this  time.     The  more  rapidly  a  plant  develops 
itself  in  a  given  period,  the  more  food  does  it  need  in  that  time.     Annuals  require  more  rapid 
supplies  than  perennials. 

40.  If  one  of  the  co-operating  ingredients  of  the  soil  or  of  the  atmosphere  be  partly  or 
entirely  deficient,  or  want  those  qualities  that  adapt  it  to  absorption,  the  plant  does  not 
develop  itself  in  all  its  parts,  or  only  imperfectly.     The  deficiency  of  one  ingredient  renders 
those  present  ineffectual,  or  diminishes  their  effect. 

41.  If  the  absent  or  deficient  substance  be  added  to  the  soil,  or,  if  present,  but  insoluble, 
be  rendered  soluble,  the  other  constituents  are  thereby  rendered  efficient. 

By  the  deficiency  or  absence  of  one  necessary  constituent,  all  the  others  being  present,  the 
soil  is  rendered  barren  for  all  those  crops  to  the  life  of  which  that  one  constituent  is  indis- 
pen-able.  The  soil  yields  rich  crops  if  that  substance  be  added  infdue  quantity  and  in  an 
available  form.  In  the  case  of  soils  of  unknown  composition,  experiments  with  individual 
mineral  manures  enable  us  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  quality  of  the  land  and  the  pre- 
sence of  the  different  mineral  constituents.  If,  for  example,  phosphate  of  lime,  given  alone, 
is  found  efficacious — that  is,  if  it  increases  the  produce  of  the  land — this  is  a  sign  that  that 
substance  was  absent,  or  present  in  too  small  proportion,  whereas  there  was  no  want  of  the 
others.  Had  any  of  these  other  necessary  substances  been  also  wanting,  the  phosphate  of 
lime  would  have  had  no  effect. 

42.  The  efficacy  of  all  the  mineral  constituents  of  the  soil  taken  together,  in  a  given  time, 
depends  on  the  co-operation  of  the  atmospheric  constituents  in  the  same  time. 

43.  The  efficacy  of  the  atmospheric  constituents  in  a  given  time  depends  on  the  co-operation 
of  the  mineral  constituents  in  the  same  time  ;  if  the  latter  be  present  in  due  proportion  and  in 
available  forms,  the  development  of  the  plants  is  in  proportion  to  the  supply  and  assimilation 
of  their  atmospheric  food.     The  quantity  and  quality  (available  form)  of  the  mineral  constitu- 
ents in  the  soil,  and  the  absence  or  presence  of  the  obstacles  to  their  efficacy,  (physical  qualities 
of  the  soil, )  increase  or  diminish  the  number  and  bulk  of  the  plants  which  may  be  grown  on  a 
given  surface.     The  fertile  soil  takes  up  from  the  air,  in  the  plants  grown  on  it,  more  carbonic 
acid  and  ammonia  than  the  barren  one  ;  this  absorption  is  in  proportion  to  its  fertility,  and 
is  only  limited  by  the  limited  amount  of  carbonic  acid  and  ammonia  in  the  atmosphere. 

44.  With  equal  supplies  of  the  atmospheric  conditions  of  the  growth  of  plants,  the  crops  are 
in  direct  proportion  to  the  amount  of  mineral  constituents  supplied  in  the  manure. 

45.  With  equal  telluric  conditions,  the  crops  are  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  atmospheric 
constituents  supplied  by  the  air  and  the  soil,  (including  manure.)     If,  to  the  available  mineral 
constituents  in  the  soil,  ammonia  and  carbonic  acid  be  added  in  the  manure,  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  is  exalted. 

The  union  of  the  telluric  and  atmospheric  conditions  and  their  co-operation  in  due  quantity, 
time,  and  quality,  determine  the  maximum  of  produce. 

46.  The  supply  of  more  atmospheric  food  (carbonic  acid  and  ammonia,  by  means  of  am- 
moniacal  salts  and  humus)  than  the  air  can  furnish,  increases  the  efficacy  of  the  mineral 


188  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

constituents  present  in  the  soil,  in  a  given  time.  From  the  same  surface,  there  is  thus  ob- 
tained, in  that  time,  a  heavier  produce — perhaps  in  one  year  as  much  as  in  two  without  this 
excess  of  atmospheric  food. 

47.  In  a  soil  rich  in  the  mineral  food  of  plants,  the  produce  cannot  be  increased  by  adding 
more  of  the  same  substances. 

48.  In  a  soil  rich  in  the  atmospheric  food  of  plants,  (rendered  so  by  manuring,)  the  produce 
cannot  be  increased  by  adding  more  of  the  same  substances. 

49.  From  land  rich  in  the  mineral  constituents,  we  may  obtain  in  one  year,  or  for  a  series 
of  years,  by  the  addition  of  ammonia  alone,  (in  Its  salts,)  or  of  humus  and  ammonia,  rich  crops, 
without  in  any  way  restoring  the  mineral  substances  removed  in  these  crops.     The  duration 
of  this  fertility  then  depends  on  the  supply ;  that  is,  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  mineral 
constituents  existing  in  the  soil.     The  continued  use  of  these  manures  produces,  sooner  or 
later,  an  exhaustion  of  the  soil. 

50.  If,  after  a  time,  the  soil  is  to  recover  its  original  fertility,  the  mineral  substances  ex- 
tracted from  it  in  a  series  of  years  must  be  again  restored  to  it.     If  the  land,  in  the  course 
of  ten  years,  has  yielded  ten  crops,  without  restoration  of  the  mineral  substances  removed 
in  those  crops,  then  we  must  restore  these  in  the  eleventh  year,  in  a  quantity  tenfold  that 
of  the  annually-removed  amount,  if  the  land  is  again  to  acquire  the  power  of  yielding  a 
second  time  a  similar  series  of  crops. 

> 

Weeds  in  Walks. 

THE  following  modes  of  preventing  the  growth  of  weeds  in  gravel-walks,  are  copied  from 
the  correspondence  of  the  London  Gardener's  Chronicle : — 

In  order  to  prevent  weeds  from  growing  on  walks,  put  a  layer  of  gas-lime  under  the  last 
inch  of  gravel.  This  also  helps  to  bind  the  gravel. 

The  following  is  the  way  in  which  I  managed  walks  when  I  was  a  gentleman's  gardener. 
In  one  situation  I  held  I  had  three  miles  of  gravel-walks  to  keep  in  order.  In  winter,  when 
there  was  sufficient  frost  to  freeze  the  gravel  in  the  mornings,  I  employed  the  laborers  in 
cleaning  the  walks  with  a  half-worn  out  birch-broom,  sweeping  backwards  and  forwards,  and 
then  removing  with  a  new  broom  what  the  old  ones  took  off  the  surface.  When  the  walks 
were  covered  with  moss,  it  was  scraped  off  with  a  hoe  before  the  broom  was  used.  After 
having  pursued  this  practice  for  six  years,  my  walks  looked  as  fresh  and  clean  as  if  they  had 
been  newly  gravelled.  Last  season  very  few  weeds  made  their  appearance  during  the  sum- 
mer ;  by  performing  the  operation  when  frost  is  on  the  ground,  you  not  only  remove  all  small 
weeds,  but  you  sweep  off  most  of  the  seeds  deposited  there  to  vegetate  the  following  summer. 
If  docks,  thistles,  or  dandelions  appear,  cut  out  their  crowns  and  put  a  little  salt  on  them  ; 
you  will  not  have  to  repeat  the  salting  twice  in  one  place. 


On  the  Composition  of  the  Salt  best  Adapted  for  Dairy  Purposes. 

THE  nature  of  the  salt  best  adapted  for  the  dairy  has  long  formed  a  subject  of  discussion 
among  dairy  farmers,  and  many  opinions,  and  not  a  few  fanciful  prejudices,  exist  regarding 
it.  It  is  well  known  that,  for  a  long  time,  very  decided  opinions  existed  as  to  the  superiority 
of  bay-salt,  and  at  one  time  the  imports  of  that  variety  of  salt  were  considerable.  Bay-salt 
is  produced  in  Spain  by  the  spontaneous  evaporation  of  sea-water,  which  at  high-water  is 
allowed  to  run  into  shallow  ponds,  in  which  it  is  gradually  concentrated  by  the  heat  of  the 
sun's  rays.  The  salt  so  deposited  is  always  in  crystals  of  considerable  size,  and  generally  of 
a  brownish  color.  In  spite  of  the  color,  it  is  a  very  pure  salt,  and  contains  but  little  of  the 
magnesian  compounds  present  in  the  sea-water,  which  are  entirely  left  in  the  mother-liquor 
from  which  the  crystals  have  been  separated. 

Lime  and  magnesia — especially  the  chloride  of  magnesia  existing  in  salt — have  a  very 
powerful  affinity  for  water,  and  retain  it  in  considerable  quantity.  The  chloride  is  even  a 
deliquescent  substance — that  is  to  say,  it  absorbs  moisture  from  the  air ;  so  that  a  sample  of 
ealt  containing  it,  even  if  artificially  dried,  will  again  become  moist,  if  kept  for  some  time. 


AGRICULTURAL   CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  189 

For  this  reason  the  dryness  of  a  salt  is  an  excellent  criterion  of  its  purity,  and,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  an  analysis,  may  serve  to  guide  the  purchaser. 

As  far  as  the  use  of  salt  for  the  dairy  is  concerned,  it  seems  obvious  that  we  must  mainly 
depend  on  its  purity;  and  it  was,  doubtless,  for  this  reason  that  bay-salt  was  formerly 
preferred. 

It  is  necessary  to  be  remai'ked,  however,  that  the  form  of  the  salt  is  not  immaterial ;  and 
that  when  in  fine  powder  it  is  clearly  preferable  to  large  grains  or  crystals,  and  that  because 
it  admits  of  more  thorough  incorporation  with  the  butter,  and  its  antiseptic  effects  will  be 
secured  by  the  use  of  a  smaller  quantity  than  would  be  necessary  if  in  large  crystals. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  salt  now  met  with  in  commerce  is  very  fine  ;  but  instances  are  some- 
times met  with  in  which  the  magnesia  salts  are  present  in  considerable  quantity.  I  have 
seen  specimens  containing  as  much  as  3  per  cent,  of  chloride  of  magnesium  and  sulphate 
of  magnesia,  and  such  samples  contain  much  water ;  so  that  the  amount  of  pure  salt  does 
not  exceed  from  89  to  90  per  cent. 

Such  salt  should  be  carefully  avoided  for  dairy  purposes ;  and  all  care  should  be  taken  to 
obtain  it  as  pure  as  possible. — Prof.  Anderson,  Highland  Ag.  Soc. 

Qualities  of  Pasturage. 

THE  following  remarks  on  the  qualities  of  pasturage  are  taken  from  the  Transactions  of 
the  Croyden  Farmers'  Club,  England : — 

What  is  the  cause  that  some  pasture  will  readily  fatten  stock  fit  for  the  butcher,  while  others, 
with  an  tt'inndance  of  grass,  will  only  keep  stock  merely  in  a  growing  or  thriving  condition? 

That  such  is  the  fact,  all  farmers  are  and  have  been  aware  of  for  ages  past,  but  as  to  the 
>  of  these  differences  no  good  or  sufficient  reason  has  been  assigned.  I  will,  however, 
state  what  I  consider  an  explanation  why  the  one  does  fatten  so  readily,  and  why  the  other 
does  not,  and  also  give  reasons  and  authorities  for  such  opinions.  First,  the  tutu-uing  quali- 
ties of  what  are  termed  rich  grazing  lands  may  probably  be  owing  to  all  the  several  elements 
of  nutrition  being  present  in  such  quantities  in  relation  to  each  other,  and  in  states  of  com- 
binsitiou,  that  are  well  adapted  for  being  assimilated  and  deposited  as  fat  and  muscle,  thereby 
requiring  no  unnecessary  expenditure  of  the  vital  power  or  principle  to  produce  such  effect. 

Dr.  Thomson,  in  his  "Experimental  Researches  on  the  Food  of  Animals,"  says — "Besides 
the  necessity  for  the  presence  of  the  same  materials  in  the  food  which  exist  in  the  blood,  it 
is  requisite  that  each  should  bear  a  certain  relation  to  the  whole."  Now  it  is  reasonable  to 
think  that  it  is  so,  and  also  that  where  one  or  more  elements  in  the  food  are  in  excess,  that 
there  must  be  an  expenditure  of  vital  power  to  get  rid  of  such  excess. 

Prof.  Johnston  also  says — "It  has  been  ascertained  by  physiologists  that  all  the  parts  of  the 
body  undergo  a  slow  and  sensible  process  of  renewal,  the  place  of  that  which  is  removed 
being  supplied  by  new  portions  of  matter  derived  from  the  food,  and  that  this  renewal  goes 
on  so  rapidly,  that  in  the  space  of  time  the  whole  body  of  the  animal  is  renewed.  I  may 
observe  that  we  know  by  experience  when  a  rich  pasture  is  broken  up,  it  takes  many  years 
when  again  laid  down  to  pasture  before  it  at  all  approaches  to  its  former  fattening  powers, 
and  also  before  it  again  produces  all  those  numerous  grasses  (if  ever  it  does  again)  which 
grew  upon  it  before  it  was  broken  up.  There  may  be  another  cause  which  aids  in  the  fatten- 
ing qualities  of  such  pastures ;  and  that  is  the  presence  of  some  plant  or  plants  containing  one 
or  more  of  those  classes  of  compounds  which  have  the  property  of  changing  one  compound 
into  another,  thereby  saving  an  expenditure  of  the  vital  power  in  digestion." 

Why  is  it,  that  the  majority,  I  may  say,  of  meadows  which  produce  an  ample  crop  of 
herbage  to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  animals  grazing  thereon,  will  not  fatten  them  fit  for  the 
butcher  without  the  aid  of  some  artificial  food  ?  Here  again,  as  in  the  former  case,  we  can 
only  conjecture.  We  are  certain  that  all  the  elements  requisite  to  form  the  animal  are  pre- 
sent in  the  herbage  and  hay  grown  thereon,  from  the  fact  that  animals  bred  on,  and  fed 
upon,  the  produce  of  such  pastures  or  meadows  come  to  full  maturity  in  health  and  strength  ; 
still,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  several  quantities  of  these  elements  are  in  such  a  relation  to 
each  other,  and  in  such  combinations  of  forms,  as  not  to  require  considerably  more  expendi- 


190  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

ture  of  the  vital  powers  to  convert  them  into  the  various  compounds  to  be  assimilated  end 
appropriated  by  the  different  organs  and  parts  of  the  body,  than  would  be  required  in  tho 
former  case  upon  the  good  grazing  land ;  added  to  which,  another,  and  I  think,  perhaps  the 
principal,  disturbing  cause  may  probably  be  owing  to  the  presence  of  some  plant  or  plants 
among  the  herbage  which  exercise  an  unfavorable  actiofi  upon  the  fat-producing  powers, 
and  which,  from  the  soil  being  peculiarly  adapted  for  their  nourishing  growth,  may  be  pro- 
duced in  bulk,  as  compared  with  the  aggregate  herbage  grown,  sufficient  to  bring  about  the 
marked  difference  noticed.  To  make  myself  and  meaning  here  more  clearly  comprehended, 
I  will  suppose  a  case: — We  know  that  some  piants  excite  the  kidneys  to  increased  action. 
Supposing,  therefore,  that  in  any  pasture  (however  abundant  it  might  be  in  quantity)  there 
were  growing  some  plant  or  plants  which  exercise  an  exciting  influence  upon  the  kidneys, 
provided  that  influence  was  not  energetic  enough  in  the  first  instance  to  produce  disease  of 
those  organs,  the  secretion  from  them  would  be  much,  as  well  as  permanently,  increased 
under  the  daily  stimulant  taken  with  food.  Now,  as  that  secretion  is  wholly  derived  from 
the  blood,  we  can  readily  form  an  idea  that  there  must  be  a  much  larger  quantity  of  blood 
required  to  furnish  the  increased  quantity  of  urine  secreted,  with  all  its  salts  and  other 
organic  compounds,  whether  immediately  derived  from  the  food,  or  from  the  disintegration 
and  breaking  up  of  the  already  formed  parts  of  the  body.  Such  being  the  case,  it  would  be 
natural  to  conclude  that  the  animal  would  not  become  what  we  call  fat  under  the  increased 
consumption  of  the  blood  in  that  direction.  This  may  seem  to  be  putting  an  extreme  case ; 
but  we  should  reflect  that  there  is  no  organ  or  part  of  the  body,  varying,  of  course,  in  the 
different  species  of  animals,  on  which  there  is  not  some  vegetable  production  that  exercises 
a  certain  specific  influence,  more  or  less,  according  to  the  constitution,  the  breed,  and  sus- 
ceptibility of  the  individual  animal.  The  same  effects  are  also  true  as  regards  the  inorganic 
elements  of  nature ;  and  it  is  upon  those  facts,  the  results  of  observation,  that  the  art  of 
medicine  is  founded.  I  say  again,  if  we  consider  this,  there  may  be  some  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  the  accumulation  of  any  superfluous  quantity  of  fat  and  muscle,  to  the  extent  that 
we  consider  an  animal  to  be  fatted,  may  be  retarded  by  the  presence  of  any  such  plant  or 
plants,  in  an  undue  proportion  to  the  requirements  of  nutrition. 

"The  next  consideration  is,  What  can  be  done  to  improve  those  pastures?  All  agree  that 
where  drainage  is  required  it  benefits  their  feeding  qualities  in  most  instances ;  draining  is 
more  often  required  in  pasture  lands  and  meadows  than  is  generally  supposed.  It  increases 
the  number  of  the  finer  sort  of  grasses,  as  well  as  increases  the  bulk  of  those  already  grow- 
ing; it  also  gets  rid  of,  or  greatly  weakens,  those  plants  which  delight  and  flourish  in  most 
soils,  which,  though  they  may  not  be  called  wet  ones,  still  generally  retain  water  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  in  the  subsoil ;  and  among  those  plants  which  flourish  in  moist  soils  are 
many  not  favorable  to  animals.  These  pastures  will  also  be  greatly  improved  by  high  manuring, 
more  especially  where  draining  was  required  and  has  been  done ;  for  supposing  all  the  inju- 
rious plants  to  remain  which  are  natural  to  the  soil,  their  bulk  and  produce,  as  compared 
with  the  more  nutritious  grasses,  will  be  greatly  lessened  by  the  soil  being  made  more  rich 
and  congenial  for  the  growth  of  the  finer  sorts,  which  will,  by  their  greater  numbers  and  more 
vigorous  growth,  check  and  weaken  the  others;  consequently  there  would  be  in  a  given 
weight  of  herbage  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  really  nutritious  grasses  to  the  injurious 
ones,  than  when  the  pasture  was  in  its  natural  state,  therefore  with  a  less  disturbance  of  the 
natural  functions  of  the  organs  of  the  animals  grazing  upon  it.  Much  benefit,  I  think,  would 
arise  if  botanists,  and  those  who  make  plants  their  study,  were  to  direct  their  attention 
specially  to  the  qualities  and  properties  of  those  plants  and  grasses  which  grow  in  our  meadows 
and  pastures.  Farmers  have  not  time  for  such  details ;  nor,  indeed,  is  it  necessary  that  we 
should  enter  into  them.  All  we  can  do  is  to  observe  for  ourselves,  and  bring  our  reasoning 
faculties  to  bear  upon  the  experiments  and  facts  which  are  and  may  have  been  brought  to 
light  by  the  chemist,  the  botanist,  the  physiologist,  the  entomologist. 

Our  endeavor  should  be  to  think  and  reflect  whether  any  or  what  relation  a  new  discovery 
or  fact  already  known  bears  upon  any  department  of  farming.  The  improvement  which 
has  taken  place  in  our  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs,  and  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  has 
quite  doubled  our  supplies  of  animal  food  in  fifty  years,  has  not  been  brought  about  by  scien- 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  191 

tific  men,  but  by  men  of  close  observation  and  deep  reflection,  which  qualities  are  generally 
the  parents  of  sound  judgment.  It  has  been  accomplished  by  practical  farmers  in  every 
sense  of  the  word,  who  by  observation  of  a  few  of  the  laws  of  organic  life,  as  manifested  in 
animals  living  under  different  conditions  as  to  food  and  climate,  and  availing  themselves  of 
those  laws,  have  gradually  brought  about  this  vast  improvement  in  our  breeds  of  stock. — 

London  Farmers'  Magazine. 

' 

Hay  Making. 

THE  following  article  from  the  Irish  Economist,  with  extracts  from  Morton's  Cyclopedia  of 
Agriculture,  (English,)  although  referring  in  part  to  methods  and  grasses  foreign  to  this  coun- 
try, still  contains  truths  worthy  of  consideration  by  every  farmer : — 

Chemistry  informs  us  that  of  the  various  ingredients  which  compose  grass,  those  portions 
which  are  immediately  soluble  in  water  are  the  most  fitted  for  purposes  of  nutrition ;  and, 
therefore,  it  should  be  cut  at  that  period  when  the  largest  amount  of  gluten,  sugar,  and  other 
matter  soluble  in  water  is  contained  in  it.  And  that  period  is  not,  generally  speaking,  when 
the  plants  have  shot  into  seed ;  for  the  principal  substance  is  then  woody  fibre,  which  is  totally 
insoluble  in  water,  and  therefore  unfitted  for  being  assimilated  in  the  stomach.  It  has  been 
shown  that  "  when  the  grass  first  springs  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  chief  constituent 
of  its  early  blades  is  water,  the  amount  of  solid  matter  comparatively  trifling ;  as  its  growth 
advances,  the  deposition  of  a  more  indurated  form  of  carbon  gradually  becomes  more  consi- 
derable, the  sugar  and  soluble  matter  at  first  increasing,  then  gradually  diminishing,  to  give 
way  to  the  deposition  of  woody  substance,"  the  saccharine  juices  being  in  the  greatest  abun- 
dance when  the  grass  is  in  full  flower,  but  before  the  teed  is  formed.  During  all  the  latter  part 
of  the  process  of  fructification,  the  formation  of  the  <»•»••!.  ^c.,  the  sugar  rapidly  tlrenvt-es  in 
quantity,  and  when  tie  seeds  have  arrived  at  maturity,  the  stem  and  leaves  begin  to  decay; 

:t,  if  the  grass  is  not  cut  when  in  flower,  a  great  amount  of  nutriment  will  be  \\ 
Many  of  the  natural  pasture  grasses,  however,  are  exceptions  to  this  rule,  some  possessing  a 
greater  nutritive  value  when  the  seed  is  ripe,  than  at  the  time  of  flowering.  In  the  cock's- 
foot  grass,  (Dactylis  glomerata,}  for  instance,  the  proportional  value  at  the  time  the  seed  is  ripe 
to  that  at  the  time  of  flowering,  is  as  seven  to  five ;  the  value  of  the  grass  of  the  sweet-scented 
soft  grass,  (Holcus  odoratus)  when  seeding,  exceeds  that  at  the  time  of  flowering  in  the  porpor- 
tion  of  twenty-one  to  seventeen ;  and  with  the  meadow  cat's-tail,  or  timothy  grass,  (Phleum 
pratense)  the  culms  are  found  to  contain  more  nutritive  matter  when  the  seed  is  ripe,  than  those 
of  any  other  species  of  grass  that  have  been  submitted  to  experiment — the  value  of  the  culms 
simply  exceeds  that  of  the  grass  when  in  flower  in  the  proportion  of  fourteen  to  nine.  But 
though  there  is  more  nutriment  contained  in  the  seed  crop  of  these  grasses  than  in  the  flower- 
ing crop,  nevertheless  the  loss  of  lattermath,  (later  mowing,)  which  would  have  been  produced 
in  the  time  the  seed  was  ripening,  would  more  than  outweigh  the  superior  quantity  of  nutritive 
matter  contained  in  the  seed  crop;  and  by  aiming  at  the  greater  amount  of  nutriment  con- 
tained in  these  grasses  at  seeding,  a  loss  is  sustained  not  only  in  the  lattermath,  but  in  the 
bulk  of  the  hay  itself;  for  although  the  crested  dog's-tail  grass  (Cynosurus  cristatus]  yields 
just  twice  as  much  grass  when  the  seed  is  ripe  as  at  the  time  of  flowering,  the  majority  of  the 
grasses  possess  a  much  greater  quantity  of  produce  when  flowering  than  at  any  other  time. 
The  grass  of  the  Welsh  fescue  is  of  equal  value  in  nutriment  at  each  stage  of  its  growth  ;  and 
the  nerved  meadow  grass  (Poa  nervata)  is  equal,  both*  in  nutriment,  quality,  and  quantity  of 
produce,  at  flowering  and  seeding ;  but  nearly  all  the  other  varieties  combine  the  properties 
we  have  been  describing — namely,  of  producing  the  greatest  weight  of  grass,  and  also  the 
largest  amount  of  nutritive  matter,  when  in  flower.  The  meadow  fescue  (Festuca  pratensis)  is 
of  more  value  when  flowering  than  when  the  seed  is  ripe,  proportionally  as  three  to  one ;  the 
crested  dog's-tail,  although  yielding  much  less  grass  at  that  time,  contains  nearly  twice  the 
quantity  of  nutritive  matter  when  flowering  as  when  the  seed  is  ripe ;  and  the  tall,  oat-like 
soft  grass,  (Holcus  avenaceus,)  at  the  time  of  flowering,  exceeds  its  value  when  the  seed  is  ripe, 
in  the  proportion  of  five  to  two.  But  without  multiplying  examples,  it  is  obvious,  from  the 
foregoing  remarks,  that  nearly  every  species  of  grass — no  matter  whether  it  contains  most 
nutriment  when  flowering  or  when  seeding — yields  the  most  profit  in  hay  and  lattermath  if  it 


192  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

be  cut  when  in  flower.  "  It  has,  indeed,  been  proved  that  plants  of  nearly  all  sorts,  if  cut 
when  in  full  vigor,  and  afterwards  carefully  dried,  without  any  waste  of  their  nutritive  juices, 
contain  nearly  double  the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter  which  they  do  when  allowed  to  attain 
their  full  growth,  and  make  some  progress  towards  decay." 

Now,  the  different  kinds  of  grasses  begin  to  flower  at'tery  different  periods ;  and  as  it  is 
evident  that  the  best  time  to  mow  is  when  the  greatest  number  of  the  most  valuable  grasses 
are  simultaneously  in  flower,  we  may,  perhaps,  say  that  the  herbage 'should  b.e  in  that  state 
of  forwardness  which  indicates  the  full  blossoming  of  all  the  earlier  pasture  grasses,  and  the 
ripeness  of  seed  of  the  earliest;  or,  in  other  words,  the  seeds  of  the  sweet-scented  vernal 
grass,  (Anthoxanthum  odoratum,)  sweet-scented  soft  grass,  meadow  fox-tail,  (Alopecurus pra- 
tenses,)  sheep's  fescue,  (Festuca  ovina,)  soft  broom  grass,  (Bromus  mollis,}  etc.,  may  be  com- 
pletely ripe  ;  and  the  smooth-stalked  meadow  grass,  (Poa  pratensis, )  hard  and  smooth  fescues, 
(Festuca  duriuscula  and  Festuca  glabra,)  common  quaking  grass,  (Briza  media,}  and  crested 
dog's-tail,  may  all  be  in  full  blow.  This  will  generally  be  about  the  middle  of  June.  If  the 
cutting  of  the  crop  be  much  protracted,  the  plants  become  withered  at  the  bottom  of  their 
stems :  thus  the  roots  are  injured,  the  future  growth  of  the  blades  is  weakened,  and  the  eddish 
or  aftermath  materially  lessened  in  quantity  and  deteriorated  in  quality,  while  the  ripening 
of  the  seeds  greatly  exhausts  the  land.  On  the  other  hand,  if  cut  too  soon,  there  will  be  a 
loss  in  the  quantity  of  hay ;  the  lower  or  shorter  portion,  one  inch  in  the  height  of  which  will 
weigh  as  much  as  two  inches  of  the  top,  will  not  have  sufficient  time  to  grow  to  a  profitable 
length,  and  a  loss  will  be  thereby  incurred  by  the  grass  withering  too  much  when  being  made. 
It  is  much  better  to  be  too  early  than  too  late. 

The  proper  season  for  mowing  the  grass,  so  as  to  secure  the  largest  amount  of  nutrient  pro- 
perties within  it,  being  thus  determined,  the  next  consideration  is — the  preservation  of  these 
useful  qualities  in  ^the  hay. 

Experiments  show  that,  out  of  the  various  constituents  of  which  grass  is  composed,  the  mu- 
cilage, starch,  gluten,  and  sugar,  which  are  soluble  in  water,  are  alone  retained  in  the  body 
of  an  animal  for  the  purpose  of  life,  the  bitter  extractive  and  saline  matters  being  considered 
as  assisting  or  modifying  the  functions  of  digestion,  rather  than  as  being  truly  nutritive  parts 
of  the  compound,  and  being  voided  with  the  woody  fibre.  The  woody  fibre  serves  only  to  give 
bulk  to  the  food,  and  therefore  distension  to  the  stomach,  which,  when  moderately  filled,  brings 
those  muscles  into  active  exercise  which  tend  so  much  to  promote  healthy  digestion,  by  keep- 
ing the  food  in  constant  motion. 

The  principal  object,  then,  which  is  to  be  aimed  at  in  hay -making,  is,  to  retain  the  soluble 
portion  of  the  grass  in  perfect  integrity. 

This  cannot  be  completely  accomplished  because  of  the  imperfection  in  our  present  mode 
of  hay-making,  and  the  many  casualties  attending  it.  From  various  experiments  made  by  Dr. 
Thomson,  it  has  been  found  that  387J  parts  (by  weight)  of  grass  form  only  100  when  made 
into  hay.  This  amount  of  grass,  under  favorable  circumstances,  contains  of  matter  soluble  in 
hot  water  28-13  parts,  and  in  cold  water  8-21  parts;  but  instead  of  this  amount,  the  equiva- 
lent quantity  of  hay,  or  100  parts,  contains  only  16  instead  of  28  parts  soluble  in  hot  water, 
and  5-06  instead  of  8J  parts  soluble  in  cold  water.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the  soluble  or 
nutritive  matter  of  the  grass  has  obviously  disappeared  in  its  conversion  into  hay.  The  result 
of  the  process  has  therefore  been  to  approximate  the  soft,  juicy,  and  tender  grass  to  woody 
fibre,  by  washing  out  or  decomposing  its  sugar  and  other  soluble  constituents.  "  These  facts 
enable  us  to  explain  the  reason  why  cattle  consume  a  larger  amount  of  hay  than  is  equivalent 
to  the  relative  quantity  of  grass.  Thus,  animals  which  can  subsist  upon  one  hundred  pounds 
of  grass,  should  be  able  to  retain  the  same  condition  by  the  use  of  twenty-five  pounds  of  hay, 
if  the  latter  suffered  no  deterioration  in  drying ;  but  experiments  have  shown  that  a  cow,  for 
instance,  thriving  on  one  hundred  pounds  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  grass,  re- 
quires twenty-five  pounds  of  hay  and  nine  pounds  of  barley  or  malt."  The  great  cause  of 
this  deterioration  is  the  water  which  may  be  present,  either  from  the  incomplete  removal  of 
the  natural  amount  of  water  in  the  grass  by  drying,  or  by  the  absorption  of  this  fluid  from 
the  atmosphere.  "Water,  then,  existing  in  hay  from  either  of  these  sources,  will  induce  fer- 
mentation, a  process  by  which  one  of  the  most  important  constituents  of  the  grass — namely, 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  193 

sugar — will  be  destroyed.  The  action  necessary  for  the  decomposition  of  the  sugar  is  in- 
duced by  the  presence  of  the  albuminous  matter  of  the  grass ;  and  the  result  is  that  the  sugar 
is  converted  into  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid ;  and  that  alcohol  is  produced  in  a  heated  hay- 
stack, in  many  cases,  may  be  detected  by  the  similarity  of  the  odor  disengaged  to  that  per- 
ceptible in  a  brewery." 

The  process  of  hay-making,  then,  is  the  removal  of  this  moisture  from  the  grass ;  and  Dr. 
Thomson  has  found  that  the  only  method  which  succeeds  in  preserving  grass  perfectly  entire 
is  by  means  of  artificial  heat. 

The  quantity  of  water  or  volatile  matter  capable  of  being  removed  from  hay  at  the  tem- 
perature of  boiling  water  varies  considerably ;  the  amount  of  variation  during  his  experi- 
ments being  from  twenty  to  fourteen  per  cent.  If  the  lower  percentage  could  be  attained  at 
once  by  simply  drying  in  the  sun,  the  process  of  hay-making  would  probably  admit  of  little 
improvement ;  but  the  best  new-made  hay  that  he  has  examined  contained  more  than  this 
amount  of  water,  the  numbers  obtained  verging  towards  twenty  per  cent.  When  it  contains 
as  much  as  this,  it  is  very  liable  to  ferment,  especially  if  it  should  happen  to  be  moistened  by 
any  accidental  approach  of  water.  Rye-grass  contains,  at  an  early  period  of  its  growth,  as 
much  as  eighty-one  per  cent,  of  water,  the  whole  of  which  may  be  removed  by  subjecting  the 
grass  to  a  temperature  considerably  under  that  of  boiling  water ;  but  even  with  a  heat  of 
120°,  the  greater  portion  of  the  water  is  removed,  and  the  grass  still  retains  its  green  color — 
a  character  which  appears  to  add  greatly  to  the  relish  with  which  cattle  consume  this  kind  of 
provender.  The  advantages  attained  by  this  method  of  making  hay  are  sufficiently  obvious, 
lly  this  means  all  the  constituents  of  the  grass  are  retained  in  a  state  of  integrity ;  the  sugar, 
by  the  absence  of  the  water,  is  protected  from  undergoing  decomposition  ;  the  coloring  matter 
of  the  grass  is  comparatively  little  affected,  while  the  soluble  salts  are  not  exposed  to  the  risk 
of  being  washed  out  by  the  rains,  as  in  the  common  process  of  hay-making. 

From  the  above  chemical  observations,  made  by  Dr.  Thomson,  in  his  recent  researches  upon 
the  food  of  animals,  we  learn  the  theory  of  hay -making ;  the  inquiry  now  is — How,  in  practice, 
can  we  best  approximate  to  the  correct  principles  laid  down  ? 

It  is  an  essential  point  that  the  mowers  should  be  good  workmen,  and  perform  their  work 
neatly  and  evenly,  making  the  scythe  cut  as  near  the  ground  as  possible,  in  order  to  insure 
the  greatest  bulk  of  hay,  and  facilitate  the  springing  up  of  the  young  shoots  of  the  eddish  or 
aftermath.  They  generally  begin  to  work  before  sunrise,  and  remain  until  after  sunset ;  from 
one  acre  to  an  acre  and  a  half,  according  to  the  bulk  of  the  crop,  being  a  fair  day's  work  for 
a  man.  As  soon  as  the  dew  is  off,  the  mowmen  should  be  followed  by  men  and  women  with 
forks,  who  shake  and  spread  the  swaths  evenly  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  meadow ;  or  this 
may  be  most  economically  and  expeditiously  done  by  means  of  a  "tedding  machine,"  drawn 
by  a  horse,  which  will  do  the  work  of  twelve  or  fifteen  hay-makers,  and  distribute  the  grass 
more  thinly  and  evenly  as  it  crosses  the  field. 

And  this  must  not  be  allowed  to  lie  long  beneath  the  scorching  heat  of  the  sun  without  being 
turned ;  for  by  thus  doing,  the  upper  part  becomes  brown  and  withered,  whereas  it  is  desirable 
to  keep  it  as  green  as  possible.  All  the  grass  which  has  been  tedded  and  turned  during  the 
day  ought  to  be  thrown  together  the  same  evening  in  "  windrows ;"  that  is,  long  rows  through- 
out the  field,  gathered  together  by  the  hay-makers  working  in  opposite  directions,  the  two 
outside  women  or  boys  using  rakes,  the  others  forks,  the  hay  gradually  accumulating,  while 
thus  being  sent  on  from  one  to  another  towards  the  place  of  the  intended  row,  until  it  forms, 
from  a  party  on  each  side,  a  double  row,  and  two  men  follow,  putting  these  two  into  one  com- 
pact "windrow,"  about  five  feet  wide  and  three  high;  or  the  hay  may  be  put  together  into 
small  heaps  or  "footcocks,"  the  former  method  being  preferable  for  expedition,  and  affording 
sufficient  protection  from  heavy  dews,  the  latter  more  secure  from  the  injury  of  rain,  and  may 
be  adopted  if  the  weather  prove  cloudy  or  adverse.  The  following  morning — or  on  the  return 
of  suitable  weather — the  whole  must  again  be  thrown  out,  so  as  to  secure  the  greatest  possi- 
ble benefit  from  the  sun's  rays  and  drying  winds :  and  the  grass  mown  on  the  preceding  night 
and  early  that  morning  may  be  tedded  when  the  dew  is  off,  and  afterwards  turned ;  and,  pro- 
vided it  be  fine  drying  weather,  the  .first  day's  hay  will  now  be  sufficiently  "made ;"  that  is, 
it  will  have  lost  most  of  its  moisture — the  chief  part  of  its  natural  juices  will  remain ;  and  as 

13 


194  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

it  has  been  well  scattered  about  and  frequently  turned,  this  will  have  been  effected  without 
some  portions  of  the  grass  being  too  much  withered  and  others  still  too  succulent.  It  still 
retains  its  fine  light-green  color,  and  the  farmer's  aim  now  is  to  secure  it  with  the  greatest 
possible  haste.  For  this  purpose,  the  hay  is  gathered  together  into  rows  and  the  rows  divided 
and  collected  into  "haycocks,"  which  maybe  done  by  forking;  but  if  the  sky  is  overcast 
and  threatens  rain,  the  windrows  should  be  drawn  up  into  large  cocks  by  horses,  two  horses 
walking,  one  on  each  side  the  row,  dragging  a  rope  after  them,  which  passes  jound  the  end 
of  the  row ;  two  men  ride  upon  this  rope,  and  as  the  horses  proceed,  the  hay  rises  up  between 
them,  forming  a  heap ;  and  this,  having  slid  lar  enough  to  accumulate  a  sufficient  quantity, 
the  rope  is  lifted  up,  the  hinder  portion  of  the  mass  pulled  up  on  to  the  top,  and  another  cock 
commenced.  Care  should  be  taken  that  the  cocks  are  "made  up"  neatly  and  well,  to  keep 
out  the  rain,  and  the  horses  or  hand-rakes  must  be  kept  going  during  the  whole  time.  All 
the  hay  must,  in  due  course,  be  made  and  cocked  after  the  same  manner.  Unless  the  aspect 
of  the  sky  betokens  approaching  showers,  the  smaller  kind  of  haycocks,  made  by  rolling  up 
the  windrows  with  forks  into  proper-sized  heaps,  will  be  best. 

The  next  morning,  or  soon  as  the  weather  permits,  they  may  be  well  thrown  out  in  "  stad- 
dles"  of  a  few  yards  in  width,  to  insure  the  hay  being  sufficiently  well  dried,  and  it  will  then 
be  ready  for  loading. 

Of  course  the  farmer  must  not  be  implicitly  guided  by  any  given  rules  for  hay  making  ;  in 
this  operation  he  has  to  depend  upon  a  very  fickle  and  changeable  power — namely,  the  influ- 
ence of  the  weather,  and  he  must  vary  and  modify  them  to  suit  circumstances.  The  object 
to  be  aimed  at  can  alone  be  exhibited  to  his  view,  and  a  model  method  pointed  out  for  him  to 
imitate  as  closely  as  he  can.  The  description  given  of  the  chemical  nature  of  this  process 
explains  to  the  haymaker  what  he  has  to  do ;  and,  perhaps,  the  following  truths  will  assist 
him  in  discovering  the  most  eligible  way  of  doing  it : 

1.  He  must  remember  that  the  chief  point  is  to  preserve  the  hay  from  dew  and  rain ;  water 
washes  away  the  soluble  salts  and  other  matters,  and  when  in  the  stack  will  cause  fermenta- 
tion, and  that  injures  the  hay  by  destroying  some  of  its  most  valuable  properties  ;  therefore, 
bring  it  into  windrows  or  make  it  into  footcocks  at  nightfall,  and  never  open  it  in  the  morning 
until  the  dew  has  evaporated. 

2.  Bear  in  mind  that  if  the  weather  is  unfavorable,  the  less  it  is  disturbed  the  better,  and 
the  longer  will  it  retain  its  native  powers.     Hay  has  been  found  to  preserve  a  great  amount 
of  its  nutritive  qualities  for  many  days — nay,  even  weeks — when  mown  wet,  or  when  saturated 
with  the  rains  while  lying  in  the  swath ;  if,  therefore,  the  weather  be  unfavorable,  it  will  be 
better  not  to  tedd  the  hay  at  all,  nor  even  turn  over  the  swath.     If  repeatedly  dried  and 
wetted  again,  it  soon  becomes  valueless;  this  error  of  meddling  with  hay  amid  frequent 
showers  must,  if  possible,  be  avoided ;  for  it  is  far  better  to  have  it  somewhat  tainted  in  the 
haycock  than  thus  exhausted  of  its  nutriment,  and  spoilt  by  repeatedly  being  spread. 

3.  Take  care  not  to  allow  it  to  remain  long  under  the  hot  beams  of  the  sun  without  being 
turned ;  this  will  preserve  the  color  and  fragrance  of  the  grass,  so  that  without  baking  it  too 
much,  (thus  destroying  its  virtues,)  it  may  be  so  dry  that  as  little  heating  or  fermentation  as 
possible  shall  occur  in  the  stack,  remembering  also  that  coarse  grass  does  not  require  so 
much  "making"  as  fine  succulent  herbage. 

In  leading  to  the  stack,  all  the  force  of  the  farm  must  be  brought  into  requisition  if  neces- 
sary, as  much  depends  upon  the  speedy  and  proper  securing  of  the  hay.  The  shape  of  the 
rick  is  not  a  very  important  consideration,  but  an  oblong  form  is  perhaps  the  best — small  in 
size  if  the  farmer  has  been  unable  properly  to  make  his  hay ;  but  if  it  be  in  good  order,  the 
larger  the  better,  as  less  surface  in  proportion  to  tlie  quantity  will  thus  be  exposed  to  the 
atmosphere  to  imbibe  moisture  or  have  its  goodness  washed  and  dried  out.  Stacks,  both  of 
meadow  hay  and  the  artificial  grasses,  are  sometimes  ventilated  by  means  of  funnels  up  the 
interior,  either  consisting  of  rough  wooden  framework,  or  made  by  keeping  open  a  hole  with 
a  skep  or  similar  appliance,  drawing  it  up  and  treading  the  hay  round  it  as  the  stacking  pro- 
ceeds, for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  hay  from  becoming  mow-burnt  by  thus  letting  off 
the  superabundance  of  hot  vapor.  This  may  be  regarded  as  an  advantageous  practice, 
although  the  hay  around  the  chimney  generally  becomes  mouldy  unless  the  funnels  be  covered 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  195 

up  before  all  the  heat  has  passed  off.  A  desirable,  and  probably  much  better  and  safer  plan, 
when  the  hay  harvest  has  been  accompanied  by  wet  weather,  is  to  place  a  few  layers  of  straw 
in  the  stack  at  intervals.  This  will  absorb  the  moisture  from  the  heating  hay,  and  prevent 
the  risk  of  fire.  In  clover  and  sainfoin  stacks,  mixed  layers  of  straw  are  particularly  useful, 
(especially  when  the  straw  has  been  stacked  very  green,)  as  the  straw  not  only  absorbs  the 
superabundant  moisture  occasioned  by  the  peculiar  succulence  of  the  herbage,  but  becomes 
itself  almost  as  good  as  the  hay ;  and  the  whole  together  cuts  up  into  most  admirable  fodder. 

Every  grower  should  possess  a  rick  cloth,  either  lhat  kind  supported  by  poles  and  ropes 
over  the  stack  during  the  time  it  is  being  built,  or  a  common  cloth  sufficiently  large  to  throw 
over  the  stack  to  protect  it  from  wet.  They  prove  also  exceedingly  useful,  both  in  the  corn 
and  hay  harvests,  in  covering  down  stacks. 

The  sides  of  the  stack  should  lean  well  outwards,  so  as  to  miss  the  drip  from  the  eaves ;  and 
after  its  subsidence  or  settling,  it  should  be  well  trimmed — that  is,  the  bent,  &c.  pulled  out 
by  hand,  and  the  corners  neatly -tucked  in,  the  trimmings  being  employed  to  top  up  the  stack. 
It  is  then  securely  thatched ;  and  care  ought  to  be  taken  that  in  all  future  cuttings  for  fod- 
der, the  interior  should  not  be  unduly  or  needlessly  exposed. 


Grape  Mildew. 

M.  RIVET  states  that  in  1847  he  was  invited  by  Dr.  Loze  to  examine  a  sort  of  wine  to  which 
extraordinary  properties  were  attributed.  Another  invitation  to  the  same  effect  was  received, 
in  1849,  from  M.  Souleyet,  who  spoke  highly  of  the  efficacy  of  this  wine  in  curing  some  dis- 
eases. M.  Rivet  found  iodine  in  the  wine ;  and  he  learned  that  the  vines  which  produced  it 
were  not  attacked  by  the  oidium,  and  that  M.  Mouries  had  effected  remarkable  cures  among 
vines  by  manure  containing  iodine.  Having  made  some  experiments,  the  following  facts  were 
elicited:— 

1.  Manure  produced  by  the  fermentation  of  marine  plants  has  been  employed  in  some  parts 
of  Spain  since  1835.     The  soil  which  has  received  this  manure  contains,  on  the  average, 
1-600000  part  of  iodine.     The  vines  which  grow  in  it  have  never,  up  to  the  present  time, 
been  attacked  by  the  oidium. 

2.  The  wine  made  from  these  vines  has  some  peculiar  qualities.     In  commerce,  where  it  is 
rare,  it  bears  the  name  of  Malaga  Rives  de  Mer.     It  is  of  all  vegetable  productions  the  richest 
in  iodine,  containing  on  the  average  1-50000  part  of  that  principle. 

3.  Iodine  found  naturally  in  plants  or  animals  possesses  an  action  which,  by  its  nature  and 
intensity,  cannot  be  produced  by  its  chemical  preparations.     M.  Didot  pointed  out  the  ab- 
sence of  oidium  on  vines,  the  wood  of  which  had  been  smeared  over  with  coal  tar. 

M.  Lapierre-Beaupre  stated  that  according  to  his  observations  the  mildew  does  not  attack 
the  stem ;  the  vines  which  were  diseased  in  1852  even  appeared  to  have  for  the  most  part 
escaped  in  1853.  It  was  stated  by  M.  Pascal  that  acetate  of  lead  prevents  tire  development 
of  oidium  and  other  cryptogams.  M.  Sourdette  proposes  a  simple  and  inexpensive  preserva- 
tive, which  has  proved  successful  in  some  experiments  made  during  two  years  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Bordeaux.  In  order  to  prevent  and  arrest  the  development  of  the  oidium,  it  is  suffi- 
cient, three  weeks  after  pruning  the  vine,  to  smear  the  stem  and  shoots  with  pure  liquid  tar, 
applied  with  a  large  brush.  This  operation  costs  very  little,  and  has  proved  very  successful 
on  all  the  plants  on  which  it  has  been  performed,  even  although  they  were  in  the  midst  of 
infected  vines. — Comptes  Rendu*. 

When  Should  Grain  be  Cut? 

A  MOST  important  question  for  the  farmer.  Careful  observation,  and  some  little  experience 
during  twenty  years'  residence  in  a  great  wheat-growing  country,  has  convinced  the  writer 
that  it  is  fully  ten  per  cent,  profit  on  the  crop  to  the  farmer  to  cut  his  wheat  before  the  grain 
is  fully  ripe.  Our  rule  is  to  commence  cutting  as  soon  as  the  earliest  part  of  the  crop  has 
passed  from  the  milky  into  the  dough  state. 

There  is  no  occasion  to  let  it  lay  to  cure  when  cut  while  the  straw  is  still  partially  green. 


196  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Bind  it  up  as  fast  as  cut,  and  set  the  bundles  in  stocks,  "Dutch  fashion"  ;  that  is,  two  and 
and  two  leaning  together,  in  dozens,  or  twenties,  or  any  given  number,  so  as  to  give  an  even 
count.  Set  in  this  way,  the  most  unripe  grain  will  cure  and  perfect  itself. 

The  advantages  are,  the  grain  is  heavier,  sweeter,  and  whiter :  there  is  less  loss  of  shat- 
tered grain;  the  straw,  where  that  is  an  object,  is  so  much'-Tbetter  feed  as  make  it  worth  while 
to  cut  early,  even  if  there  were  a  loss  on  the  grain,  which  is  not  the  case. 

For  seed,  the  best  portion  of  the  field  should  be  set  apart  and  left  to  mature  until  fully  ripe, 
and  then  carefully  cut  by  hand,  and  very  carefully  handled,  because  the  very  grains  which 
should  be  saved  for  seed  are  the  ones  most  easily  shattered.  Give  these  bundles  a  slight 
thrashing,  and  give  the  grain  a  thorough  winnowing;  screen  out  all  but  the  most  plump 
kernels,  and  sow  those  for  your  next  crop,  and  you  will  succeed  in  improving  both  quality 
and  product. 

This  question,  of  "When  should  grain  be  cut?"  has  been  agitated  for  many  years,  both  in 
this  country  and  Europe. 

In  the  second  volume  of  British  Husbandry,  it  is  said — 

"  The  question  has  been  for  some  time  agitated  regarding  the  state  of  ripeness  on  which 
grain  should  be  reaped,  and  it  has  been  recommended,  as  a  general  rule  of  practice,  to  cut 
down  the  crop  before  the  uppermost  grain  can  be  shaken  out.  Taking  all  things  into  con- 
sideration, it  seems  to  be  the  most  prudent  plan  to  have  the  grain  cut  before  it  is  fully  ripe ; 
but  in  this,  a  medium  course  should  be  adopted ;  for  although  grain,  if  allowed  to  become  too 
ripe,  assumes  a  dull,  husky  hue  in  the  sample,  yet,  if  not  ripened  enough,  it  shrivels  in  the 
drying." 

Cadet  de  Vaux  asserts  that  "  grain  reaped  eight  days  before  the  usual  time  has  the  berries 
larger,  fuller,  and  finer,  and  better  calculated  to  resist  the  attacks  of  the  weevil.  An  equal 
quantity  of  the  corn  thus  reaped  with  corn  reaped  at  maturity  gave  more  bread,  and  of  bet- 
ter quality.  The  proper  time  for  reaping  is  that  when  the  grain,  on  being  pressed  between 
the  fingers,  has  a  doughy  appearance,  like  a  crumb  of  bread  just  hot  from  the  oven." 

Mr.  C.  Howard,  in  the  Report  on  Select  Farms,  says — 

"Wheat  ought  never  to  be  allowed  to  remain  uncut  till  it  is  fully  ripe.  Experiments,  easily 
made,  will  prove  to  every  cultivator  of  it  that  by  permitting  it  to  stand  until  the  straw  has 
lost  its  succulency,  he  gains  nothing  in  plumpness  or  bulk  of  grain,  but  loses  much  in  its  color 
and  fineness  of  skin ;  besides  which,  he  incurs  the  risk  of  shelling  by  the  high  wind,  or  by  its 
being  cut  under  the  influence  of  a  burning  sun. 

"  When  fully  ripened  by  standing  in  the  shocks,  no  dry  hour  should  be  lost  in  getting  it 
well  secured." 

Loudon  observes  that  "in  harvesting  wheat  the  best  farmers,  both  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent,  agree  that  it  ought  to  be  cut  before  it  becomes  dead  ripe.  When  this  is  the  case, 
the  loss  is  considerable,  both  in  the  field  and  the  stack-yard,  and  the  grain  produces  an  infe- 
rior flour." 

An  experienced  Pennsylvania  farmer  of  our  acquaintance  always  cuts  his  oats  while  the 
straw  is  green.  This  he  learned  to  do,  contrary  to  all  old  practice,  by  accident.  His  hay 
crop  was  short  one  year,  and  he  determined  to  cut  his  oats  green — losing,  as  he  thought,  the 
grain  for  the  sake  of  the  straw.  For  seed,  he  left  a  strip  through  the  middle  of  the  field, 
where  the  oats  were  best.  When  he  came  to  thrash,  he  was  surprised  to  find  the  early-cut 
straw  yielding  as  much  and  as  plump  grain  as  that  which  stood  till  it  was  dead  ripe,  while 
the  straw  was  incomparably  better ;  in  fact,  the  stock  ate  it  as  rapidly  as  they  would  timothy 
hay. — Louisville  Journal. 

On  the  Proximate  Principles  of  the  Bran  of  Wheat. 

SOME  years  since,  M.  Millon,  as  a  result  of  long  labor,  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  bran 
is  an  alimentary  substance ;  that  bran  bread  and  pilot  bread  was  more  healthy  and  more  nu- 
tritious than  white  bread.  This  opinion  has  been  contested,  and  Millon  has  been  ironically 
attacked  for  not  conforming  to  the  regimen  he  recommends.  But  the  opinion  is  now  sus- 
tained by  Chevreul,  who  declared  his  views  on  the  occasion  of  a  memoir  of  M.  Mouries  on 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY. 


197 


this  subject.  It  is  known,  too,  that  according  to  Magendie's  experiment  dogs  could  live  on 
bran  bread,  while  they  died  when  fed  on  wheat  bread.  This  fact,  which  appears  singular, 
is  explained  through  the  researches  in  question. 

The  inner  surface  of  bran  is  covered  with  azotized  principles,  which,  like  diastase,  will  dis- 
solve starch,  changing  it  into  dextrine  and  sugar.  These  principles  diifer  somewhat  from 
diastase.  Still  it  is  demonstrated  that  bran  acts  as  a  ferment  in  fermentation,  and  conse- 
quently in  a  similar  manner  in  digestion. — Silliman's  Journal,  Paris  Correspondence. 


On  the  Value  of  Cotton-seed  Cake  as  Food  for  Cattle. 

A  WRITER  in  the  Scotch  Journal  of  Agriculture  gives  the  following  results  of  a  series  of 
experiments  in  respect  to  the  value  of  the  cotton-seed  cake  as  food  for  cattle  and  other 
stock.  The  cake  used  was  obtained  from  a  quantity  of  cotton-seeds  which  had  been  pressed 
in  a  mill  near  Edinburgh,  for  the  purpose  of  extracting  the  oil  contained  in  them. 

Before  giving  the  details  of  the  experiments^which  seem  to  prove  that  the  cotton-seed 
cake  is  as  valuable  in  some  respects  as  oil  meal,  linseed  cake,  or  bean  meal,  we  would  call 
attention  to  the  analysis  of  the  cotton-seed  cake,  made  by  Dr.  Anderson,  as  compared  with 
other  feeding  substances : 


Linseed 
cake. 

Rape 
cake. 

Cotton- 
seed 
cake. 

Beans. 

Oats. 

Barley. 

Water  

I-J-H 

10-68 

11-19 

15-84 

12-66 

15'97 

Oil  

12-79 

11-10 

9-08 

1-59 

6-12 

1-88 

Albuminous  compounds  
Ash  

27-69 
6-13 

29-53 
7-79 

25-16 
5-64 

4-70 

;',-:',() 

10-16 
2-66 

7-74 
2-14 

Other  constituents.          .. 

40*95 

-Ill-Mil 

48-93 

54-51 

iiS-  IH 

72-27 

100-00 

100-00 

100-00 

100-00 

100-00 

100-00 

Nitrogen         .. 

4-33 

4-38 

3-95 

3-89 

1-60 

1-22 

Silica  

1-05 

1-18 

1-32 

Phosphates  

2-73 

3-87 

2-19 

0-49 

0-65 

0-56 

Phosphoric  acid           .. 

0-55 

0-39 

0-15 

0-46 

0-01 

0-35 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  table  that  cotton-seed  cake  holds  a  respectable  place  as  an 
article  of  food  for  cattle ;  while  oats  and  barley,  which  are  considered  by  some  intelligent 
and  experienced  feeders  as  equal,  weight  for  weight,  to  linseed  cake,  are  very  deficient  in 
oil  and  albuminous  compounds,  the  two  most  important  constituents  in  any  feeding-stuffs. 
It  is  as  well  to  mention,  however,  that  this  opinion  has  been  disputed  by  many  eminent 
feeders. 

The  parcel  of  cotton-seed  cake  used  was  of  a  yellowish-brown  appearance,  very  brittle, 
of  an  agreeable  nutty  flavor.  We  first  tested,  says  the  writer,  its  palatableness :  pieces  were 
laid  before  cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs,  which  devoured  them  with  an  avidity  and  relish  seldom 
manifested  towards  kinds  of  food  to  which  they  had  not  been  accustomed.  We  next  insti- 
tuted an  experiment  with  it :  eight  cattle,  that  had  been  fed  on  turnips  and  straw  all  winter, 
were  selected  in  the  beginning  of  March ;  four  were  fed  on  cotton-seed  cake  at  the  rate  of 
6  pounds  per  day  to  each,  and  the  other  four  on  a  mixture  composed  of  2£  pounds  linseed 
cake,  2 }  pounds  of  bean  meal,  and  1  pound  of  treacle,  with  chaff,  and  a  little  salt ;  both  lots 
got,  besides,  as  many  Swedish  turnips  and  as  much  straw  as  they  could  eat.  This  feed 
was  continued  for  six  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  the  quantity  of  cotton-seed  cake  being 
nearly  exhausted,  the  cattle  were  sold  fat  to  a  butcher,  after  the  best  two  in  the  whole  lot, 
which  were  chosen  from  those  fed  on  the  cotton-seed  cake,  had  obtained  the  premium  for  the 
best  fat  at  a  district  agricultural  show.  We  considered  this  experiment  favorable  for  the 
cotton-seed  cake,  and,  though  somewhat  vague  and  by  no  means  rigidly  conducted,  it  was 
quite  sufficient  to  warrant  a  more  extended  experiment.  A  new  supply  of  seed  having  been 
obtained,  six  cattle  were  selected  which  had  been  fed  on  turnips  and  straw  up  to  the  10th 
of  January,  when  the  experiment  commenced ;  two  of  them  got,  in  addition  to  their  turnips, 
4  pounds  of  linseed  cake ;  two,  4  pounds  of  cotton-seed  cake ;  and  two,  4  pounds  of  bean 


198 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


meal,  till  the  10th  of  April,  when  they  were  slaughtered.  They  were  measured  on  the  10th 
of  January  and  10th  of  April,  (when  the  cotton-seed  cake  was  finished,)  and  weighed  after 
they  were  slaughtered.  The  results  are  as  follows : — 


Weight 
by  mea- 
surement, 
Jan.  10. 

Weigtft 
by  mea- 
surement, 
April  10. 

Weight  after 
being  slaughtered. 

Beef. 

Tallow.  t 

Pounds. 
804 
888 
861 
830 
888 
860 

Pounds. 
977 
966 
950 
912 
945 
961 

Pounds. 
903 
911 
955 
875 
882 
920 

Pounds. 
56 
59 
49 
63 
58 
52 

2  Linseed  cake  .       .       . 

3.  Cotton-seed  cake  
4.  Cotton-seed  cake  

6.  Bean  meal  

They  consumed  each  daily  during  the  experiment  about  150  pounds  of  Swedish  turnips,  be- 
sides straw.  The  cattle,  when  slaughtered,  were  not  as  fat  as  we  would  have  wished ;  but 
we  thought  it  better  to  send  them  to  the  butcher,  as  the  cotton-seed  cake  at  our  disposal 
was  finished.  This  will  account  for  the  actual  weight  being  less  than  the  weight  by  mea- 
surement, as  cattle  not  in  a  ripe  condition  never  weigh  out  to  the  measurement,  a  fortiori. 
The  difference  between  the  real  weight  and  the  weight  by  measurement,  on  the  10th  of 
January,  will  be  greater  than  the  difference  between  the  real  weight  and  the  weight  by  mea- 
surement on  the  10th  of  April ;  so  that  the  real  increase  in  weight  during  the  three  months 
of  experiment  is  not  indicated  by  the  figures  above.  All  that  we  wish  to  prove  is,  that  cattle 
fed  on  cotton-seed  cake  made  as  much  progress  as  those  fed  on  linseed  cake  and  bean  meal — 
a  fact  which  was  abundantly  manifest  both  from  the  appearance  and  touch  of  the  animals. 

Subsequent  experiments  were  made  with  cotton-seed  cake  obtained  from  New  Orleans, 
with  nearly  the  same  results.  In  some  instances  the  cattle  refused  to  eat  it,  unless  pre- 
viously mixed  with  other  food.  This  dislike  was  attributed  to  the  cake  having  been  injured 
by  sea  water  or  other  causes.  Several  other  persons  who  used  the  New  Orleans  cake  ex- 
pressed their  satisfaction  with  it,  and  esteem  it  valuable.  In  some  cases  the  cattle  did  not 
seem  disposed  to  eat  it  at  first,  but  eventually  did  so,  when  they  became  very  fond  of  it, 
and  greatly  improved. 

Two  methods  are  adopted  in  New  Orleans  for  the  extraction  of  the  oil  from  the  cotton- 
seed. They  are  as  follows : — 

Plan  I. — 1.  Break  up  the  cake  as  fine  as  can  be  in  a  cast-iron  or  other  mill ;  2.  crush  it  as 
fine  as  can  be  through  rollers ;  3.  put  it  into  large  casks,  and  put  a  jet  of  steam  into  it ;  then 
the  oil,  the  stearine,  and  the  oleine  will  rise  to  the  top,  and  the  seed  below  is  prepared  for 
the  feeding  of  cattle.  Plan  II. — Crush  and  run  it  between  rollers ;  apply  a  jet  of  steam  into 
it  till  it  is  properly  cooked ;  then  put  it  into  the  presses.  It  will  give  5  quarts  of  oil  to  each 
100  pounds  of  cake. 

In  addition  to  the  oil  contained  in  the  cotton-seed,  there  is  also  an  exceedingly  bitter  prin- 
ciple, which  has  never  been  examined  chemically.  This  principle  would  undoubtedly  act 
medicinally.  When  the  fresh  cotton-seed  is  examined  under  the  microscope,  it  may  be 
noticed  in  the  form  of  minute  red  spots  or  vesicles,  distributed  uniformly  throughout  the 
white  part  of  the  kernel.  In  the  mealed  or  crushed  seed  the  action  of  this  principle  is  not 
so  strikingly  noticed ;  it  still,  however,  exists,  and  is  undoubtedly  the  cause  of  the  repug- 
nance which  cattle  sometimes  manifest  towards  it. — Editor  of  the  Tear- Book. 


Farinaceous  Aliment  Obtained  from  Straw. 

THE  attention  of  agriculturists  in  France  has  been  recently  directed  to  the  discovery  of  a 
method  of  converting  straw  into  a  kind  of  bran.  This  discovery  has  been  claimed  by  two 
individuals.  The  first  is  a  miller  near  Dijon,  who,  it  is  said,  on  trying  the  mill-stone  of  a  new 
mill,  discovered  the  possibility  of  converting  straw  into  a  nourishing  food.  The  second, 
M.  Jos.  Maitre,  of  Vilotte,  near  Chatillon. 

This  distinguished  agriculturist,  known  for  the  purity  and  perfection  of  his  breeds  of 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  199 

sheep,  conceived  the  idea  of  converting  into  farina  not  only  the  straw  of  wheat  and  other 
grains,  but  of  hay,  trefoil,  lucern,  sainfoin,  etc.  His  efforts  are  said  to  have  been  perfectly 
successful,  and  his  discovery  arrived  at,  not  by  chance,  but  by  long  experiment  and  research. 
The  aliment  which  he  has  produced  is  said  to  be  a  complete  substitute  for  bran.  It  is  given 
to  sheep  and  lambs,  who  consume  it  with  avidity,  and  may  be  given  to  all  other  graminivorous 
animals  as  a  grateful  and  substantial  food.  We  know  in  this  country  that  the  mere  chopping 
of  straw  adds  greatly  to  its  powers  by  facilitating  mastication  and  digestion.  We  may  believe 
that  a  more  perfect  comminution  of  its  parts  will  produce  a  corresponding  effect,  and  extend 
very  widely  the  uses  of  straw  and  other  fodder  as  a  means  of  feeding  our  domestic  animals. — 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture. 

On  the  Relative  Value  of  different  kinds  of  Meat  for  Food. 

M.  MARCHAL,  of  France,  took  twenty  grammes  of  the  muscle  of  the  pig,  ox,  sheep,  calf, 
and  hare,  which  contained  neither  sinews  nor  muscular  tissue,  nor  adhering  fat,  except  what 
naturally  exists  between  the  muscular  fibres,  and  dried  them  in  a  water-bath  for  several 
days,  and  thus  ascertained  the  loss  whioh  each  sustained  by  desiccation : — 

FIRST  EXPERIMENT.  SECOND  EXPERIMENT. 

Solid  matter.  Water.  Solid  matter.  Water. 

Pork 29-45  70-55  30-25  69-75 

Beef 27-70  72-30  27'50  72-50 

Wether  mutton 26-55   73'45  26'35  73-65 

Chicken 2»>-35  73-65  26-30  73'70 

Veal 26-00  74-00  25-55  74-45 

According  to  these  numbers,  we  should  arrange  the  meats  in  the  following  order  of  their 
relative  nutritive  powers :  pork,  beef,  mutton,  chicken,  veal.  This  order  is,  however,  not 
the  true  one ;  because  the  leanest  meat  contains  a  certain  amount  of  fat ;  and  because  this 
substance  is  not  so  important  an  article  of  food  as  the  pure  muscles,  it  is  necessary  to  ascer- 
tain how  much  a  certain  quantity  of  meat  contains  before  we  can  judge  properly  of  its  rela- 
tive nutritive  value.  M.  Marchal  accordingly  treated  the  dried  flesh  with  ether  to  dissolve 
out  the  fat,  and  obtained  the  following  results : — 

Fat  soluble  Pure  muscle 

in  ether.  insoluble  in  ether. 

Beef 2-54  M 24-95 

Chicken 1-40  24-87 

Pork 5-97  24-27 

Mutton 2-96  23-38 

Veal 2-87  22-67 

The  last  table  shows  that  the  true  order  should  be  beef,  chicken,  pork,  mutton,  and  veal ; 
a  result  which  experience  confirms.  It  may,  however,  be  remarked,  that  there  is  consider- 
able difference  between  the  same  kind  of  meat  derived  from  different  animals,  and  that  the 
same  amount  of  two  different  kinds  of  beef-broth,  both  containing  the  same  amount  of  water, 
may  have  different  nutritive  values. — Comptes  Rendut  de  V Academic. 

Liebig  on  the  Improved  Manufacture  of  Bread. 

IT  is  known  that  the  vegetable  gluten  of  the  various  kinds  of  grain  undergoes  a  change 
when  moist;  in  a  fresh  condition  it  is  soft,  elastic,  and  insoluble  in  water,  but  in  contact  with 
water  it  loses  these  properties.  If  kept  a  few  days  under  water,  its  volume  is  gradually  in- 
creased until  it  dissolves,  forming  a  thick  mucilaginous  fluid,  which  will  no  longer  form  a 
dough  with  starch.  The  ability  of  flour  to  form  a  dough  is  essentially  lessened  by  the  property 
of  vegetable  gluten  to  hold  water,  and  its  change  to  the  state,  for  example,  in  which  it  is  con- 
tained in  animal  tissues,  in  meat  and  in  coagulated  white  of  egg,  in  which  the  absorbed  water 
does  not  moisten  dry  bodies.  The  gluten  of  grain,  in  flour  not  recently  ground,  undergoes  a 
change  similar  to  that  which  it  suffers  when  in  a  wet  state,  for  the  flour  absorbs  moisture 
from  the  air,  being  in  a  very  high  degree  a  water-absorbing  substance;  gradually  the 
property  of  the  flour  of  forming  dough  is  lessened,  and  the  quality  of  the  bread  made  there- 


200  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

from  injured.  It  is  only  by  artificial  drying  and  keeping  from  the  air  that  this  deterioration 
is  prevented.  In  rye  flour,  this  change  occurs  as  soon,  perhaps  sooner,  than  in  wheat  flour. 

About  twenty-four  years  ago,  the  Belgian  bakers  commenced  the  use  of  a  remedy  by  means 
of  which  bread  equal  to  that  made  from  the  freshest,  best  flour,  was  manufactured  from  flour 
which,  by  itself,  would  give  only  damp,  heavy  bread.  This  remedy  consisted  of  an  addition 
of  alum,  or  of  sulphate  of  copper,  to  the  flour.  The  effect  of  both  these  substances  in  the 
preparation  of  bread  rests  upon  the  fact  that  when  warm  they  form  a  chemicalt  combination 
with  the  gluten,  (previously  made  soluble  in  water,  and  changed  thereby,)  which  restores  to  it 
all  its  lost  properties ;  it  is  again  insoluble,  and  capable  of  holding  water.  The  relations  of 
vegetable  gluten  to  caseine,  with  which  it  has  sc  many  properties  in  common,  induced  me  to 
make  some  experiments,  whose  object  was  to  replace  both  of  the  substances  (sulphate  of  cop- 
per and  alum)  so  deleterious  to  health  and  to  the  nutritious  properties  of  bread,  by  some 
substance  having  the  same  effect,  (as  regards  the  gluten,)  but  devoid  of  injurious  qualities. 
This  substance  is  pure  cold-saturated  lime-water.  If  the  lime-water  be  mixed  with  the  flour 
intended  for  dough,  and  then  the  yeast  or  leaven  added  thereto,  fermentation  progresses  in 
the  same  manner  as  in  the  absence  of  lime-water.  If  at  proper  time  more  flour  be  added  to  the 
"risen"  or  fermented  dough,  and  the  whole  formed  into  loaves,  and  baked  as  usual,  a  sweet, 
beautiful,  fine-grained,  elastic  bread  is  obtained,  of  exquisite  taste,  which  is  preferred  by  all 
who  have  eaten  it  any  length  of  time  to  any  other.  The  proportion  of  flour  to  lime-water  is 
as  follows: — for  100  pounds  of  flour,  take  26  to  27  pounds  or  pints  of  lime-water.  This 
quantity  of  lime-water  does  not  suffice  for  mixing  the  bread,  and  of  course  common  water 
must  be  added,  as  much  as  is  requisite.  As  the  sour  taste  of  bread  is  lost,  much  more  salt 
may  be  used  to  give  it  a  palatable  quality. 

As  to  the  amount  of  lime  in  the  bread,  1  pound  of  lime  is  sufficient  for  600  pounds  of 
lime-water.  In  bread  prepared  as  above  there  is  nearly  the  same  amount  of  lime  as  is  found 
in  an  equal  weight  of  leguminous  seeds,  (peas  and  beans.)  It  may  yet.be  established  as  a 
physiological  truth,  by  investigation  and  experiment,  that  the  flour  of  the  cereal  grain  is 
wanting  in  the  property  of  complete  nutrition ;  and  from  what  we  know  thereof,  the  cause 
would  seem  to  lie  in  its  deficiency  in  the  lime  necessary  for  the  formation  of  the  bones.  The 
cereal  grains  contain  phosphoric  acid  in  abundance,  but  they  contain  far  less  lime  than  the 
leguminous  seeds.  This  fact  may  explain  many  of  the  phenomena  of  diseases  observed  among 
children  in  the  country  or  in  prisons,  if  the  food  consists  principally  of  bread ;  and  in  this 
connection  the  use  of  lime-water  by  physicians  merits  attention.  The  amount  of  bread  pro- 
duced from  a  given  quantity  of  flour  is  probably  increased  in  consequence  of  an  increased 
water-compound.  From  19  pounds  of  flour,  without  lime-water,  seldom  more  than  24£ 
pounds  of  bread  were  obtained  in  my  house ;  the  same  quantity  of  flour,  baked  with  5  pounds 
of  lime-water,  gave  26  pounds  6  ounces  to  26  pounds  10  ounces  of  good,  well-baked  bread. 
Now,  since,  according  to  Heeren's  determinations,  the  same  quantity  of  flour  gives  only  25 
pounds  1J  ounces,  the  increase  of  weight,  in  consequence  of  the  use  of  lime-water,  appears 
to  me  indubitable. 

The  Preservation  of  Cheese. 

THE  following  article  on  the  preservation  of  cheese  is  translated  from  the  Maison  Rustique, 
Paris,  for  the  Working  Farmer,  by  H.  S.  Olcott,  Esq. : — 

The  preservation  of  cheeses  is  a  most  important  point  to  those  engaged  in  their  manufacture, 
especially  when  they  are  intended  for  export.  Their  consistence  and  their  state  of  fermenta- 
tion more  or  less  advanced  in  the  storehouses  or  cheese-rooms  should  serve  as  a  guide.  The 
method  of  manufacture  also  affects  largely  their  preservation.  Those  cheeses  which  have 
received  pressure  in  a  too  fresh  state,  and  from  which  the  whey  is  not  entirely  separated,  are 
liable  to  rise,  and  have  in  their  centres  holes  or  reservoirs  of  air,  which  give  to  the  paste 
a  spongy  and  disagreeable  look.  When  this  accident  arises  during  the  manufacture,  and  if 
the  fermentation  is  considerable,  place  the  cheese  in  a  cool  and  dry  place,  and  pierce  it  with 
skewers  of  iron  in  the  places  where  it  rises  the  most;  the  air  or  the  gases  escape  by  these 
openings,  the  cheese  subsides,  and  the  interior  presents  fewer  cavities.  To  prevent  this 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND   GEOLOGY.  201 

accident,  the  English  make  use  of  a  powder,  which  is  sold  under  the  name  of  cheese-powder ; 
it  is  composed  of  a  pound  of  nitre  and  one  ounce  of  powdered  Armenian  bole  intimately 
mixed.  Before  salting  the  cheese,  and  while  it  is  about  being  placed  in  the  press,  they  rub 
it  with  an  ounce  of  this  mixture ;  a  stronger  dose  would  produce  a  bad  effect. 

The  part  that  the  salt  plays  is  very  important.  We  know,  indeed,  that  the  caseine  in  the  dry 
state  exists  in  an  indefinite  condition ;  but  then  it  possesses  only  a  weak  flavor,  and  not  agree- 
able. The  addition  of  the  salt  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  preparation  or  perfection  in  the 
storehouse  on  the  other — operations  which  require  the  greatest  care  and  vigilance — succeed 
in  procuring  a  gentle  fermentation,  or  a  gradual  reaction  between  the  elementary  substances 
of  the  cheese.  This  reaction  proceeds  so  much  the  more  rapidly  as  the  cheese  is  softer  and 
as  the  place  is  warmer  and  more  moist.  In  proportion  as  the  fermentation  has  been  gentle, 
so  much  the  more  is  the  flavor  of  the  cheese  sweet  and  agreeable.  It  is  at  this  precise 
moment,  when  the  reaction  between  the  elements  has  produced  combinations  agreeable  to  the 
taste,  that  it  is  necessary  to  perfect  the  cheese :  sooner  than  this  it  is  not  finished ;  later,  it  is 
in  a  state  of  decomposition  more  or  less  advanced.  When  the  cheese  is  in  the  right  condition, 
it  is  put  in  a  place  cool  and  not  too  moist,  in  a  good  cellar  which  does  not  contain  any  liquor 
in  fermentation ;  those  where  wine  will  keep  well  are  equally  good  for  cheese,  but  the  two 
together  in  the  same  cellar  will  mutually  exercise  a  bad  influence. 

Some  cheeses  with  soft  and  fine  paste  are  put  in  boxes  of  fir  or  beech.  By  closing  these 
boxes  tightly,  and  giving  them  a  coat  or  two  of  paint,  the  cheeses  will  be  preserved  for  a 
longer  time  and  in  a  better'condition.  Chaptal  and  others  claim  that  cheese  after  transporta- 
tion is  never  so  good  as  when  it  is  just  taken  from  the  cellars.  The  fact  is,  it  decomposes 
during  its  transportation,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  in  a  tight  varnished-box  the  cheese 
will  retain  those  qualities  which  constitute  its  excellence. 

The  cheeses  of  Holland  are  usually  covered  with  a  coating  of  linseed-oil  varnish:  this 
preparation  is  doubtless  one  of  the  principal  causes  of  their  preservation  on  long  voyages ; 
their  small  bulk  may  also  be  adduced  as  a  reason. 

The  insects  which  attack  cheeses  are — 1.  The  fleshworm  or  cheese-mite,  (acarus  siro,}  which 
devours  them  when  partly  dried.  These  animals  are  so  much  the  more  dangerous,  because 
they  hatch  beneath  the  crust,  whence  they  spread  throughout  the  interior,  causing  great 
injury.  When  one  is  careful  to  brush  the  cheeses  frequently,  to  wipe  them  with  a  cloth,  to 
wash  with  boiling  water  the  shelves  on  which  they  lie,  one  can  protect  himself  against  these 
mites.  But  the  most  certain  way  is,  after  having  rubbed  the  cheeses  with  a  brine,  to  let 
them  dry,  and  smear  them  over  with  sweet  oil.  It  is  in  this  way  that  they  treat  Gruyere 
cheese  when  it  is  attacked  by  this  destructive  insect. 

2.  The  larvae  of  the  gilded  green  fly,  (musca  cesar,)  of  the  common  fly,  (musca  domestica,} 
and  above  all  of  the  fly  of  putrefaction,  (miuca  putris.)  These  larvae  introduce  themselves 
into  the  cheese  and  make  ravages.  The  presence  of  there  vermicular  insects,  which  denotes 
an  advanced  state  of  putrefaction,  excites  much  repugnance  with  the  great  number  of  con- 
sumers ;  some  persons,  on  the  contrary,  prefer  the  cheese  in  this  state,  because  it  is  then 
stronger  and  of  a  more  pungent  flavor. 

We  can  destroy  all  these  animals  by  vinegar,  the  vapor  of  burning  sulphur,  or  by  washes 
of  chloride  of  lime.  When  the  storehouse  contains  these  insects  in  abundance,  take  up  the 
cheeses,  and  scrape  and  wash  the  shelves  with  water  holding  in  solution  chloride  of  lime ;  then 
scrub  at  the  same  time  the  floor,  and  apply  to  the  walls  a  coating  of  whitewash.  When  the 
cheese-room  is  dry,  replace  the  cheeses,  which  have  been  previously  washed  with  a  weak  solu- 
tion of  chloride  of  lime,  dried,  wiped  with  a  cloth  or  scraped,  if  they  need  it,  and  finally 
rubbed,  as  has  been  said,  with  a  cloth  soaked  in  oil. 

If  the  cheeses  have  arrived  at  an  advanced  state  of  decomposition,  they  are  put  in  powdered 
charcoal,  mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of  chloride  of  soda,  which  destroys  their  offensive 
odor,  and  haste  must  be  made  to  finish  their  manufacture  before  they  become  entirely  putrid. 
As  to  mould,  this  can  be  prevented  by  scraping  the  cheese,  by  brushing  it,  and  by  rubbing  it 
with  the  oil. 

To  give  to  new  Gloucester  cheese  the  taste  and  appearance  of  old  cheese,  with  a  probe  we 
take  from  the  two  sides  and  centre — penetrating  as  far  as  the  middle  in  each  case — cylinders 


202  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF   AGRICULTURE. 

of  the  paste,  which  are  replaced  by  similar  ones  from  an  old  and  fine  cheese.  After  keeping 
the  cheeses  thus  prepared  for  a  few  days,  they  will  have  acquired  all  the  agreeable  qualities 
of  old  Gloucester. 

Preserving  Timber. 

ANTOINE  LE  GROSS,  of  Paris,  has  recently  obtained  a  patent,  the  object  of  which  is  to  pre- 
serve all  kinds  of  timber  by  a  cheap  chemical  solution,  which  does  not  injure  its  fibre.  For 
this  purpose  he  employs  a  solution  of  hydrochlorate  of  manganese,  saturated  with  chalk  and 
the  oxide  of  zinc.  The  logs  or  pieces  of  timber  are  steeped  in  this  solution  about  twenty-four 
hours.  The  vessel  to  hold  the  timber  is  placed  vertically,  so  that  the  timber  can  be  placed 
on  end  to  allow  the  liquid  to  flow  through  the  pores  by  capillary  attraction.  If  placed  hori- 
zontally, the  liquid  will  not  flow  through  the  fibres  of  the  timber.  Some  creosote  may  be 
added  to  the  liquid,  and  with  a  good  effect. 

On  the  Preservation  of  Vegetables. 

THE  following  extracts  on  the  preservation  of  vegetables  are  taken  from  the  work  of  a 
French  author,  M.  Appert,  entitled  '•'•The  Art  of  Preserving  all  kinds  of  Animal  and  Vegetable 
Substances  for  several  years.  Published  by  order  of  the  French  Minister  for  the  Interior,  in 
the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Arts  and  Manufactures."  The  author  states  that  "this  method 
is  not  a  vain  theory.  It  is  the  fruit  of  reflection,  investigation,  long  attention,  and  numerous 
experiments,  the  results  of  which,  for  more  than  ten  years,  have  been  so  surprising,  that  not- 
withstanding the  proof  acquired  by  repeated  practice,  that  provenders  may  be  preserved  two, 
three,  and  six  years,  there  are  many  persons  who  still  refuse  to  credit  the  fact." 

After  stating  the  experience  he  has  had  in  the  cellars  of  champagne,  in  shops,  manufac- 
tories, and  warehouses  of  confectioners  and  grocers  for  forty-five  years,  he  proceeds  to  say — 
"I  owe  to  my  extensive  practice,  and  more  especially  to  my  long  perseverance,  the  convic- 
tion— 1.  That  fire  has  the  peculiar  property  not  only  of  changing  the  combination  of  the  con- 
stituent parts  of  vegetable  and  animal  productions,  but  also  of  retarding,  for  many  years  at 
least,  if  not  of  destroying,  that  natural  tendency  of  those  same  productions  to  decomposition. 

"2.  That  the  application  of  fire  in  a  manner  variously  adapted  to  various  substances,  after 
having,  with  the  utmost  care,  and  as  completely  as  possible,  deprived  them  of  all  contact 
with  the  air,  effects  a  perfect  preservation  of  those  same  productions  with  all  their  natural 
qualities. 

"  The  details  of  the  process  consist  principally — 1.  In  closing  in  bottles  the  substances  to 
be  preserved  ;  2.  In  corking  the  bottles  with  the  utmost  care,  for  it  is  chiefly  on  the  corking 
that  the  success  of  the  process  depends ;  3.  In  submitting  these  enclosed  substances  to  the 
action  of  boiling  water  in  a  water-bath  for  a  greater  or  less  length  of  time,  according  to  their 
nature,  and  in  the  manner  pointed  out  with  respect  to  each  several  kind  of  substance ;  4.  In 
withdrawing  the  bottles  from  the  water-bath  at  the  period  described."  As  an  example  of  his 
practice,  we  give  his  method  of  preserving  dwarf  kidney-beans: — "I  cause  the  beans  to  be 
gathered  as  for  ordinary  use.  I  string  them  and  put  them  in  bottles,  taking  care  to  shake 
them  on  the  stool,  to  fill  the  vacancies  in  the  bottles.  I  then  cork  the  bottles  and  put  them 
in  the  water-bath,  which  is  to  boil  an  hour  and  a  half.  When  the  beans  are  rather  large,  I 
cut  them  lengthways  into  two  or  three  pieces,  and  then  they  do  not  require  being  in  the 
water-bath  longer  than  one  hour."  When  they  are  to  be  used,  he  gives  the  following  instruc- 
tions : — "  Scald  the  French  beans  as  if  they  were  fresh,  in  water,  with  a  little  salt,  when  not 
sufficiently  dressed  by  the  preserving  process.  This  often  happens  to  them  as  well  as  to 
artichokes,  asparagus,  and  cauliflowers.  If  sufficiently  boiled,  on  being  taken  out  of  the 
bottles  I  have  only  to  wash  them  in  hot  water  in  order  to  prepare  them  afterwards  for  vege- 
table or  meat  soup." 

This  author  furnishes  several  recipes  for  other  vegetables,  all  of  which  are  on  the 
bottling  principle ;  but  there  is  another  process,  which  consists  in  evaporating  the  watery 
parts  of  vegetables,  and  preserving  them  dry.  We  recollect  some  years  ago  receiving  from 
Holland  a  few  packages  of  sugar-peas,  kidney-beans,  and  other  vegetables,  in  this  dried  state, 
which,  when  cooked,  were  as  well  flavored  as  they  would  have  been  in  the  green  state. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  203 

These  we  believe  are  obtained  by  drying  in  chambers,  through  which  currents  of  heated  air 
were  introduced  :  they  were  completely  dried  and  shrivelled  up,  and  had  the  appearance  of 
strips  of  thick  parchment  or  leather  until  they  were  boiled,  and  then  they  swelled  out  to  their 
usual  dimensions.  We  have  also  seen  kidney-beans  preserved  by  first  boiling  them  tender, 
and  afterwards  drying  them  in  a  warm,  airy  place,  when  they  may  be  kept  for  any  length  of 
time  in  bags  or  boxes,  till  ready  for  use.  This  drying  process  may  be  applied  to  peas,  beans, 
kidney-beans,  cabbages,  cauliflowers,  spinach,  beets,  parsnips,  carrots,  potatoes,  &c.,  the 
latter  being  cut  in  slices.  There  is  no  subject  in  domestic  economy  of  which  so  little  is 
known  generally  as  the  preservation  of  vegetables  and  vegetable  cookery.  We  know,  for  in- 
stance, that  some  potatoes  require  steaming,  and  others  boiling,  to  have  them  in  perfection ; 
some  require  to  be  boiled  in  their  skins,  and  some  without;  and  we  are  informed  by  M. 
Soyer,  that  the  soil  in  which  the  varieties  of  potatoes  are  cultivated  has  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  the  mode  in  which  they  ought  to  be  cooked. — London  Gentleman's  Companion. 

On  the  Results  of  Experiments  on  the  Preservation  of  Fresh  Meat. 

THIS  inquiry,  presented  to  the  British  Association  by  Mr.  G.  Hamilton,  was  undertaken 
with  a  view  of  discovering  a  method  by  which  beef  could  be  brought  in  a  fresh  state  from 
South  America.  The  experiments  were  made  by  enclosing  pieces  of  beef  in  bottles  contain- 
ing one,  or  a  mixture  of  two  or  more,  of  the  following  gases : — Chlorine,  -hydrogen,  nitrogen, 
ammonia,  carbonic  acid,  carbonic  oxide,  and  binoxide  of  nitrogen.  Of  these  the  last  two 
only  possessed  the  power  of  retarding  putrefaction.  Beef  that  had  been  in  contact  with  car- 
bonic oxide  for  the  space  of  three  weeks  was  found  to  be  perfectly  fresh,  and  of  a  fine  red 
color.  Binoxide  of  nitrogen  is  capable  of  preserving  beef  from  putrefaction  for  at  least  five 
months,  during  which  time  the  beef  retains  its  natural  color  and  consistence.  When  meat 
that  had  been  preserved  by  the  last  process  was  cooked  by  roasting,  it  was  found  to  possess 
a  disagreeable  flavor.  If  cooked  by  boiling,  the  ebullition  must  be  continued  for  a  much 
greater  length  of  time  than  is  necessary  for  fresh  meat. 

Dr.  Calvert  remarked,  that  he  had  opportunities  of  observing  the  well-known  valuable  anti- 
putrid  properties  if  carbonic  acid,  and  instanced  the  case  of  the  carcass  of  a  horse  that  was 
at  present  in  a  fresh  state,  although  four  years  had  elapsed  since  it  had  been  soaked  in  liquor 
containing  the  acid.  He  recommended  the  use  of  this  acid  for  preserving  bodies  intended 
for  dissection,  as  it  neither  affects  the  tissues  nor  discolors  the  organs. 

New  French  Method  of  Preserving  Meat  and  Fruit. — The  French  have  been  experimenting 
upon  this  subject,  and  it  is  reported  that  a  mode  of  preserving  meat  and  fruit  has  been  dis- 
covered by  which  they  are  not  altered  in  size  or  appearance,  so  that  at  the  end  of  six  or 
eight  months,  when  placed  on  the  table,  they  would  be  taken  to  be  perfectly  fresh.  MM. 
Delabarre  and  Bonnet  have  submitted  to  the  French  Minister  of  War  some  samples  of  meat 
preserved  by  their  method.  This  consists  in  drying  it  by  natural  means,  and  then  preparing 
it  with  materials  furnished  by  the  animal.  When  the  water  which  composes  a  large  part  of 
fresh  meat  is  driven  off,  the  osmazome  supplied  by  the  animal  is  applied  as  a  varnish,  to  the 
increase  of  the  nutritious  properties  of  the  meat.  By  desiccation  the  meat  is  reduced  in 
size  and  weight  one-half,  and  this  is  done  without  the  application  of  artificial  heat.  It  may 
be  eaten  in  this  state,  and  is  not  disagreeable.  When  cooked,  half  an  hour's  immersion  in 
hot  water  is  sufficient  to  increase  its  bulk  to  what  it  was  originally,  and  to  render  it  as  pala- 
table is  if  fresh  meat  4iad  been  cooked. — Practical  Mechanics'  Magazine. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  a  kindred  process  has  been  devised  by  a  Hungarian  for  preserv- 
ing the  potato,  which,  valuable  as  it  is,  especially  in  view  of  its  cheapness,  is  nevertheless 
rendered  far  less  widely  available  than  it  should  be,  by  reason  of  its  bulk  and  its  perishable 
nature.  But  both  these  qualities  are  due  to  the  great  proportion  of  water  it  contains — about 
seven-eighths  of  its  entire  weight.  The  Hungarian's  process  divests  the  potatoes  of  their 
water,  and  reduces  them  to  a  dry  powder  like  Indian  meal,  which  may  be  cheaply  transported 
any  distance,  and  will  keep  in  any  climate ;  a  ton  of  potatoes  being  reduced  to  less  than 
three  hundredsweight  of  the  potato  meal,  which  can  at  once  be  restored  to  the  state  of 
mashed  potatoes,  by  simply  boiling  in  fresh  water. 


204  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

On  the  Influence  of  Water  in  Cooking  Vegetables, 

MR.  S.  W.  JOHNSON  communicates  to  the  New  York  Country  Gentleman  the  following 
recent  memoranda  of  Professor  Boethger,  of  Frankfort,  "  On  the  influence  of  water  in  cooking 
vegetables" : — 

"If  one  portion  of  vegetables  be  boiled  in  pure  (distilled  or  rain)  water,  and  another  in 
water  to  which  a  little  salt  has  been  added,  a  decided  difference  is  perceptible  in  the  taste 
and  odor,  and  especially  in  the  tenderness  of  the  two  portions.  Vegetables  boiled  in  pure 
water  are  vastly  inferior  in  flavor.  This  inferiority  may  go  so  far,  in  case  of  onions,  that 
they  are  almost  entirely  destitute  of  odor  or  taste,  though,  when  cooked  in  salted  water, 
they  possess,  in  addition  to  the  pleasant  salt  taste,  a  peculiar  sweetness  and  a  strong  aroma. 
They  also  contain  more  soluble  matter  than  when  cooked  in  pure  water.  Water  which  con- 
tains l-420th  of  its  weight  of  common  salt  is  far  better  for  cooking  vegetables  than  pure 
water,  because  the  salt  hinders  the  solution  and  evaporation  of  the  soluble  and  flavoring 
principles  of  the  vegetables.  This  explains  the  advantage  of  the  general  use  of  salt  in  cook- 
ing, and  the  impossibility  of  correcting,  by  subsequent  additions  of  salt,  the  want  of  flavor  in 
vegetables  that  have  been  boiled  without  it." 

Use  of  Coffee  among  the  Natives  of  Sumatra. 

A  COKRESPONDENT  of  Hooker's  Journal  of  Botany  gives  the  following  account  of  the  man- 
ner of  using  coffee  among  the  natives  of  Sumatra  ;  he  says : — 

In  going  up  the  river  Chenaku,  I  saw  everywhere  coffee  planted  about  the  houses,  and  in 
every  case  the  fruit  dropping  and  decaying  on  the  ground.  Upon  inquiring,  I  found  these 
people  drank  an  infusion  of  the  leaves  and  entirely  neglected  the  berries.  I  was  anxious  to 
taste  this  and  see  it  prepared,  and  had  an  opportunity  of  doing  so.  A  number  of  young 
twigs  of  the  plant  were  gathered,  with  their  leaves,  and,  after  being  cut  to  about  a  foot  in 
length,  were  placed  closely  together  between  two  strips  of  bamboo,  tied  at  the  ends,  so  as  to 
form  a  dense  disc  of  green  leaves  about  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  in  diameter.  This 
was  then  held  over  a  clear,  blazing  fire  (the  ends  of  the  bamboo  serving  for  a  handle) 
until  the  leaves  were  of  a  rich,  brownish-green  color,  and  perfectly  crisp  and  brittle.  The 
latter  part  of  this  process  requires  some  care,  as,  when  nearly  dry,  the  leaves  are  almost  as 
inflammable  as  gunpowder,  and  if  once  they  catch  the  flame  the  whole  is  consumed  in  a  mo- 
ment. When  dry,  the  leaves  are  pounded  by  crushing  in  the  hand.  The  powder  of  the 
leaves  is  infused  in  boiling  water,  exactly  like  tea,  though  in  much  larger  quantities  ;  it  pro- 
duces a  dark-brown  liquid,  looking  like  coffee,  smelling  like  green  tea,  and  tasting  like  a 
mixture  of  the  two.  It  is  very  pleasant,  however,  and  refreshing,  and  I  can  understand  how 
these  people  are  passionately  fond  of  it.  The  curious  part  of  it  is,  that,  while  theine,  caf- 
feine, and  theobromine  have  been  found  (nearly  identical  as  they  are  in  composition  and  pro- 
perties) in  use  in  three  distinct  parts  of  the  world,  and  valued  for  the  same  exhilarating 
qualities,  here  is  a  people,  little  raised  above  savages,  using  in  an  independent  manner  one  of 
these  very  plants,  being  evidently  uninstructed,  as  otherwise  they  would  have  used  the  berry. 

Chinese  Method  of  Scenting  Tea. 

A  CHINA  correspondent  of  the  London  Athenceum  furnishes  the  following  information  re- 
specting the  methods  of  scenting  tea,  as  practised  by  the  Chinese.  He  gays:  "I  have  been 
making  inquiries  for  some  time  past  about  the  curious  process  of  scenting  teas  for  the  foreign 
markets ;  but  the  answers  I  received  to  my  questions  were  so  unsatisfactory,  that  I  gave  up 
all  hopes  of  understanding  the  business  until  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  and  judging  for 
myself.  During  a  late  visit  to  Canton,  I  was  informed  that  the  process  might  be  seen  in  ope- 
ration in  a  tea-factory  on  the  island  of  Honan  ;  and  accordingly  embraced  an  opportunity  to 
visit  the  place  with  an  eminent  Chinese  merchant.  When  we  entered  the  tea-factory,  a 
strange  scene  was  presented  to  our  view.  The  place  was  crowded  with  women  and  children, 
all  busily  engaged  in  picking  the  stalks  and  yellow  or  brown  leaves  out  of  the  black  tea.  For 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  205 

this  labor  each  was  paid  at  the  rate  of  six  cash  a  catty,  and  earned,  on  an  average,  about 
sixty  cash  a  day — a  sum  equal  to  about  threepence  of  our  money.  Men  were  employed 
giving  out  the  tea  in  its  rough  state,  and  in  receiving  it  again  when  picked.  With  each  por- 
tion of  tea  a  wooden  ticket  was  also  given,  which  ticket  had  to  be  returned  along  with  the 
tea.  Besides  the  men  who  were  thus  employed,  there  were  many  others  busily  at  work,' 
passing  the  tea  through  various-sized  sieves,  in  order  to  get  out  the  caper,  and  to  separate 
the  various  kinds.  This  was  also  partly  done  by  a  winnowing  machine,  similar  in  construc- 
tion to  that  used  by  farmers  in  England.  Having  taken  a  passing  glance  at  all  these  objects 
on  entering  the  building,  I  next  directed  my  attention  to  the  scenting  process,  which  had 
been  the  main  object  of  my  visit,  and  which  I  shall  now  endeavor  to  describe. 

"  In  a  corner  of  the  building,  there  lay  a  large  heap  of  orange-flowers,  which  filled  the 
air  with  the  most  delicious  perfume.  A  man  was  engaged  in  sifting  them,  to  get  out  the  sta- 
mens and  other  smaller  portions  of  the  flower.  This  process  was  necessary,  in  order  that  the 
flowers  might  be  readily  sifted  out  of  the  tea  after  the  scenting  had  been  accomplished. 
The  orange-flowers  being  fully  expanded,  the  large  petals  were  easily  separated  from  the  sta- 
mens and  smaller  ones.  In  100  parts,  70  per  cent,  were  used  and  30  thrown  away.  When 
the  orange  is  used,  its  flowers  must  be  fully  expanded,  in  order  to  bring  out  the  scent ;  but 
flowers  of  jasmine  may  be  used  in  the  bud,  as  they  will  expand  and  emit  their  fragrance  during 
the  time  they  are  mixed  with  the  tea.  When  the  flowers  had  been  sifted  over  in  the  manner 
described,  they  were  ready  for  use.  In  the  mean  time,  the  tea  to  be  scented  had  been  carefully 
manipulated,  and  appeared  perfectly  dried  and  finished.  At  this  stage  of  the  process,  it  is 
worthy  of  observing  that,  while  the  tea  was  perfectly  dry,  the  orange-flowers  were  just  as  they 
had  been  gathered  from  the  trees.  Large  quantities  of  the  tea  were  now  mixed  up  with  the 
flowers,  in  the  proportion  of  forty  pounds  of  flowers  to  one  hundred  pounds  of  tea.  This  dry 
tea  and  the  untried  flowers  were  allowed  to  lie  mixed  together  for  the  space  of  twenty-four 
hours.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  the  flowers  were  sifted  out  of  the  tea,  and  by  the  repeated  sifting 
and  winnowing  processes  which  the  tea  had  afterwards  to  undergo,  they  were  nearly  all  got 
rid  of.  Sometimes  a  few  stray  ones  are  left  in  the  tea,  and  may  be  detected  even  after  it 
arrives  in  England.  A  small  portion  of  tea  adheres  to  the  moist  flowers  when  they  are  sifted 
out,  and  this  is  generally  given  away  to  the  poor,  who  pick  it  out  with  the  hand. 

"  The  flowers  at  this  part  of  the  process  had  impregnated  the  tea-leaves  with  a  large  por- 
tion of  their  peculiar  odors,  but  they  had  also  left  behind  them  a  certain  portion  of  moisture, 
which  it  was  necessary  to  expel.  This  was  done  by  placing  the  tea  once  more  over  slow 
charcoal  fires  in  baskets  and  sieves  prepared  for  the  purpose  of  drying.  The  scent  communi- 
cated by  the  powers  is  very  slight  for  some  time,  but,  like  the  fragrance  peculiar  to  the  tea- 
leaf  itself,  comes  out  after  being  packed  for  a  week  or  two.  Sometimes  this  scenting  process 
is  repeated  when  the  odor  is  not  considered  sufficiently  strong ;  and  the  head  man  in  the  fac- 
tory informed  me  he  sometimes  scented  twice  with  orange-flowers,  and  once  with  the  'Mo-le,' 
(Jasminum  sambac.) 

"  The  flowers  of  various  plants  are  used  in  scenting  by  the  Chinese,  some  of  which  are 
considered  better  than  others,  and  some  can  be  had  at  seasons  when  others  are  not  procura- 
ble. The  different  flowers  are  not  all  used  in  the  same  proportions.  Thus  of  orange-flowers 
there  are  forty  pounds  to  one  hundred  pounds  of  tea ;  and  of  the  aglaia  there  are  one  hundred 
pounds  to  one  hundred  pounds.  The  quantity  of  flowers  used  seemed  to  me  very  large,  and 
I  made  particular  inquiries  as  to  whether  the  teas  that  are  scented  were  mixed  up  with  large 
quantities  of  unscented  kinds.  The  Chinese  unhesitatingly  affirmed  that  such  was  not  the 
case  ;  but  I  have  some  doubt  on  this  point.  The  length  of  time  which  teas  thus  scented  re- 
tain their  flavor  is  most  remarkable.  It  varies  however,  with  the  different  sorts.  Teas  scented 
with  orange-blossoms  will  keep  well  for  two  or  three  years.  Other  flower-perfumes,  it  is  said, 
may  be  retained  as  long  as  six  years. 

On  the  Use  of  the  Red  Camomile  (Pyrethrnm  roseum)  for  the  Destruction 

of  Insects. 

FOR  some  years  a  vague  report  has  reached  us  of  a  Caucasian  plant  having  astonishing 
and  eminently  useful  properties — that  of  destroying  fleas  and  bugs ;  it  was  also  known  that 


206  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

this  marvellous  plant  belonged  to  the  genus  Pyrethrum,  but  the  specific  character  was  uncer- 
tain. This  plant  has  been  recently  introduced  into  Brussels  in  the  rich  collections  of  the 
botanical  garden.  We  hope  that  in  some  years  the  red  camomile  shall  have  freed  our  people 
from  one  of  the  most  abominable  plagues  which  afflict  sensitive  humanity.  Some  details  of 
a  plant  of  so  certain  a  future  as  that  of  the  red  camomiles  will  be,  without  doubt,  acceptable 
to  our  readers.  In  Transcaucasia,  its  country,  this  plant  bears  also  the  name  of  the 
Persian  Camomile,  the  flea-killer,  and  flea-wort;  it  forms  a  little  shrub  with  perennial  roots, 
branched  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  high,  bearing  many  flowers  at  first  of  a  deep  red,  after- 
wards a  clear  or  rosy  red,  and  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  (the  size  of  the  flowers  will 
also  cause  this  plant  to  be  cultivated  as  an  ornament  in  our  gardens ; )  the  stalks  dry  up 
after  the  ripening  of  the  seeds,  but  the  roots  are  perennial,  and  for  some  years  may  be  mul- 
tiplied by  division.  Freshly  gathered,  the  flowers  are  not  very  odorous,  but  dried  they 
acquire  an  odor  so  strong  and  penetrating  that  it  kills  all  the  insects  and  all  the  vermin,  of 
which  until  now  no  certain  agent  of  destruction  has  been  found.  The  red  camomile  can 
bear  20°  Centigrade  of  frost,  a  temperature  to  which  it  is  often  submitted  on  the  Caucasian 
mountains  and  on  the  plains,  elevated  from  4500  to  6500  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Although 
it  inhabits  virgin  soil,  it  is  easily  brought  into  cultivation  in  gardens,  and,  since  its  ener- 
getic properties  have  been  recognised,  it  is  cultivated  in  a  large  way  in  different  parts  of 
Southern  Russia.  One  very  remarkable  fact  is,  that  the  knowledge  of  the  secret  of  the 
manufacture  of  the  red  camomile  powder  for  the  destruction  of  fleas,  &c.  only  dates,  even 
in  Caucasia,  back  about  ten  years,  while  the  employment  of  this  strong  powder  was  known 
in  regions  far  distant  from  Circassia.  It  seems  that  an  Armenian  merchant,  named  Sumbi- 
toff.  travelling  in  the  south  of  Asia,  observed  4;hat  the  inhabitants  sprinkled  themselves  with 
a  powder  to  prevent  the  stings  of  insects.  This  powder  was  nothing  else  than  that  made  of 
the  flowers  of  the  red  camomile.  Returned  to  his  country,  our  Armenian  told  his  son  of  the 
discovery,  and  taught  him  to  recognise  the  plant.  This  son  became  poor  by  reverses  of 
fortune,  but  bethought  himself  of  his  father's  secret;  he  set  himself  then  to  make  this 
powder,  and  retired  with  very  large  profits  from  this  trade.  In  1818,  he  sold  a  pood  (about 
twenty  kilogrammes)  of  camomile  powder  at  twenty -five  roubles,  (near  one  hundred  francs;) 
and  although  the  secret  had  been  published,  and  every  one  knew  the  preparation  of  this 
powder,  more  than  twenty  villages  in  the  district  of  Alexandropol  were  actually  given  up  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  red  camomile.  The  flowering  of  the  Pyrethrum  roseum  commences  in 
June,  and  continues  more  than  a  month.  The  flowers  are  gathered  in  dry  weather.  In 
one  day  a  good  harvester  can  collect  from  thirty  to  eighty  pounds  of  these  wild  flowers. 
They  generally  dry  them  in  the  sun ;  but  it  is  remarked  that  those  dried  in  the  shade  have 
more  virtue.  The  bed  of  flowers  is  stirred  from  time  to  time  to  help  the  drying ;  three  or 
four  days  is  sufficient  to  drive  off  every  trace  of  moisture.  To  obtain  one  pound  of  dried 
flowers  it  requires  about  one  hundred  pounds  of  fresh  ones !  They  are  then  reduced  to  a 
coarse  powder  with  the  hand,  and  by  means  of  a  little  millstone,  or  a  little  brass  mill,  a  very 
fine  powder  fit  for  use  is  obtained.  We  see  by  this  that  the  process  is  very  simple ;  the  most 
difficult  question  is  how  to  operate  upon  a  sufficiently  large  number  of  flowering  plants.  To 
give  an  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  manufacture  of  this  powder,  we  must  state  that  in 
Transcaucasia  alone  there  are  made  each  year  for  consumption  in  the  Russian  Empire  more 
than  40,000  kilogrammes.  Baron  Folkersahm  has  recently  published  a  valuable  paper  on 
the  cultivation  of  the  red  camomile.  His  memoir  terminates  with  the  following  remarks: 
That  this  powder  preserves  you  from  fleas  and  bugs ;  it  kills  flies,  gnats,  maggots,  lice,  and 
even  the  worms  which  are  produced  in  the  wounds  of  our  domestic  animals.  To  kill  insects 
provided  with  wings,  they  mix  a  little  of  this  with  a  substance  which  will  attract  them ;  for 
instance,  to  destroy  flies,  it  is  mixed  with  sugar.  M.  Folkersahm  desires  that  the  effects  of 
this  powder  should  be  tried  on  other  insects  and  worms  hurtful  to  man  or  to  his  horticultural 
plantations.  He  adds,  that  if  experiments  demonstrate  the  efficacy  of  this  powder,  each 
person  could  cultivate  in  the  corner  of  his  garden  a  certain  number  of  plants  of  red  camo- 
mile to  kill  the  insects,  caterpillars,  &c.  which  ravage  his  field.  From  an  approximative 
calculation,  it  is  found  that  a  space  of  eighteen  square  versts  furnishes  a  quintal  of  powder. 
Mr.  B.  Roezl,  who  lived  a  long  time  in  Russia,  states  that  the  Insecten  pulver  (powder  of  the 


AGRICULTURAL   CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  207 

Pyrethrum)  is  imported  every  year  from  Persia  and  the  Caucasian  provinces  into  all  parts 
of  the  Russian  Empire ;  and  that  used  fresh,  sprinkled  over  the  window-sills,  it  makes  all  the 
flies  fall  instantly,  asphyxiating  them ;  but  that  at  the  end  of  a  year  it  loses  its  energy.  He 
also  states  that  it  is  the  Pyrethrum  carneum  and  roseum  which  produce  this  powder. — 
Journal  d1 Horticulture  de  Belgique. 

Alcohol  from  the  Tubercles  of  the  Asphodelus  ramosus. 

THE  tubercles  of  Asphodelus  ramosus  have  been  employed  for  some  years  in  Algeria  for 
the  manufacture  of  alcohol.  It  has  been  asserted  that  they  contain  neither  starch  nor  sugar, 
and  the  experiments  of  M.  Clerget  fully  confirm  this  opinion.  When  grated  and  pressed, 
they  yield  81  per  cent,  of  juice,  of  specific  gravity  1-082.  When  treated  with  iodine,  not  the 
slightest  indication  of  starch  can  be  obtained.  The  juice  has  no  action  on  polarized  light, 
but  if  it  be  heated  with  hydrochloric  acid  at  the  boiling  temperature,  it  rotates  the  plane  of 
polarization  to  the  left  very  powerfully.  When  mixed  with  two  per  cent,  of  yeast,  it  enters 
rapidly  into  fermentation,  and  yields  eight  per  cent,  of  alcohol,  being  about  twice  as  much 
as  can  be  obtained  from  the  juice  of  sugar-beet.  The  dried  tubercles  of  the  plant  do  not 
yield  more  than  three  per  cent,  of  alcohol.  M.  Clerget  is  engaged  in  the  investigation  of  the 
principle  which  undergoes  fermentation. 

Odors  of  Flowers. 

SCIIUBLER  and  Kohler  have  made  many  interesting  observations  on  odors  as  well  as  colors. 
They  found  that,  of  the  various  colors  of  flowers,  some  are  more  commonly  odoriferous  than 
others,  and  that  some  colors  are  more  commonly  agreeable  than  others. 


Color.                                                   No.  of  species.    Odoriferous.       Agreeable.     Disagreeable. 

White  

1193 

187  

175 

12 

Yellow  

951 

75  

61 

14 

Red  

918 

85  

76 

9 

Blue  

594 

31   

23 

7 

Violet  

307 

23  

17 

6 

Green  

153 

12  

10 

2 

50 

3  

1 

2 

Brown  ... 

18 

1  .. 

0 

1 

The  white  most  odoriferous  and  agreeable — the  yellow  and  brown  most  disagreeable. — 
Prof.  Darby. 

On  the  Aroma  of  American  Wines. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  American  Wine-Growers'  Association  at  Cincinnati,  the  fol- 
lowing was  read  from  N.  W.  Thatcher,  of  Chillicothe : — 

*  "  The  great  desideratum  in  wine-growing  is,  doubtless,  to  procure 
a  grape  possessing  at  once  sugar  in  abundance  and  an  agreeable  aroma;  probably  the 
Catawba  (there  are  some  spurious  varieties  of  this  grape)  possesses  these  qualities  to  a  more 
profitable  degree  than  any  grape  we  now  cultivate,  inasmuch  as  it  is  perfectly  hardy ;  but 
this  grape  should  not  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  American  grapes,  for  we  shall  yet  surpass 
it ;  and  to  those  whose  palates  do  not  accord  too  much  with  the  foxy  aroma  of  the  Catawba, 
the  Herbemont  is  the  most  acceptable  grape,  but  the  latter  is  not  sufficiently  hardy  for  exten- 
sive and  profitable  cultivation ;  but  as  we  have  several  varieties  of  that  class  of  grapes,  we 
may  look  for  the  production  of  seedlings  from  them  that  will  surpass  any  of  the  Fox  family. 
Doubtless  a  cross  of  the  Herbemont  and  Cataicba  would  produce  a  valuable  grape  as  to  flavor 
and  juiciness.  It  is,  doubtless,  a  desideratum  to  obtain  a  grape  possessing  all  the  requisites 
for  good  wine ;  that  is,  it  should  be  productive,  hardy,  juicy,  sweet,  and  well-flavored.  Until 
we  can  get  one  grape  possessing  in  a  sufficient  degree  all  these,  we  can  cultivate  several 
varieties  and  attain  our  object  by  mixing  the  berries  in  the  mash-tub.  This  is  desirable,  at 
least,  to  afford  variety  in  our  wines,  as  well  as  to  give  flavor  to  strong-bodied  wines  which 
are  without  it.  The  taste  of  the  juice  of  the  grape,  as  well  as  for  various  kinds  of  food, 
becomes  fixed  to  some  particular  sorts  by  custom,  and  finally  to  the  exclusion  of  any  thing 


208  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

new ;  and  hence  I  infer  it  will  be  difficult,  after  a  few  years,  to  eradicate  the  predilection  of 
Ohio  wine  growers,  even  for  the  foxy  aroma  of  their  Catawba  wines.  If  we  look  forward  to  the 
exportation  of  wines  to  foreign  countries,  we  must  look  for  their  production  in  grapes  of  the 
Herbemont  type.  I  am  a  wine-grower  to  a  very  limited  extent,  and  only  as  an  amateur ;  but 
still  my  experiments  are,  so  far  as  they  are  successful,- -as  valuable  in  their  results  as  if  I 
crushed  the  grapes  of  a  township.  I  shall  make  no  wine  this  season.  I  am  satisfied  that 
we  can  make  as  good  wines  in  this  country  as  in  any  other,  and  at  equal  pfcice.  I  would 
prefer  the  best  Cincinnati  wine  to  any  foreign  I  have  ever  seen,  except,  perhaps,  the  pure 
Xeres,  Sherry,  and  Mangannelta,  which  we  rarely  see." 

New  Use  for  Buckwheat  Straw. 

IT  has  been  recently  stated  that  the  straw  of  the  buckwheat  has  been  applied  with  success 
in  Russia  as  a  substitute  for  quercitron,  or  yellow-oak  bark,  in  dyeing. 

The  Effect  of  Colored  Light  on  Germination. 

To  determine  the  commercial  value  of  any  seeds,  one  hundred  of  them  are  placed  in  a  pot 
in  a  stove,  made  for  the  purpose  of  quickening  the  process  of  germination.  If  all  the  seeds 
germinate,  the  seed  obtains  the  highest  value  in  the  market.  If  only  eighty  germinate,  the 
seed  loses  20  per  cent,  in  value.  This  process  ordinarily  occupies  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
days ;  but  Mr.  Lawson  found  that  by  using  blue  glass  they  are  enabled  to  determine  the  value 
of  seed  in  two  or  three  days :  and  this  is  a  matter  of  such  commercial  importance  to  them, 
that  it  is  quite  equal  to  a  gift  of  £500  a  year. — Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Polytechnic  Society. 

Plants  Under  Different  Conditions. 

DR.  GLADSTONE,  F.R.S.,  has  communicated  to  the  London  Chemist  some  interesting  facts 
in  relation  to  certain  experiments  made  by  him  upon  plants  under  different  colored  glass,  and 
under  different  atmospheric  conditions: — 

Darkness  promotes  a  rapid  and  abundant  growth  of  thin  rootlets ;  it  prevents  the  formation 
of  chlorophylle,  but  does  not  interfere  much  with  the  general  healthiness  of  the  plant,  nor 
with  the  production  of  the  coloring  matter  of  the  flowers.  Partial  obscurity  produces  the 
same  effects  in  a  modified  manner,  but  greatly  facilitates  the  absorption  of  water ;  and  the 
cutting  off  of  the  chemical  or  blue  ray  under  such  circumstances  seems  to  make  very  little 
difference.  The  withdrawal  of  all  but  the  caloric  rays  interferes  with  the  length  of  the  roots, 
and  produces  a  badly-developed  plant.  The  pure  luminous  ray  causes  the  rootlets  to  be  few 
and  straggling,  and  diminishes  the  absorption  of  water.  Hyacinths  were  well  developed 
under  the  pure  chemical  influence. 

Experiments  were  made  on  the  germination,  under  like  influences,  of  wheat  and  peas,  as 
samples  of  the  two  great  orders  of  plants.  The  first  series  was  made  in  common  air,  the 
plants  being  placed  on  damp  bricks,  twelve  seeds  of  each  kind  being  employed  in  each 
separate  instance.  The  periods  of  germination,  and  all  the  circumstances  that  marked  the 
growth  of  the  plants,  were  carefully  noted ;  drawings  were  made,  and  at  the  close  of  the 
experiment  the  height  of  the  plants,  the  length  of  their  roots,  their  weight,  and  the  number 
of  seeds  that  had  germinated,  were  recorded.  The  effect  of  the  same  solar  radiations  on  the 
two  plants  was  extremely  different.  In  respect  to  the  wheat,  it  was  found  that,  under  the 
given  circumstances,  the  absence  of  the  chemical  rays  favors  the  first  growth,  and  the  pre- 
sence of  the  luminous  rays  does  not  impede  it.  Afterwards  the  opposite  effect  takes  place ; 
the  roots  are  retarded  in  their  development  by  the  yellow  ray  much  more  than  by  all  the 
rays  of  the  spectrum  in  combination.  The  calorific  ray  is,  on  the  whole,  the  most  favorable 
to  their  growth — even  more  so  than  the  complete  absence  of  all  solar  radiations.  The  shoot- 
ing forth  of  the  plume  is  favored  also  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  chemical  rays,  especially  just 
at  first ;  but  the  full  and  healthy  development  of  leaves  requires  all  the  rays  of  the  spectrum, 
the  luminous  being  particularly  necessary.  In  respect  to  peas  under  the  given  circum- 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  209 

stances,  it  was  found  that  the  cutting  off  of  the  chemical  rays  favors  the  first  germination  of 
the  seed ;  and  this  appears  to  be  the  principal,  if  not  the  only,  advantage  of  the  darkness 
obtained  by  burying  the  seeds  in  the  soil.  <p 

The  development  of  roots  requires  also  the  absence  of  the  chemical  ray,  but  is  rather 
favored  than  otherwise  by  heat  and  luminosity.  The  first  development  of  the  plumule  also 
proceeds  best  under  the  same  circumstances.  Yet  these  are  not  the  conditions  which  produce 
a  healthy  plant ;  they  cause  too  rapid  and  succulent  a  growth.  When  the  plant  is  fairly 
established,  those  radiations  which  are,  comparatively  speaking,  devoid  of  light,  but  replete 
with  chemical  power,  seem  the  most  suited  to  it.  The  points  in  common  between  the  differ- 
ent actions  of  the  solar  radiations  on  wheat  and  on  peas  are,  that  in  both  cases  the  cutting 
off  of  the  chemical  ray  facilitates  the  process  of  early  germination ;  and  that  both  in  reference 
to  the  protrusion  of  the  radicles  and  the  evolution  of  the  plume,  obscurity  causes  an  unna- 
turally tall  growth  and  poor  development  of  leaves,  and  the  yellow  ray  exerts  a  repellant 
influence  upon  the  roots,  giving  the  wheat  a  downward  and  the  pea-roots  a  lateral  impulse. 
A  comparison  of  the  results  obtained  by  means  of  the  yellow,  of  the  obscured  colorless,  and 
the  obscured  yellow  glasses,  showed  that  the  yellow  ray  has  a  specific  action  in  many  respects, 
but  not  of  the  character  which  has  sometimes  been  ascribed  to  it.  The  diversity  of  effect  of 
the  same  ray  upon  the  two  plants  was  well  exhibited  by  what  took  place  under  the  colorless 
and  red  glasses.  Under  the  former  there  grew  a  tall  and  vigorous  crop  of  wheat-plants,  with 
a  mere  matting  of  stunted  roots  from  the  peas,  while  under  the  latter  a  thick  crop  of  green 
and  spreading  plants  arose  from  the  germinating  peas,  but  the  wheat  were  few  and  straggling, 
and  unhealthy  in  appearance.  Seeds  of  the  wheat  and  the  pea  were  placed  in  jars,  con- 
taining respectively  carbonic  acid  gas,  hydrogen  from  which  every  trace  of  oxygen  was 
removed  by  pyrogallate  of  potash,  common  air  from  which  carbonic  acid  was  removed  by 
caustic  alkali,  and  normal  atmospheric  air.  These  merely  corroborated  the  opinion  generally 
entertained,  that  oxygen  is  absolutely  requisite  for  instituting  the  first  change  in  the  coty- 
ledons of  the  seed.  Peas  and  wheat  were  also  grown  in  oxygen  gas,  under  the  colorless  and 
colored  bell-jars.  They  grew  and  appeared  to  flourish  best  under  the  chemical  influences 
of  the  blue  glass. 

The  Grittiness  of  Pears. 

THE  grittiness  of  pears  greatly  diminishes  their  value  as  a  dessert.  The  proximate  cause 
is  known  to  be  the  deposit  of  hard  matter  in  the  pulpy  cells,  analagous  to  that  which  gives 
the  bony  texture  to  the  stone  of  plums,  cherries,  &c.  In  stone  fruits  the  gritty  matter  is 
collected,  and  forms  the  pit  or  stone ;  but  in  the  pear  there  is  no  part  exclusively  appropriated 
for  the  grit,  which  is  found  sometimes  in  large  or  small  masses  throughout  the  pulp. 

The  cause  of  this  grittiness  is  unknown,  but  the  accumulation  of  it  may  be  arrested  or 
diminished  by  sheltering  the  fruit  from  the  cold  rain  which  may  fall  during  its  growth,  and 
arrest  the  free  circulation  of  the  sap.  This  hypothesis  was  suggested  by  M.  Delaville,  a 
French  gardener,  who  remarks  that  the  sorts  which  are  most  subject  to  spotting  and  grit- 
tiness are  those  which  have  the  finest  skin. 

The  manner  in  which  M.  Delaville  protects  his  pears  is  as  follows:  As  soon  as  the  fruit  is 
completely  set,  he  encloses  each  cluster  in  a  cornet  of  paper,  fixed  to  the  top  of  the  stalk  by 
a  piece  of  rush,  (bast. )  This  cornet  must  be  sufficiently  large  to  guard  the  fruit  from  all 
exterior  injuries.  The  cornet  should  be  very  wide,  and  the  small  end  placed  upwards,  so  as 
to  leave  nothing  uncovered  except  the  bottom  of  the  fruit-stalk.  But  this  protection  is 
unnecessary  where  the  fruit  is  trained  against  a  wall.  About  a  fortnight  before  gathering, 
the  cornet  should  be  removed,  in  order  to  give  the  fruit  color  and  to  complete  the  ripening. 

At  the  exhibition  of  the  Imperial  Horticultural  Society  of  Paris,  some  St.  Germain  pears 
were  exhibited,  part  of  which  were  full  of  spots  and  grittiness,  while  others  were  fine  and 
pulpy.  Both  samples  were  from  one  tree,  but  the  fine  ones  were  protected  in  the  manner 
above  described.— Phil.  Florist. 

14 


210  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Report  on  the  Gases  Evolved  in  Steeping  Flax,  and  on  the  Composition  of 
the  Dressed  Flax  Fibre. 

BY  JOHN  F.  HODGES,  M.D.,  F.C.S.,  Prof,  of  Agriculture,  &c.  Queen's  College,  Belfast. 

THIS  report  contains  the  results  of  investigations  which  were  undertaken  in  connection 
with  the  technical  processes  employed  in  the  preparation  of  the  flax-plant  for  textile  pur- 
poses. The  attention  of  the  author  was  chiefly  directed  to  the  examination  of  the  method  of 
steeping  in  water  heated  by  steam,  introduced  by  Schenck,  and  usually  termed  the  hot-water 
system.  In  this  process,  which  was  fully  described  in  a  report  made  to  the  British  Associa- 
tion for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  the  Belfast  meeting,  it  was  found  that  the  chemical 
changes  produced  by  the  fermentation  of  the  flax  straw  in  water  maintained  at  a  temperature 
of  90°  F.,  did  not  materially  differ  from  those  which  accompany  the  ordinary  method  of 
steeping  in  pools  in  the  open  air;  and  that,  in  fact,  Schenck' s  method  might  be  regarded  as 
merely  the  common  process  of  the  Irish  farmer,  accelerated  and  subjected  to  scientific  control ; 
the  peculiar  fermentation  by  which  the  adhesive  matters  of  the  straw  are  softened  and  dis- 
solved being  attended  in  both  cases  by  the  production  of  a  considerable  amount  of  butyric 
acid. 

Examinations  of  the  gaseous  products  of  the  fermentation  were  made  at  steeping-works  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Belfast,  and  also  in  experimental  works  in  Queen's  College;  the  water 
contained  in  the  experimental  vats  being  maintained  at  the  requisite  temperature  by  pipes 
conveying  steam  from  the  boiler  of  an  engine  connected  with  the  college  heating  apparatus. 
The  gases  evolved  from  the  fermenting  liquid  were  analyzed  in  accordance  with  the  processes 
proposed  by  Bunsen,  and  were  found  to  consist  of  carbonic  acid,  hydrogen,  and  nitrogen. 
No  traces  of  carbonic  oxide,  carburetted  hydrogen,  nor  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen  were 
detected.  The  following  was  the  corrected  composition  of  the  mixture  of  gases  collected  in  a 
trial  of  Schenck' s  process,  in  the  steeping- vats  in  Queen's  College.  The  carbonic  acid  was 
removed  by  the  introduction  of  balls  of  caustic  potash,  and  the  residue  examined  by  explosion 
with  oxygen,  &c. 

Composition  in  100  vols. 

Carbonic  acid 22-29 

Hydrogen 44-30 

Nitrogen 33'41 

Composition  of  dressed  flax. — It  was  usually  assumed,  formerly,  that  by  the  process 
employed  in  the  preparation  of  flax  for  spinning  purposes,  the  fibre  was  deprived  of  all  the 
constituents  which  the  plant,  during  its  growth,  had  extracted  from  the  soil,  and  that  it 
might  be  regarded  as  possessing  the  same  composition  as  the  cellulose  of  the  chemist.  This 
opinion  was,  several  years  ago,  proved  to  be  erroneous;  and  the  results  of  the  following 
analyses  of  samples  of  flax  fibre  show  that  not  merely  does  the  dressed  flax  of  commerce  con- 
tain a  portion  of  the  inorganic  matters  of  the  plant,  but  that  there  remains  locked  up  in  the 
cells  of  the  fibre  a  considerable  amount  of  the  nitrogenized  and  other  proximate  compounds  of  the 
unsteeped  straw.  The  following  were  the  methods  adopted  in  the  examination  of  the  flax 
fibre: — The  fibre,  cut  into  small  pieces,  was  repeatedly  treated  with  cold  water  so  long  as 
any  thing  dissolved.  The  solution  obtained  was  strained  through  linen,  and  afterwards 
filtered.  On  boiling  the  filtered  liquid,  only  a  slight  troubling  was  observed ;  but  on  the 
addition  of  a  few  drops  of  acetic  acid,  a  precipitate  of  caseine  was  obtained,  which,  after 
twelve  hours  subsidence,  was  collected,  washed,  dried,  and  weighed.  In  the  liquid  from 
which  the  caseine  was  separated,  when  evaporated  almost  to  a  syrupy  consistence,  alcohol 
produced  a  bulky  grayish  precipitate,  which  was  collected,  washed,  and  dried.  The  alcoholic 
liquids,  on  concentration,  afforded  a  rich  orange  solution,  and  gave,  on  evaporation,  a  reddish 
brown  residue,  which  when  heated,  evolved  a  strong  caramel-like  odor,  and  its  solution  had 
a  sweetish  taste,  and  afforded  the  usual  reactions  of  grape-sugar.  The  several  precipitates, 
after  being  weighed,  were  carefully  incinerated,  and  the  weight  of  ash  obtained  in  each  case 
deducted.  The  determinations  of  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  samples  were  made  accord- 
ing to  the  method  of  Will,  and  included  first,  the  estimation  of  the  total  amount  of  nitrogen 
in  the  dried  flax,  and  secondly,  of  the  amount  which  was  retained  in  the  form  of  insoluble 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  211 

azotized  compounds,  in  a  portion  of  the  fibre  exhausted  by  treatment  with  water.  The 
amount  of  wax  and  oil  present,  was  obtained  by  treating  a  portion  of  the  fibre,  dried  in  a 
peculiar  apparatus  at  212°,  in  which  the  substance  is  exposed  to  the  vapor  of  ether,  which, 
when  condensed  in  a  separate  cooling  apparatus,  is  occasionally  forced  through  it  by  atmo- 
spheric pressure.  The  residue  of  the  flax,  after  exhaustion  with  water,  and  the  subtraction 
of  the  amount  of  insoluble  salts  which  it  was  found  to  contain,  and  of  the  wax  and  insoluble 
nitrogenized  bodies,  as  calculated  from  the  amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  washed  fibre,  was  re- 
garded as  cellular  fibre.  The  following  is  a  statement  of  the  results  obtained  in  the  exami- 
nation of  two  samples  of  dressed  flax,  of  average  quality.  The  samples  dried  at  212°  contained 
respectively,  No.  I.  9-10,  and  No.  II.  8-61  per  cent,  of  water:— 

No.  I.  No.  n. 

Wax,  volatile  oil  and  acid,  resinous  matter 2*200  2-620 

Sugar,  and  coloring  matters  soluble  in  alcohol 1-541  0-624 

Inorganic  matters  soluble  in  alcohol 0*281   0*116 

Gum  and  pectine 0-698  0-280 

Salts,  insoluble  in  alcohol 0*076  0*044 

Nitrogenized  compounds  soluble  in  water,  caseine,  Ac 3*560  1*386 

Nitrogeni/ed  compounds  insoluble  in  water 2*9-10  4*310 

Inorganic  matters  united  with  the  fibre 0-238  1*490 

Cellular  fibre 87*974  89*136 

The  total  amount  of  inorganic  matters  present  in  the  samples  was  obtained  by  the  careful 
incineration  of  the  dressed  flax  in  platinum  dishes.  No.  I.  dried  at  212°,  left  1-40  per  cent., 
and  No.  II.  1*54  per  cent.  The  ash  of  No.  I.  was  white,  while  that  of  No.  II.  had  a  brick- 
red  color.  Each  had  respectively  the  following  composition : — 

Ash  of  sample  No.  I.  Ash  of  sample  No.  II. 

Potash 7*94  1-85 

Soda 2*19    7*63 

Chloride  of  sodium 2*75  1*77 

Liuie 29-24   27*08 

Magnesia 4-64   0*70 

Peroxide  of  iron :; -72  7*40 

Phosphoric  acid 5-23  10*40 

Sulphuric  acid 6-00  3*12 

Carbonic  acid 28*17  19-10 

Silica 10-45  21*31 

In  addition  to  the  above  analyses  of  fibre  prepared  by  the  hot-water  system,  a  sample  of 
Courtrai  flax  was  examined.  The  amount  of  pure  fibre  was  obtained  by  repeated  digestion 
of  the  dried  flax  in  a  dilute  solution  of  potash,  (one-half  an  ounce  of  caustic  potash  to  three 
pints  of  water ; )  and,  after  the  careful  removal  of  all  traces  of  potash  by  washing  in  distilled 
water,  the  exhausted  fibre  was  incinerated,  and  the  amount  of  ash  left  deducted.  The 
following  were  the  results : — 

Courtrai  flax  steeped  and  dressed. — 100  parts  contained  water  8*40,  and,  dried  at  212°,  gave 
of  wax  and  oil  2-30  per  cent.,  and  on  combustion  with  soda-lime  afforded  1-04  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen.  Treated,  as  described,  with  dilute  solution  of  caustic  potash,  there  remained  after 
the  subtraction  of  the  ash  obtained  by  the  incineration  of  the  residue,  82*56  per  cent,  of  pure 
fibre.  A  sample  of  the  flax  dried  at  212°  left,  when  burned,  1*05  per  cent  of  ash;  if,  there- 
fore, we  may  assume  the  amount  of  nitrogen  present  as  representing  the  proportion  of  the 
so-called  proteine  compounds  contained  in  the  flax,  the  following  statement  of  the  compo- 
sition of  the  sample  may  be  given: — 

Flax  dried  at  212°. 

Wax  and  oil 2*30 

Nitrogenized  compounds,  caseine,  Ac .*. 6*50 

Gum,  sugar  and  coloring  matters 7*59 

Inorganic  matters 1*05 

Pure  fibre 82'56 

The  foregoing  analyses  therefore  show,  contrary  to  what  has  been  frequently  asserted, 
that  the  fibre  of  flax  in  the  condition  in  which  it  is  purchased  by  the  spinner,  after  it  has 
been  steeped  and  dressed,  contains  a  considerable  amount,  not  merely  of  the  earthy  and 
saline  ingredients  which  the  plant  has  taken  from  the  soil,  but  of  the  various  compounds, 
such  as  wax  and  caseine,  which  belong  to  the  unsteeped  straw,  and  upon  the  presence  of 
which  in  the  fibre  it  is  probable  much  of  its  spinning  qualities  depend.  An  examination 


212  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

of  the  plant,  as  pulled  from  the  field  in  the  usual  state  of  maturity,  when  the  seeds  contained 
in  the  capsules  begin  to  assume  a  brown  color,  shows  that  it  contains  starch,  which  can  be 
readily  extracted  by  placing  the  stems,  cut  in  pieces,  in  a  powerful  lever  press,  and  moisten- 
ing them  with  a  small  quantity  of  water.  By  allowing  the  expressed  liquid  to  remain  at 
rest,  the  starch  subsides,  and  assumes  a  purple  tinge  on  the  addition  of  a  watery  solution  of 
iodine.  When,  however,  the  flax  straw  is  examined  after  it  has  remained  exposed  to  the 
air  for  several  days  in  the  shock,  the  liquid  obtained  by  subjecting  it  to  pressure.,  and  washing 
with  water  was  found  to  afford  no  indication  of  the  presence  of  starch.  In  the  dressed  flax 
no  trace  of  starch  could  be  detected,  and  the  discovery  of  the  existence  of  a  considerable 
amount  of  grape-sugar  is  exceedingly  interesting,  as  corroborative  of  the  statement  of  expe- 
rienced dressers,  that,  by  storing  up  the  steeped  flax,  as  imperfectly  dried  by  exposure  to 
the  air  for  some  weeks  before  proceeding  to  remove  the  adherent  woody  matters  by  scutch- 
ing, the  separation  of  fibre  is  greatly  facilitated  and  its  qualities  improved. 

On  the  Deodorizing  Properties  of  Charcoal. 

IN  a  recent  communication  to  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  England,  on  the  above  sub- 
ject, by  Prof.  Way,  he  remarked,  that,  independently  of  the  noxious  gases  resulting  from  the 
putrefaction  of  animal  matter  generally,  and  which  consisted  principally  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  and  sulphuret  of  ammonia,  each  particular  animal  substance,  excretion  or  other- 
wise, had  its  peculiar  odor,  which — although  abundantly  perceptible  by  the  senses,  and  in 
many  cases,  as  in  musk,  almost  inexhaustible — was  inappreciable  in  weight ;  therefore,  by 
deodorizing  a  large  amount  of  odor,  it  was  to  be  inferred  that  a  large  amount  of  manuring 
matter  was  thereby  secured.  He  then  enumerated  the  various  single  and  double  deodorizers 
that  had  been  employed.  He  referred  to  Sir  William  Burnett's  excellent  application  of 
chloride  of  zinc,  and  to  the  ordinary  chloride  of  lime ;  to  gypsum,  (sulphate  of  lime,)  and  its 
conversion,  in  ammoniacal  atmosphere,  into  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  carbonate  of  lime;  to 
the  agreeable  odor  of  pure  ammonia,  and  its  power  of  giving  intensity  to  odors  of  a  dis- 
agreeable character,  which  intensity  was  lost  when  the  ammonia  was  withdrawn ;  to  sulphate 
of  iron,  (green  copperas,)  which,  when  powdered  and  thrown  into  tanks,  turned  black,  on 
account  of  the  sulphuret  of  iron  formed  on  the  decomposition  of  the  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
present.  He  then  proceeded  to  the  consideration  of  charcoal  as  a  deodorizer.  He  gave  an 
interesting  statement  of  the  peculiar  action  of  charcoals  in  general,  arising,  he  believed,  from 
the  great  amount  of  surface  their  spherical  interstices  presented,  and  of  the  peculiar  action 
and  superior  value  of  animal  charcoal  over  all  others.  He  explained  that  in  charcoals  it  was 
not  the  amount  of  carbon  they  contained  that  constituted  their  value,  but  the  mode  in  which 
the  carbon  was  distributed;  that  animal  charcoal  contained  only  10  per  cent,  of  real  carbon, 
while  wood  charcoal  contained  90  per  cent.  He  referred  to  the  large  amount  of  water  (50 
or  60  per  cent.)  which  peat  charcoal  took  up,  and  to  the  fallacious  dry  state  of  the  manures 
with  which  this  water-carrier  was  mixed.  He  feared  this  mode  of  introducing  water  in  a 
latent  state  into  manures,  in  many  cases,  gave  a  turn  in  the  scale  more  in  favor  of  the  manu- 
facturer than  of  the  farmer.  He  doubted  whether  the  peat  charcoal  could  be  used  economi- 
cally for  the  purpose  of  soaking  up  tank- water ;  if  not,  he  feared  it  would  prove  of  no 
advantage,  in  other  respects,  as  a  remunerative  agent  to  the  farmer.  It  had  been  long 
before  the  public,  but  had  not  progressed  in  market  value,  as  it  would  have  done  had  its 
application  been  successful.  He  considered  it  to  lead  to  much  error  in  practice  that  the 
exact  nature  of  the  action  of  charcoal  on  ammonia  was  not  better  understood  by  the  public. 
Fresh-burnt  charcoal  would  absorb  a  large  quantity  of  ammoniacal  gas,  but  it  was  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  it  would  consequently  abstract  ammonia  from  a  liquid  impregnated  with  it  ; 
on  the  contrary,  water  had  the  power  of  displacing  from  charcoal  the  whole  of  the  ammonia 
it  had  received  in  a  gaseous  state  within  its  pores.  Peat  charcoal  did  not  either  take  manure 
or  separate  it  from  sewage ;  it  simply  rendered  manure  portable.  He  exhibited  a  striking 
experiment,  showing  the  power  of  dry  peat  charcoal  to  arrest  odors.  Two  open  tumblers 
were  half-filled  with  the  most  offensive  sewage  matter  Professor  Way  could  obtain,  and  the 
surface  of  each  mass  covered  with  a  film  of  thin  paper,  and  a  thin  bed  of  powdered  peat 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  213 

charcoal  resting  upon  it.  .These  tumblers  were  in  this  state  handed  round  to  the  members, 
who  ascertained  the  perfect  manner  in  which  the  sewage  matter  was  thus  rendered  no  longer 
offensive  to  the  smell. 

Dr.  J.  Stenhouse,  of  England,  has  recently  published,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Society  of  Arts, 
the  following  interesting  information  respecting  the  properties  of  charcoal.  He  says :  "Mr. 
Turnbull,  a  well-known  chemical  manufacturer  of  Scotland,  about  nine  months  ago,  placed 
the  bodies  of  two  dogs  in  a  wooden  box,  on  a  layer  of  charcoal  powder  a  few  inches  in  depth, 
and  covered  them  over  with  a  quantity  of  the  same  material.  Though  the  box  was  quite 
open,  and  kept  in  his  laboratory,  no  effluvium  was  ever  perceptible ;  and  on  examining  the 
bodies  of  the  animals,  at  the  end  of  six  months,  scarcely  any  thing  remained  of  them  except 
the  bones.  Mr.  Turnbull  sent  me  a  portion  of  the  charcoal  powder  which  had  been  most 
closely  in  contact  with  the  bodies  of  the  dogs.  I  submitted  it  for  examination  to  one  of  my 
pupils,  Mr.  Turner,  who  found  it  contained  comparatively  little  ammonia,  not  a  trace  of  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen,  but  very  appreciable  quantities  of  nitric,  sulphuric  acids,  with  acid  phos- 
phate of  lime. 

"Mr.  Turner  subsequently,  about  three  months  ago,  buried  two  rats  in  about  two  inches 
of  charcoal  powder,  and  a  few  days  afterwards  the  body  of  a  full-grown  cat  was  similarly 
treated.  Though  the  bodies  of  these  animals  are  now  in  a  highly  putrid  state,  not  the 
slightest  odor  is  perceptible  in  the  laboratory. 

"From  this  short  statement  of  facts,  the  utility  of  charcoal  powder  as  a  means  of  prevent- 
ing noxious  effluvia  from  church-yards,  and  from  dead  bodies  in  other  situations,  such  as  on 
board  a  ship,  is  sufficiently  evident.  Covering  a  church-yard,  to  the  depth  of  from  two  to 
three  inches,  with  coarsely-powdered  charcoal,  would  prevent  any  putrid  exhalations  ever 
finding  their  way  into  the  atmosphere.  Charcoal  powder  also  greatly  favors  the  rapid 
decomposition  of  the  dead  bodies  with  which  it  is  in  contact,  so  that  in  the  course  of  six  or 
eight  months  little  is  left  except  the  bones. 

"  In  all  the  modern  systems  of  chemistry,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  last  edition  of  Turner's 
Elements,  charcoal  is  described  as  possessing  antiseptic  properties,  while  the  very  reverse  is 
the  fact.  Common  salt,  nitre,  corrosive  sublimate,  arsenimis  uci'l,  alcohol,  camphor,  creosote, 
and  most  essential  oils,  are  certainly  antiseptic  substances,  and  therefore  retard  the  decay 
of  animal  and  vegetable  matters.  Charcoal,  on  the  contrary,  as  we  have  just  seen,  greatly 
facilitates  the  oxidation,  and  consequently  the  decomposition,  of  any  organic  substances  with 
which  it  is  in  contact.  It  is,  therefore,  the  very  opposite  of  an  antiseptic." 

Does  Sea  Water  kill  Seeds? 

A  QUESTION  which  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  actual  or  possible  dispersion  of  many 
species  over  the  large  geographical  area  which  they  are  found  to  occupy,  and  therefore  upon 
the  problem  whether  the  same  organic  being  was  created  at  one  point,  or  at  several,  or  many 
widely-separated  points,  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  It  ^commonly  believed  and  stated  that 
seeds — those  of  maritime  plants  excepted — will  not  gen-^  nate  after  exposure  to  salt  water ; 
and  so  general  is  the  belief,  that  no  one,  so  far  as  we  Is  r,  has  made  the  experiment  until 
now,  when  the  distinguished  naturalist,  Mr.  Darwin,  hjphown  that  seeds  of  various  kinds 
will  germinate  promptly  after  prolonged  immersion  in  sea  water.  The  account  of  his  simple 
but  well-devised  experiments  is  given  in  the  London  Gardeners'  Chronicle  for  1855,  as  follows : — 

"As  I  had  no  idea  when  I  began,  whether  or  not  a  single  week's  immersion  would  kill  all 
the  seeds,  I  at  first  took  only  a  few,  selecting  them  almost  by  chance  from  the  different  great 
natural  families ;  but  I  am  now  trying  a  set  chosen  on  philosophical  principles.  The  sea  water 
has  been  made  artificially  with  salt.  The  seeds  were  placed  out  of  doors  in  the  shade,  in  bot- 
tles holding  from  two  to  four  ounces  each :  the  mean  temperature  being  from  44°  to  48°  F. 
Most  of  the  seeds  swelled  in  the  water,  and  some  of  them  slightly  colored  it,  and  each  kind 
gave  to  it  its  own  peculiar  odor.  The  water  which  contained  the  cabbage  and  radish  seeds 
became  putrid,  and  smelt  quite  offensively ;  and  it  is  surprising  that  seeds,  as  was  the  case 
with  the  radish,  could  have  resisted  so  contaminating  an  influence ;  and  as  the  water  became 
putrid  before  I  had  thought  of  this  contingency,  it  was  not  renewed.  I  also  placed  seeds  in 


214  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

a  quart  bottle  in  a  tank  filled  with  snow  and  water,  to  ascertain  whether  the  seeds  kept  at  the 
temperature  of  32°  would  better  resist  the  salt  water ;  this  water  became  turbid  and  smelt 
offensively.  In  the  following  list,  where  the  cases  are  specified,  the  seeds  have  endured  their 
full  time  :— 

"  (1)  Seeds  of  common  cress  (Lepidium  sativum)  have  germinated  well  after  forty-two  days' 
immersion ;  they  give  out  a  surprising  quantity  of  slime,  so  as  to  cohere  in  a  mass.  (2)  Ra- 
dishes have  not  germinated  as  well  after  the  same  period.  (3)  Cabbage-seed  :*•:  after  fourteen 
days'  immersion  only  one  seed  out  of  many  came  up ;  this  is  rather  strange,  as  the  cabbage  is 
a  sea-side  plant ;  in  the  ice-cold  salt  water,  however,  several  came  up  after  thirty  days'  im- 
mersion. (4)  Lettuce-seed  grew  well  after  forty-two  days ;  (5)  Onion-seed :  but  few  germi- 
nated after  the  same  period ;  (6)  Carrot  and  (7)  Celery-seed  grew  well  after  the  forty-two 
days;  (8)  Borago  cfficinalis,  (9)  Capsicum,  (10)  and  Cucurbita  ovifera,  germinate  well  after 
twenty-eight  days'  immersion ;  the  last  two,  rather  tender  kinds,  were  also  tried  in  ice-cold 
water,  and  germinated  after  thirty  days'  immersion.  (11)  Savory,  or  Satureja,  did  not  grow  as 
well  after  twenty-eight  days.  (12)  Linum  usitatissimum :  only  one  seed  out  of  a  mass  of  seeds 
(which  gave  out  much  slime)  came  up  after  the  twenty-eight  days,  and  the  same  thing  hap- 
pened after  fourteen  days ;  and  only  three  seeds  came  up  after  the  first  seven  days'  immer- 
sion, yet  the  seed  was  very  good.  (13)  Rhubarb,  (14)  Beet,  (15)  Orach,  or  Atriplex,  (16)  Oats, 
(17)  Barley,  (18)  and  Phalaris  Canariensis,  all  germinate  well  after  twenty-eight  days ;  like- 
wise the  last-named  six,  after  thirty  days  in  ice-cold  water.  (19)  Beans,  and  (20)  Furze,  or 
Ulex:  of  these  a  few  survived  with  difficulty  fourteen  days ;  the  beans  were  all  killed  by  the 
ice-cold  water  in  thirty  days.  (21)  Peas  germinated  after  seven  days,  but  died  after  fourteen 
days'  immersion  out  of  doors,  and  likewise  after  thirty  days  in  the  ice-cold  water.  (22)  Tri- 
folium  incarnatum  is  the  only  plant  of  which  every  seed  has  been  killed  by  seven  days'  immer- 
sion ;  nor  did  it  withstand  thirty  days  in  ice-cold  salt  water.  (23)  Kidney-beans  have  been 
tried  only  in  the  latter  water,  and  all  were  dead  after  thirty  days. 

"As  out  of  these  twenty-three  kinds  of  seed,  the  five  Leguminosce  alone  have  as  yet  been 
killed,  (except  the  cabbage-seed,  and  these  have  survived  in  the  ice-cold  water,)  one  is  tempted 
to  infer  that  the  seeds  of  this  family  must  generally  withstand  salt  water  much  worse  than 
the  seeds  of  the  other  great  natural  families ;  yet,  from  remarks  in  botanical  works,  I  had 
expected  that  these  would  have  survived  longest.  It  has  been  curious  to  observe  how  uniform, 
even  to  a  day,  the  germination  has  been  in  almost  every  kind  of  seed,  when  taken  week  after 
week  out  of  the  salt  water,  and  likewise  when  compared  with  the  same  seeds  not  salted — all, 
of  course,  having  been  grown  under  the  same  circumstances.  The  germination  of  the  rhubarb 
and  celery  alone  has  been  in  a  marked  degree  altered,  having  been  accelerated. 

"To  return  to  the  subject  of  transportal:  it  is  stated  in  'Johnston's  Physical  Atlas'  that 
the  rates  of  ten  distinct  currents  in  the  Atlantic  (excluding  drift  currents)  are  given,  and 
their  average  is  thirty-three  nautical  miles  per  diem ;  hence  in  forty-two  days,  which  length 
of  immersion  seven  out  of  the  eight  kinds  of  seed  as  yet  tested  have  already  stood,  a  seed 
might  be  readily  carried  between  thirteen  hundred  and  fourteen  hundred  miles. 

"  I  will  conclude  by  observing  that  all  the  forty  to  fifty  seeds  which  I  have  tried  sink  in  sea 
water :  this  seems  at  first  a  fatal  obstacle  to  the  dissemination  of  plants  by  sea  currents  ;  but 
it  may  be  doubted  whether  most  seeds,  (with  the  exception  of  the  winged  kinds,)  when  once 
shed,  are  so  likely  to  get  washed  into  the  sea  as  are  whole  or  nearly  whole  plants  with  their 
fruit,  by  being  carried  down  rivers  during  floods,  by  water-spouts,  whirlwinds,  &c.  It  should 
be  borne  in  mind  how  beautifully  pods,  capsules,  &c.,  and  even  the  fully-expanded  heads  of 
the  Composites,  close  when  wetted,  as  if  for  the  very  purpose  of  carrying  the  seed  safe  to  land. 
When  landed  high  up  by  the  tides  and  waves,  and  perhaps  driven  a  little  inland  by  the  first 
inshore  gale,  the  pods,  &c.  will  dry,  and  opening  will  shed  their  seed ;  and  these  will  then  be 
ready  for  all  the  many  means  of  disposal  by  which  Nature  sows  her  broad  fields,  and  which 
have  excited  the  admiration  of  every  observer.  But  when  the  seed  is  sown  in  its  new  home, 
then  comes  the  ordeal ;  will  the  old  occupants  in  the  great  struggle  for  life  allow  the  new  and 
solitary  immigrant  room  and  sustenance  ?" — Silliman's  Journal. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  215 

Alarming  Deterioration  of  the  Soil. 

THE  constant  deterioration  of  the  soils  in  New  England,  and  throughout  most  of  the 
agricultural  districts  of  the  United  States,  is  a  fact  of  portentous  and  alarming  significance, 
though  it  has  not  yet  arrested  very  extensively  the  notice  of  the  public.  Probably  there  is 
no  one  fact  in  our  agricultural  economy  of  more  pregnant  interest  than  this  in  its  bearings 
upon  our  future  prosperity.  Some  statistics,  illustrating  this  downward  tendency  in  our 
ability  to  produce  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  will  now  be  given ;  and  they  will,  I  think,  conclu- 
sively prove  that  a  more  prudent,  skilful,  and  scientific  mode  of  cultivating  the  soil  is  abso- 
lutely indispensable. 

Between  1840  and  1850  three  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  were  added  to  those  pre- 
viously under  improvement  in  Massachusetts.  Ninety  thousand  acres  were  added  to  our 
mowing  lauds,  and  yet  there  was  a  relative  depreciation  of  the  hay  crop  during  that  decade 
of  years  of  twelve  per  cent.  Our  tillage  lands  during  the  same  term  were  increased  forty 
thousand  acres,  and  yet  there  was  an  absolute  depreciation  in  our  grain  crop  of  six  thousand 
bushels.  The  pasturage  lands  were  increased  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  acres,  with 
scarcely  any  increase  of  neat  cattle,  and  a  reduction  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand 
sheep  and  seventeen  thousand  swine. 

The  same  law  of  deterioration  is  also  observable  in  the  richer  regions  of  the  South  and 
West,  showing  that,  with  our  present  unskilful  modes  of  farming,  we  are  taking  much  more 
from  the  productive  ability  of  our  soils  than  we  are  returning  to  them,  and  that  our  agricul- 
tural prosperity  is  really  and  constantly  on  the  wane.  This  downward  tendency  is  partially 
hidden  from  public  observation  by  the  vast  products  which  are  raised  upon  the  new  and 
almost  limitless  regions  which  are  every  year  put  under  cultivation  at  the  West;  but  the 
fact  itself  is  still  indubitable. 

In  the  State  of  New  York,  between  the  years  1845  and  1850,  671,692  acres  were  added  to 
those  previously  under  improvement,  and  of  course  there  ought  to  have  been  at  least  a  cor- 
responding increase  in  the  agricultural  products  of  the  State.  But  what  was  the  fact  ? 

The  number  of  horses  decreased  is  58,141. 

Milch  cows  decreased,  63,066. 

Other  cattle,  the  decrease  was  127,525. 

Sheep,  the  decrease  was  2,990,622. 

Swine,  the  decrease  was  556,002. 

Of  potatoes,  the  decrease  was  7,255,066  bushels. 

Of  peas  and  beans,  there  was  a  decrease  of  1,132,054  bushels. 

Flax,  the  decrease  was  1,956,485  pounds. 

Wool,  the  decrease  was  3,793,527  pounds. 

Wheat,  the  decrease  was  270,724  bushels. 

Buckwheat,  the  decrease  was  450,724  bushels. 

There  was  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  corn,  rye,  oats,  barley,  hay,  butter,  and  cheese 
raised  in  that  State,  but  no  greater  than  would  have  been  expected  from  the  increase  of  the 
population,  which  was  494,323  during  those  five  years. 

In  Tennessee,  the  number  of  cattle  raised  wi 


In  1840 822,861  head. 

In  1850 750,565     " 

Showing  a  decrease  of. 72,296     " 

In  Kentucky,  more  than  nine-tenths  of   the  entire  area  of   the  State  is  covered  with 
farms.     The  number  of  neat  cattle  raised  was — 

In  1840 789,093  head. 

In  1850 753,312     « 

Showing  a  decrease  of 35,781     rt 

Horses  and  mules  raised  in  Kentucky — 

In  1840 395,953  head. 

In  1850 381,291      " 

Decrease "14,662"    " 


216  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

It  is  estimated  by  intelligent  farmers  in  Indiana  that  their  river-bottoms,  which  used  to 
produce  an  average  crop  of  sixty  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre,  now  produce  only  forty.  In 
Wisconsin,  which  is  younger  still,  it  is  estimated  that  only  one-half  the  number  of  bushels 
of  wheat  are  now  raised  on  the  acre  which  were  raised  twelve  years  ago. 

These  estimates  are  based  on  the  returns  made  to  the  Patent  Office,  and  are  as  reliable  as 
any  now  before  the  public.  What,  then,  is  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  ?  It  is  this, 
that  the  soils  of  New  England,  after  all  the  admonitions  we  have  received  upon,  the  subject, 
are  annually  growing  poorer,  and  that  even  the  virgin  lands  of  the  Great  West  are  rapidly 
becoming  exhausted  of  their  fertility.  Other  and  better  modes  of  cultivation  must  there- 
fore be  introduced  and  practised,  or  our  country — now  the  granary  of  the  world — may  at 
no  very  distant  day  become  dependent  on  other  lands  for  its  daily  bread.  Within  fifty  years 
our  population  will  undoubtedly  reach  the  enormous  number  of  one  hundred  millions ;  but 
the  grave  question  is,  How  are  these  myriads  to  be  fed,  and  clothed,  and  educated,  if  our 
present  impoverishing  agricultural  processes  are  to  be  continued?  We  have  territory 
enough,  and  it  is  naturally  rich  enough  to  support  a  population  of  one  thousand  millions — 
a  number  to  which  we  may  yet  attain ;  but  how  can  they  be  sustained,  unless  some  method 
is  devised  to  keep  up  the  productive  capabilities  of  our  country,  and  to  return  to  our  libe- 
rally discounting  soils  as  much,  at  least,  as  we  abstract  from  them  ?  This  is  a  problem  which 
many  thoughtful  and  far-seeing  men  are  beginning  to  ponder,  and  which  requires  but  little 
wisdom  to  solve. — New  England  Farmer. 

Experiments  in  Feeding. 

THE  following  account  of  trials  in  feeding  stock,  instituted  by  John  Brooks,  Esq.,  of 
Princeton,  Massachusetts,  is  communicated  to  the  Journal  of  the  United  States  Agricul- 
tural Society,  1854.  The  points  for  determination  were  the  influence  of  different  kinds  of 
food  in  the  production  of  milk,  and  the  proportion  of  solid  manure  to  the  hay  consumed: — 

December  17,  1851,  commenced  feeding  two  cows  about  7  months  after  calving;  the  cows 
were  gravid,  and  expected  to  calve  about  March  next;  live  weight,  1600  Ibs. ;  one  of  them 
44  and  the  other  31  months  old.  Each  trial  continued  5  days. 

First  5  days  fed  on  2  per  cent,  of  live  weight  of  hay,  cut  daily 32  Ibs. 

2  Ibs.  of  Indian  meal,  hay  value 8   " 

Hay  value  of  daily  food 40    " 

Hay  value  of  5  days'  food 200    " 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  at  £  cent  per  Ib $1.00 

Milk  in  5  days 61-875  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  (hay  at  £  cent,  a  Ib.,)  1-6  cents  to  the  Ib.,  or  3-2  cents  the  wine  quart. 

Second  Trial 
Fed  5  days  on  2i  per  cent,  of  live  weight  of  cut  hay. 

Cut  hay  daily 40  Ibs. 

Cut  hay  in  Splays 200    " 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  at  £  cent  per  Ib $1.00 

Milk  in  5  days  60  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  (hay  at  £  cent  per  Ib.,)  1-6  cents  the  Ib.,  or  3-3  cents  the  wine  quart. 
These  trials  show  that  2  Ibs.  of  Indian  meal  are  very  nearly  equal  to  £  per  cent,  of  live 
weight  of  hay,  or  that  one  pound  of  meal  is  equal  nearly  to  4  Ibs.  of  good  English  hay. 

Third  Trial. 

Fed  5  days  on  cut  hay 16  Ibs. 

32  Ibs.  oat  straw,  hay  value 16   " 

2  Ibs.  Indian  meal,  hay  value 8   " 

Hay  value  of  food  daily 40    " 

Hay  value  of  5  days'  food 200   " 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  at  i  cent  per  Ib $1.00 

Deduct  5  Ibs.  hay  and  straw  not  consumed 2£ 

$0.974 
Milk  in  5  days,  50  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  (hay  at  £  cent  a  pound,)  1-99  cents  the  Ib.,  or  3-9  cents  the  wine  quart. 
The  hay  and  straw  cut  given  wet ;  the  meal  sifted  over  the  hay  and  straw.  This  trial  seems 
to  show  that  2  Ibs.  of  oat  straw  are  not  equal  for  milk  to  1  Ib.  of  hay. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  217 

Fourth  Trial. 

Fed  5  days  on  cut  hay  daily 16  Ibs. 

Oat  straw  cut,  32  Ibs.  hay  value 16   ' 

2  Ibs.  Indian  meal,  hay  value 8   " 

Hay  value  of  5  days' food 200    " 

Deduct  6  Ibs.  not  consumed 6   " 

194 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  at  i  cent  per  Ib $0.94 

Milk  in  5  days,  48  6-16  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  (hay  at  J  cent  per  Ib.,)  1-9  cents  per  Ib.,  or  3-9  cents  the  wine  quart.  The 
hay,  straw,  and  meal  were  given  dry.  The  trial  shows  that  hay,  straw,  and  meal  dry  are  not 
so  good  for  milk  as  when  wet. 

February  3,  1852,  commenced  feeding  two  cows;  one,  33  months  old,  14  days  after  calving, 
live  weight  1000  Ibs;  the  other,  31  months  old,  7  months  after  calving,  not  now  in  calf,  live 
weight  690  Ibs.  These  cows  were  fed  5  days  on  42  Ibs.,  or  2J  per  cent,  of  their  live  weight 
of  uncut  hay,  and  50  Ibs.  of  flat  turnips  daily. 

Uncut  hay  daily 42  Ibs. 

Turnips,  50  Ibs.,  hay  value 10   " 

~52   " 

Hay  value  of  5  days' food 260   " 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  at  i  cent  per  Ib $1.30 

Milk  in  5  days 153-6  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  (hay  at  J  cent  per  Ib.,)  0-846  of  a  cent  per  Ib.,  or  1-6  cents  the  wine  quart. 

Second  Trial 
Fed  five  days  on  cut  hay. 

Cut  hay  daily -12  Ibs. 

Turnips  50  Ibs.,  hay  value in    " 

52   " 

Hay  value  of  5  days'  food 260   " 

Deduct  5  Ibs.  not  consumed 5   " 

255   " 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  at  i  cent  per  Ib $1.27-5 

Milk  in  5  days 152-2  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  0-837  of  a  cent  per  Ib.,  or  1-6  cents  the  wine  quart. 

The  cows  did  not  eat  the  hay  quite  so  well  as  the  long  hay  on  the  first  trial,  so  that  the 
whole  experiment  shows  a  small  difference  in  favor  of  cut  hay. 

Third  Trial. 
Fed  same  as  second  trial,  except  gave  3  Ibs  of  Indian  meal  instead 

of  50  Ibs.  of  turnips. 
Cut  hay  daily 42  Ibs. 

3  Ibs.  Indian  meal  daily,  hay  value 12   " 

~54~  " 

Hay  value,  5  days'  food 270   " 

Deduct  10  Ibs.  hay  not  consumed 10   " 

"260    " 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  at  J  cent  per  Ib $1.30 

Milk  in  5  days 153  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  (hay  at  J  cent  per  Ib.,)  0-849  of  a  cent  per  Ib.,  or  1-6  cents  the  wine  quart. 
This  trial  seems  to  prove  that  3  Ibs.  of  Indian  meal  are  equal  to  12  Ibs.  of  English  hay,  or  50 
Ibs.  of  flat  turnips,  for  milk. 

Fourth  Trial. 

Fed  cut  hay  daily 42  Ibs. 

33  Ibs.  carrots  daily,  hay  value  11    « 

~53   " 

Hay  value,  5  days' food 265    " 

Deduct  5  Ibs.  of  hay  not  consumed 5    « 

"260    " 

Cost  of  5  days'  food,  hay  i  cent  per  Ib $1.30 

Milk  in  5  days 150-5  Ibs. 

Cost  of  milk,  (hay  at  £  cent  per  Ib.,)  0-863  of  a  cent  per  Ib.,  or  1-7  cents  the  wine  quart. 


218  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

This  trial  shows  that  33  Ibs.  of  carrots  are  not  quite  equal  for  milk  to  50  Ibs.  flat  turnips,  or 
3  Ibs.  of  Indian  meal.  The  cows  in  all  the  trials  had  free  access  to  water. 

December  10,  1851,  commenced  feeding  1  cow,  72  months  old;  one  ditto,  96  months  old; 
one  ditto,  48  months  old ;  5  heifers,  32  months  old ;  7  heifers,  22  months  old ;  4  calves,  9 
months  old;  and  4  calves,  8  months  old.  These  cattle  weighed,  live  weight,  14,567  Ibs., 
and  were  fed  5  days  on  277  Ibs.  of  cut  hay  daily,  and  drank  daily  887  Ibs.  of  water;  dropped 
daily,  668  Ibs.  of  solid  manure,  or  2-41  Ibs.  of  manure  for  1  Ib.  of  hay  consumed. 

Second  trial  commenced  December  16,  1851.  Fed  same  cattle  five  days  on  352  Ibs.  hay 
daily;  solid  manure  dropped  daily,  860  Ibs.,  or  2-44  Ibs.  for  one  Ib.  of  hay  consumed; 
drank  daily,  868  Ibs.  of  water. 

February  28,  commenced  feeding  one  cow,  72  months  old ;  one  ditto,  96  months  old ;  and 
one  48  months  old ;  3  heifers,  32  months  old ;  and  6  heifers,  22  months  old.  The  live  weight 
of  these  cattle  was  9472  Ibs.;  they  were  fed  5  days,  240  Iba.  cut  hay  daily;  solid  manure 
dropped  daily,  594  Ibs.,  or  2-47  Ibs.  of  manure  for  one  Ib.  of  hay  consumed.  Drank  daily 
542  Ibs.  water. 

Hay  consumed  in  the  three  trials 869  Ibs. 

Manure  dropped        "        "          2122   " 

The  proportion  of  manure  to  hay  is  as  2-44  Ibs.  of  manure  to  one  Ib.  of  hay;  the  manure 
weighed  50  Ibs.  the  cubic  foot. 

Manure,  after  remaining  under  my  barn  one  year,  weighed  44  Ibs.  the  cubic  foot — a  loss  of 
6  Ibs.  in  one  year,  or  12  per  cent,  of  its  weight  when  recently  dropped. 


Experiments  in  Reclaiming  Swamps. 

THE  following  detail  of  experiments  in  the  reclamation  of  swamp-lands  has  been  communi- 
cated to  the  Journal  of  the  United  States  Agricultural  Society  by  J.  W.  Procter,  Esq.,  of  Dan- 
vers,  Massachusetts : — 

Experiment  No.  1 — by  S.  JBlaney,  of  Salem. 

The  locus  in  quo  of  this  operation  is  situated  among  the  sienite  hills  in  the  western  part  of 
the  city.  It  contains  one  and  a  half  acres,  extending  forty  rods  in  length,  and  varying  from 
five  to  ten  rods  in  breadth ;  the  borders  irregular,  with  here  and  there  a  ledge  of  rocks  ob- 
truding. Eight  years  ago  it  was  so  densely  covered  with  a  growth  of  alders  and  blueberries, 
as  to  be  almost  impenetrable  to  man  or  beast ;  especially  at  those  seasons  of  the  year  when 
the  water  was  on.  At  that  time  the  bushes  were  cut,  and  it  remained  without  culture  or 
product  until  1852.  Mr.  B.,  then  becoming  the  owner,  set  about  bringing  it  into  use. 

His  first  operation  was  to  cut  a  ditch  through  the  centre,  down  to  the  hard  pan ;  the  mud 
from  which  was  taken  to  the  upland  for  the  purpose  of  compost.  Subsequently  five  or  six 
cords  of  refuse  animal  matter,  collected  from  his  wool-shop  and  a  neighboring  glue-factory, 
were  mingled  with  this  mud,  making  a  heap  of  about  twenty  cords.  The  roots  of  the  bushes 
and  the  stumps  of  the  early  growth  of  yellow  birch  were  effectually  removed.  About  two 
hundred  cart-loads  of  gravelly  loam,  from  the  shores  adjoining,  were  carted  on  to  fill  the 
holes  and  gullies.  Then  the  sod  was  inverted  by  the  plow  to  the  depth  of  ten  inches.  The 
surface  was  then  pulverized  and  evened  as  far  as  practicable,  and  the  heap  of  compost  ap- 
plied. About  the  first  of  September,  1852,  it  was  sown  with  grass-seed,  herds-grass,  and 
red-top.  The  whole  expense  thus  far  (all  the  labor  having  been  hired  by  Mr.  B.)  is  esti- 
mated not  to  exceed  $50  per  acre.  No  other  fertilizing  material  was  applied.  In  July, 
1853,  at  the  first  cutting,  four  tons  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy  pounds  of  hay 
were  obtained,  which  sold  on  the  ground  for  $18  per  ton.  At  a  second  cutting,  three  tons 
more  were  obtained  of  a  quality  equally  valuable — making  the  entire  produce,  within  thir- 
teen months  of  the  time  of  seeding  down,  sever*  tons  and  one  thousand  one  hundred  and 
seventy  pounds ;  or  more  than  five  tons  to  the  acre ;  paying  for  all  the  labor  and  material 
applied,  and  leaving  a  surplus  of  $30  per  acre.  Mr.  B.  considers  his  land  worth  $300  an 
acre,  because  it  will  sell  for  this  amount.  The  surface  presented  now  is  as  handsome 


AGRICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY  AND  GEOLOGY.  219 

ground  for  mowing  as  is  anywhere  to  be  seen — all  the  surplus  water  being  effectually  drained 
off  by  the  centre  ditch,  with  a  few  covered  side-cuts. 

It  is  rare  that  an  experiment  is  witnessed  paying  so  well  in  so  short  a  time. 

Experiment  No.  2 — by  Adino  Page,  Danvers. 

This  was  on  the  Danvers  Town  Farm,  on  a  lot  containing  between  three  and  four  acres. 
Operations  commenced  in  1850.  Previously,  it  had  been  a  sunken,  offensive  morass,  yielding 
no  valuable  growth. 

A  main  ditch  was  cut  through  the  centre,  and  shore  ditches  on  either  side,  and  cross  ditches 
about  fifty  feet  apart.  Many  of  these  were  covered,  so  as  not  to  appear  on  the  surface.  In 
some  places,  the  mud  was  eight  feet  or  more  deep  ;  in  others,  from  three  to  five  feet  deep. 
From  the  shores  and  knolls  adjoining  gravel  and  loam  was  carried  on,  so  as  to  give  firmness 
sufficient  to  sustain  the  plow.  When  the  water  was  drained  eighteen  inches  below  the  sur- 
face, where  the  soil  could  not  be  well  stirred  by  the  plow,  it  was  effectually  done  by  the  use 
of  a  meadow-hoe  constructed  for  the  purpose.  Most  of  the  labor  was  done  by  the  paupers 
at  the  alms-house,  (chiefly  foreigners,)  and  no  pains  was  spared  to  have  it  thoroughly  done. 
Very  little  fertilizing  material  was  applied,  it  being  thought  rich  enough  to  support  any  crop 
that  could  be  started  upon  it.  It  was  sown  to  grass  in  1851.  Very  little  grass  in  1852  ;  but 
between  twelve  and  thirteen  tons  of  the  best  hay  on  the  farm  was  cut  on  this  meadow  the  pre- 
sent season.  It  is  so  situated  that  the  surplus  liquids  from  the  pig-yard  and  the  sink  can  be 
conducted  in  any  quantity  and  diffused  over  the  land.  With  such  an  application,  there  is 
good  reason  to  believe  four  tons  to  the  acre  of  valuable  fodder  will  be  grown  annually  on  this 
meadow.  It  is  now  an  appendage  to  the  farm  of  the  value  of  $800  at  least ;  whereas  four 
years  ago  it  was  of  no  value,  but  rather  an  eyesore  and  an  offence,  breeding  miasmata  ami 
death.  The  exact  expense  of  the  expci  iin.-nt  Mr.  P.  is  not  able  to  estimate.  The  work  h:is 
been  done  at  "  odd  jobs,"  when  other  labors  did  not  press,  and  by  those  who  would  have 
done  little  else  if  this  work  had  not  been  done. 

Experiment  fro.  8 — by  T.  E.  Pay  ton,  of  Rowley. 

This  was  commenced  about  three  years  ago,  on  a  part  of  an  extensive  meadow  of  fifty 
acres  or  more.  The  water  having  been  drained  awey  by  a  main  ditch  and  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  cross  ditches,  Mr.  Payson  commenced  by  cutting  very  narrow  ditches,  about  five  feet 
apart,  and  throwing  the  contents  of  these  ditches  upon  the  surface. 

The  beds  thus  formed  were  planted  with  potatoes.  In  1852,  the  crop  of  potatoes  paid  for 
all  the  labor  and  manure  that  had  been  applied  to  the  part  thus  treated.  The  potato-vines 
were  thrown  into  the  narrow  ditches,  and  the  entire  surface  smoothed  and  sowed  with 
grass-seed.  The  crop  of  good  English  hay  in  1854  exceeded  three  tons  to  the  acre. 
Several  other  acres  were  planted  with  potatoes,  in  like  manner,  the  last  season ;  but,  in 
consequence  of  the  failure  of  the  crops  by  reason  of  the  rot,  the  labor  has  been,  in  a  mea- 
sure, lost.  Until  the  rot  came  on,  Mr.  P.  felt  encouraged  to  hope  that  he  should  soon  have  an 
extended  field  of  English  mowing,  producing  three  tons  or  more  to  the  acre,  without  any 
expenditure  of  capital  in  bringing  it  about,  except  the  moderate  price  of  about  $20  an  acre 
paid  for  the  land. 

t 

Experiment  No.  4?— by  Horace  Ware,  of  MarUehead. 

This  was  on  about  three  acres  of  swamp,  situated  adjoining  a  pond  of  about  five 
acres.  Mr.  W.'s  first  operation  was  to  cut  a  ditch  through  upland  of  half  a  mile  in  extent 
to  the  shore  of  the  sea,  so  as  to  reduce  the  height  of  the  water  in  the  pond  four  feet.  This 
caused  the  surface  of  the  swamp  to  settle  about  two  feet,  leaving  it  still  about  two  feet  above 
the  pond.  Then  all  bushes  and  other  obstructions  were  cleared  from  the  surface,  and  a 
coating  of  gravel  and  night-soil  mixed,  to  the  depth  of  about  three  inches,  was  applied. 
The  crop  of  potatoes  grown  on  this  land  the  first  year  paid  for  all  that  had  been  done 
to  it,  and  it  has  since  yielded  annually  three  or  more  tons  of  good  English  hay  to  the  acre. 


220  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

Mr.  W.  considers  this  reclaimed  meadow  as  valuable  now  as  any  land  appurtenant  to  hid 
farm. 

I  might  specify  other  experiments  that  I  have  witnessed,  some  of  which  did  not  succeed ; 
probably  because  the  work  was  not  thoroughly  done,  and  the  fertilizers  applied  were  not  of 
the  right  character. 

Interesting  Facts  in  Grafting. 

IN  September,  1853,  Dr.  Maclean  grafted  a  young  plant  of  the  white  Silesian  beet  upon  a 
root  of  red  beet,  and  vice  versa.  At  the  time  of  the  experiment,  the  plants  were  each  about 
as  thick  as  a  straw.  A  complete  junction  was  effected.  There  was  a  slight  contraction  at 
the  line  of  junction,  much  like  that  formed  by  "  chocking"  a  rocket-case;  above  the  line  of 
contraction  the  plant  was  absolutely  white ;  below  it  was  absolutely  red.  Not  a  trace  of 
blending  the  two  colors  could  be  discovered.  By  similar  experiments  on  other  vegetables 
and  plants,  Dr.  Maclean  had  so  far  assured  himself  of  the  perfect  independence  of  scion  and 
stock  as  to  acquire  the  belief  that  neither  the  coloring  nor  any  specific  characters  of  one  or 
the  other  would  or  could  be  altered  by  their  union.  The  result  of  the  trial  wholly  con- 
firmed that  view,  and  demonstrated  that  the  white  beet  adhered  to  the  red  beet  by  mere 
junction  of  cellular  matter ;  that  of  the  scion  and  stock  holding  together  in  the  first  instance, 
and  each  afterwards  produced  its  own  coloring  matter  in  its  own  new  cells  as  they  formed 
superficially,  the  red  cells  adhering  to  the  white  cells  while  in  the  nascent  state,  but  retaining 
each  the  peculiarity  belonging  to  it,  without  any  interchange  of  contents  through  the  sides 
of  the  cells  in  contact. 

This  is  entirely  consistent  with  all  that  has  been  discovered  by  the  modern  physiologists 
who  have  applied  themselves  to  a  study  of  the  nature  of  the  individual  cells  of  which  plants 
consist.  They  have  clearly  shown  that  each  cell  has  its  own  special  powers  of  secretion ;  as, 
indeed,  may  be  seen  by  any  one  who  examines  thin  sections  of  variegated  leaves  or  other 
parts.  It  will  then  be  seen  that  some  cells  are  filled  with  a  red  coloring  matter ;  others,  with 
yellow ;  others,  with  green.  In  other  words,  one  cell  has  the  power  of  secreting  red  matter ; 
another,  yellow ;  and  so  on.  The  colors  do  not  run  together,  but  are  contained  each  within 
the  cell  that  produces  it.  Why  this  is  so,  no  one  knows  ;  all  that  we  are  acquainted  with  is 
the  fact  that  in  the  cells  of  the  red  beet  resides  a  power  of  forming  red  matter,  and  in  those 
of  the  white  Silesian  beet  that  of  forming- yellow;  and  this  peculiarity  is  not  affected  by  the 
one  growing  to  the  other.  Red-forming  cells  produce  their  like,  and  yellow-forming,  theirs. 
Thus  the  limit  between  the  scion  and  its  stock  is  unmistakably  traceable,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  combination  of  the  two  sorts  in  one,  each  perseveringly  retains  that  which  is 
natural  to  it.  What  is  true  of  beets  is  also  true  of  all  other  plants. — Dr.  Lindley,  Gardeners' 
Chronicle. 

Improved  Method  of  Graftiny. — Mr.  L.  B.  Langworthy,  in  a  communication  to  the  Horticul- 
turist, alludes  to  a  new  process  whereby  a  scion  of  any  kind  may  be  cut  from  the  tree  after 
the  buds  are  fully  expanded,  but  not  opened,  and  grafted  the  same  minute,  and  which  almost 
invariably  succeeds  if  properly  executed.  In  this  process,  I  prefer  the  terminal  point  of  a 
limb  for  the  scion,  or  any  part  may  be  used  by  cutting  the  wood  close  to  the  upper  bud,  and 
dipping  it  twice,  with  two  or  three  minutes'  interval,  into  a  vial  containing  a  small  quantity 
of  collodion,  or  artificial  cuticle,  which  can  be  procured  of  any  apothecary.  It  instantly  forms 
an  air-tight  coating,  both  flexible  and  elastic,  and  protects  it  from  drying  and  losing  its 
vitality.  There  is  no  time  of  year  after  the  new  buds  "are  sufficiently  formed,  and  the  stock 
in  a  growing  state,  but  what  grafting  by  this  process  may  be  performed,  in  which  case  have 
but  one  bud  on  the  scion,  and  dip  the  whole  wood,  except  the  wedge,  in  the  collodion,  to  pro- 
tect it  from  the  drying  sun  and  heat  of  summer.  It  sometimes  happens  that  one  has  a  single 
choice  exotic,  difficult  to  procure,  that  it  is  important  not  to  fail  in  grafting,  and  this  method 
almost  infallibly  insures  success.  This  process  is  particularly  applicable  to  the  grafting  of 
plums  and  cherries. 


Meteorology  for  Farmers. 

HE  following  is  an  extract  from  a  communication  made  by 
Lieut.  Maury  to  the  American  Farmer,  Baltimore,  on  the  im- 
portance of  organizing  a  system  of  national  meteorological 
observations,  with  a  view  of  promoting  thereby  the  great 
interests  of  agriculture.  Lieut.  M.  says — 

"You  ask  for  the  plan  of  co-operation.  It  is  very  simple, 
and  calls  on  the  farmers  for  little  more  than  good  will.  I  first 
want  authority  to  take  the  preliminary  steps,  and  to  confer 
with  other  meteorologists  and  men  of  science  at  home  amd 
abroad,  with  the  view  of  establishing  a  uniform  system  of 
meteorological  observations  for  the  land,  as  we  have  done  for 
the  sea.  If  any  officer  of  the  government  were  authorized  to 
say  to  the  farmers,  as  I  have  to  the  sailors,  'Here  is  the  form  of  a  meteorological  journal;  it 
shows  you  the  observations  that  are  wanted,  the  hours  at  which  they  are  to  be  made ;  tells 
what  instruments  are  required,  and  how  they  are  to  be  used :  take  it,  furnish  the  government 
with  the  observations,  and  in  return  the  government  will  discuss  them,  and  give  you  a  copy 
of  the  results  when  published' — he  would  have  at  once  and  without  cost  a  volunteer  corps  of 
observers  that  would  furnish  him  with  all  the  data  requisite  for  a  complete  study  of  both  agri- 
cultural and  sanitary  meteorology.  Such  an  offer  to  the  sailors  has  enlisted  a  corps  of 
observers  for  the  sea,  by  whose  co-operation  results  the  most  important  and  valuable,  and  as 
unexpected  as  valuable,  have  been  obtained.  Could  not  at  least  one  farmer  be  found  on  the 
average  for  every  county  in  every  State  that  would  gladly  undertake  the  observations?  I 
don't  think  there  would  be  any  difficulty  on  that  score.  Sailors  have  been  found  to  do  as 
much  for  every  part  of  the  sea :  on  the  average,  ten  observers  for  a  State  would  be  sufficient. 
Now  if  we  could  get  the  English  government,  and  the  French  government,  and  the  Russian 
government,  and  the  other  Christian  states  both  of  the  Old  World  and  the  New,  to  do  the  same 
by  their  farmers,  we  shall  have  the  whole  surface  of  our  planet  covered  with  meteorological 
observers  acting  in  concert,  and  eliciting  from  nature,  under  all  varieties  of  climate  and  cir- 
cumstances, answers  to  the  same  questions ;  and  that  too  at  no  other  expense  than  what  each 
government  should  choose  to  incur  for  the  discussion  and  publication  of  the  observations  that 
are  made  by  its  own  citizens  or  subjects. 

"What  is  wanted  in  a  system  of  observations  like  this  is  uniformity.  Hence,  co-operation-  - 
an  agreement  to  observe  the  same  things  at  the  same  times — is  essential  to  any  thing  like 
success.  We  want  not  only  corresponding  observations  as  to  the  time,  but  we  want  them 
made  with  instruments  that  are  alike,  or  that  can  be  compared ;  and  then  we  may  expect  to 
find  out  something  certain  and  valuable  concerning  the  movements  of  this  grand  and  beauti- 
ful machine  called  the  atmosphere.  Suppose  a  pretentious  fly  should  place  itself  upon  a 
steam-engine,  and -from  its  own  little,  narrow,  contracted  field  of  observation,  attempt  to 
expound  the  structure  of  the  entire  machine.  If  it  had  the  intelligence  both  to  observe  and 
to  reason,  it  would  not  find  itself  more  bewildered  than  any  one  does  and  must,  who,  from  an 
isolated  series  of  meteorological  observations,  attempts  to  learn  the  laws  which  govern  the 
atmosphere  and  regulate  climates.  If  you  ask  me  to  state  beforehand  what  particular  dis- 
coveries or  special  results  of  value  I  expect  to  make,  I  answer:  If  I  could  tell,  I  would  not 

221 


222  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

ask  your  assistance  to  make  them.  The  fields  meteorological  are  large ;  there  are  many  of 
them,  and  all  that  I  do  know  about  them  is,  that  there  is  in  them  mighty  harvests  of  many 
sorts.  Some  years  ago  I  commenced  such  a  system  for  the  sea  as  I  am  now  advocating — and 
as  I  now  both  see  and  feel  the  necessity  of — for  the  land.  After  we  had  been  at  work  a  little 
\vhile  and  begun  to  gather  in  a  harvest  of  useful  results  by  discovering  new  truths  and  facts, 
Congress  authorized  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  employ  three  small  vessels  of  the  navy  to 
assist  me  in  perfecting  these  (Jjscoveries  and  pushing  forward  investigations. 

"Now  you  would  have  said,  What  two  things  can  be  more  remote  than  maps  to  "show  which 
way  the  winds  blow,  and  a  submarine  telegraph  across  the  Atlantic  ?  Yet  it  seems  that  they 
are  closely  connected,  for  researches  undertaken  for  the  one  are  found  to  bear  directly  upon 
the  other.  Among  the  early  fruits  gathered  by  pushing  our  discoveries,  even  with  the  slender 
means  afforded  by  Congress — for  the  secretary  was  authorized  to  let  me  have  these  three 
small  vessels  only  in  case  they  should  cost  nothing — there  is  a  promise  of  a  submarine  tele- 
graph across  the  Atlantic. 

"One  of  the  results  of  getting  the  wires  across  will  be  to  place  the  farmers  with  their  pro- 
vision-markets and  produce  exactly  half  the  distance  in  time — and  time  now  seems  to  be  the 
only  true  measure  of  distance — from  Europe  that  they  now  are.  Let  us  illustrate  the  value 
in  one  respect  only  of  this  telegraph  to  the  farmers.  A  demand  springs  up  in  England  for 
breadstuffs,  for  instance.  The  news  must  now  wait  for  the  steamer  to  sail  before  it  is  ready 
to  come,  and  by  the  time  she  reaches  our  shores,  and  the  produce  can  be  sent  forward,  the 
chief  granaries  of  Europe  have  been  ransacked,  and  the  American  dealer  finds  himself  too 
late  in  the  market.  But  when  that  telegraphic  plateau,  which  we  have  discovered  in  the 
Atlantic,  shall  be  threaded  with  the  magnetic  cable,  the  intelligence  will  be  known  in  New 
York,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  and  New  Orleans  as  soon  as  it  is  in  Liverpool.  Straightway  the 
produce  is  put  in  motion,  and  instead  of  coming  in  '  the  day  after  the  fair,'  as  is  now  too 
often  the  case,  it  will  arrive  with  the  young  of  the  flood  that  comes  rolling  in  from  the  East 
to  meet  the  demand.  By  this  achievement,  or  by  the  achievements  which  these  investigations 
at  sea  have  already  accomplished  in  the  shortening  of  voyages  and  saving  of  time,  who  have 
been  the  greater  gainers,  the  farmers  or  the  merchants  ? 

"  Storms  on  land  have  a  beginning  and  an  end ;  that  is,  they  commence  at  one  place,  and 
frequently  after  several  days'  travel  end  at  some  other ;  at  least,  so  it  is  held.  What  would  it 
be  worth  to  the  farmer,  or  the  merchant,  or  to  anybody,  if  he  could  know,  with  something 
like  certainty,  the  kind  of  weather  he  might  always  expect  one,  two,  three,  or  more  days  ahead  ? 

"  I  think  it  not  at  all  unlikely  that  such,  to  some  extent  at  least,  would  be  among  the  first 
fruits  of  this  system  of  observations  that  I  am  proposing. 

"Certain  of  the  observers  scattered  over  all  parts  of  the  country  would  probably  be 
required  to  make  daily  reports  to  the  central  office  in  Washington  as  to  the  weather,  each  for 
his  own  station — say  at  9  A.  M.  This  would  soon  enable  us  to  determine  the  laws  of  progress 
as  well  as  the  march  of  the  various  states  of  weather,  such  as  gales,  rains,  snow-storms,  and 
the  like ;  so  that  by  knowing  in  what  part  of  the  country  a  storm  had  arisen,  we  should — 
learning  through  the  telegraph  the  direction  it  might  take — be  enabled  to  calculate  its  rate  of 
travel,  and  to  predict  within  a  few  hours  the  time  it  would  arrive  at  different  places  on  its 
line  of  march ;  and  knowing  these,  the  telegraphic  agency  which  the  newspaper  press  of  the 
country  has  established  here,  would,  without  more  ado  or  further  cost,  make  the  announce- 
ment the  next  morning  in  all  the  papers  of  the  land. 

"I  allude  to  this  as  an  exemplification  only  of  some  of  the  first  fruits  of  the  plan.  I  do 
not  suppose  that  we  should  be  able  to  telegraph  in  advance  of  every  shower  of  rain;  but  with- 
out doubt  the  march  of  the  rains  that  are  general  can  be  determined  in  time  to  give  the  peo- 
ple in  some  portions  of  the  country,  at  least,  warning  of  their  approach. 

"  Such  an  office  as  will  be  required  here  in  Washington  to  carry  out  the  details  of  this  plan 
is  already  in  existence.  It  was  established  by  Mr.  Calhoun  when  he  was  Secretary  of  War 
and  it  is  under  the  control  of  the  Surgeon-general  of  the  Army.  There  the  meteorological 
observations  that  are  made  at  our  military  posts  are  discussed  and  published ;  and  one  of  the 
most  valuable  and  interesting  reports  concerning  the  meteorology  and  climates  of  the  country 
that  has  ever  appeared,  is  now  in  course  of  publication  there.  Or  such  an  office  might  be 


METEOROLOGY.  223 

made  a  branch  of  the  'agricultural  division  of  the  patent  office.'  In  either  case  the  nucleus 
for  it  is  already  in  existence ;  and  the  only  expense  necessary  would  be  on  account  of  the 
addition  to  the  force  of  the  office  that  would  be  required  to  discuss  the  observations  after  they 
are  made. 

"Hence,  you  will  perceive  that  what  I  want  is,  that  the  farmers  and  printers,  and  all  who 
are  interested  in  the  weather,  should  not  only  give  me  their  good  will,  but  that  they  should 
use  their  influence  in  helping  to  bring  about  such  a  system  of  meteorological  co-operation  for 
the  land,  as  we  have  already  established  for  the  sea. 

"I  make  the  appeal  to  the  farming  interest  especially,  because  that  is  the  great  interest  to 
be  subserved  by  the  scheme ;  and  if  the  farmers  do  not  really  care  enough  about  it  to  use 
their  influence  with  their  representatives  in  Congress  to  procure  the  very  trifling  appropria- 
tion that  is  required  to  get  it  under  way,  I  do  not  see  why  I  should  give  myself  any  further 
trouble  in  the  matter. 

"  Will  you  not  bring  the  subject  in  some  tangible  shape  before  the  agricultural  societies  of 
the  country  ?  A  simple  memorial  from  them  to  Congress  would  not  fail  to  procure  all  the 
legislative  aid  necessary. 

"Some  of  the  leading  scientific  men  of  Europe  are  ready  to  join  us  in  such  a  plan;  and 
with  authority  to  confer  with  them  officially  as  to  details,  I  have  no  doubt  that  most  of  the 
governments  of  the  world  would  undertake,  each  for  itself  and  within  its  own  territories,  a 
corresponding  series  of  observations,  so  that  we  should  then  be  able  to  study  the  movements 
of  this  great  atmospherical  machinery  of  our  planet  as  a  whole,  and  not,  as  hitherto,  in  isolated 
detached  parts. 

"N.  B. — Series  of  observations  more  or  less  extensive  have  been  undertaken  in  various 
part-  <>f  the  country,  and  for  objects  more  or  less  general  and  useful.  Among  them  may  be 
nuMitioned  those  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Henry,  the 
immediate  object  of  which  is  an  investigation  of  the  law  of  storms.  Several  of  the  States, 
and  many  individuals,  are  co-operating  with  him ;  also  those  of  Louisiana  by  Dr.  Barton,  con- 
cerning sanitary  laws,  and  those  of  Prof.  Espy  and  others. 

"It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  plan  now  proposed  is  not  calculated  to  interfere 
with  any  of  these;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  in  furtherance  of  them  all,  and  differs  from  them 
only  in  being  universal,  and  in  establishing  co-operation  and  concert  between  the  observers  at 
sea  and  those  on  land." 

Indications  of  Weather  as  shown  by  Animals,  Insects,  and  Plants. 

THE  following  interesting  communication  was  made  to  the  American  Association,  Cleveland, 
by  Mr.  W.  B.  Thomas,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio : — 

"  The  possibility  of  foretelling  weather  has  occupied  the  attention  of  observers  of  natural 
facts  from  the  earliest  period  of  our  records ;  the  certainty  with  which  any  thing  is  arrived 
at  on  this  subject,  like  all  other  parts  of  natural  science,  depends  upon  the  knowledge 
acquired  of  those  things  with  which  nature  has  most  intimately  connected  it. 

"Without  indulging  in  any  comment,  I  will  state  a  few  particulars  in  regard  to  the  different 
indicators  with  which  nature  has  supplied  us. 

"When  a  pair  of  migratory  birds  have  arrived  in  the  spring,  they  immediately  prepare  to 
build  their  nest,  making  a  careful  reconnoissance  of  the  place,  and  observing  the  character  of 
the  season  that  is  coming.  If  it  be  a  windy  one,  they  thatch  the  straw  and  leaves  on  the  inside 
of  the  nest,  between  the  twigs  and  the  lining ;  and,  if  it  be  very  windy,  they  get  pliant  twigs 
and  bind  the  nest  firmly  to  the  limb,  securing  all  the  small  twigs  with  their  saliva.  If  they 
fear  the  approach  of  a  rainy  season,  they  build  their  nests  so  as  to  be  sheltered  from  the 
•\veather.  But  if  a  pleasant  one,  they  build  in  the  fair  open  place,  without  taking  any  of  these 
extra  precautions.  In  recording  these  facts,  we  have  kept  duly  registered  the  name  of  the 
bird ;  the  time  of  arrival  in  spring ;  the  commencement  of  nesting ;  the  materials  of  nest, 
and  its  position  ;  the  commencement  of  laying ;  number  of  eggs  in  each  nest ;  commence- 
ment of  incubation  ;  appearances  of  young ;  departure  in  autumn. 

"But  it  is  our  insects  and  smaller  animals  which  furnish  us  with  the  best  means  of  deter- 
mining the  weather. 


224  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

"We  will  now  take  the  snails,  and  show  the  various  phenomena  they  present.  These  ani- 
mals do  not  drink,  but  imbibe  moisture  in  their  bodies  during  a  rain.  At  regular  periods 
after  the  rain,  they  exude  this  moisture  from  their  bodies.  We  will  take,  for  example,  the 
helix  alternata.  The  first  fluid  exuded  is  the  pure  liquid.  When  this  is  exhausted,  it  then 
changes  to  a  light  red,  then  deep  red,  then  yellow,  and  lastly  to  a  dark  brown.  The  helix  is 
very  careful  not  to  exude  more  of  its  moisture  than  is  necessary.  It  might  exude  it  all  at 
once,  but  this  is  not  in  conformity  to  its  general  character,  as  this  would  prove  too  great  an 
exertion.  The  helix  alternata  is  never  seen  abroad,  except  before  a  rain,  when  we  find  it 
ascending  the  bark  of  trees  and  getting  on  the  leaves.  The  helices  arborea,  indentata,  ruderati, 
and  minuta,  are  also  seen  ascending  the  stems  of  plants  two  days  before  a  rain.  The  helices 
claumligera,  Pennsylvanica,  and  elevata,  generally  begin  to  crawl  about  two  days  before  the 
rain  will  descend.  They  are  seen  ascending  the  stems  of  plants.  If  it  be  a  long  and  hard 
rain,  they  get  on  the  sheltered  side  of  the  leaf,  but  if  a  short  one,  they  get  on  the  out- 
side. The  luccinea  have  also  the  same  habits,  but  the  color  of  the  animals  differs,  as  before 
the  rain  it  is  of  a  yellow  color,  while  after  it  is  a  blue.  The  helices  solitaria,  zaleta,  albolabris, 
and  thyroideus,  not  only  show  signs  by  means  of  exuding  fluids,  but  by  means  of  pores  and 
protuberances.  Before  a  rain,  the  bodies  of  zaleta  and  helix  thyroideus  have  large  tubercles 
rising  from  them. 

"These  tubercles  commence  showing  themselves  ten  days  previous  to  the  fall  of  rain  they 
indicate ;  at  the  end  of  each  of  these  tubercles  is  a  pore.  At  the  time  of  the  fall  of  the  rain, 
these  tubercles,  with  their  pores  opened,  are  stretched  to  their  utmost  to  receive  the  water. 
Also,  for  a  few  days  before  a  rain,  a  large  and  deep  indention  appears  in  the  helix  thyroideus, 
beginning  on  the  head  between  the  horns,  and  ending  with  the  jointure  at  the  shell.  The 
helices  solitaria  and  zaleta,  a  few  days  before  a  rain,  crawl  to  the  most  exposed  hillside,  where, 
if  they  arrive  before  the  rain  descends,  they  seek  some  crevice  in  the  rocks,  and  then  close 
the  aperture  of  the  shell  with  glutinous  substance,  which,  when  the  rain  approaches,  they 
dissolve,  and  are  then  seen  crawling  about.  In  the  helix  albolabris,  the  tubercles  begin  to 
arise  after  a  rain,  while  before  they  grew  smaller,  and  at  the  time  of  the  rain ;  the  body  of 
the  snail  is  filled  with  cavities  to  receive  the  moisture.  The  helices  zaleta,  thyroideus,  and 
albalabris,  move  along  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in  forty-four  hours.  They  inhabit  the  most  dense 
forests,  and  we  regard  it  as  a  sure  indication  of  rain  to  observe  them  moving  towards  an 
exposed  situation.  The  helices  appressa,  tridentata,  falla,  and  paliata,  indicate  the  weather 
not  only  by  exuding  fluids,  but  by  the  color  of  the  animal.  After  a  rain,  the  animal  has 
a  very  dark  appearance,  but  it  grows  of  a  brighter  color  as  the  water  is  expended ;  while 
just  before  the  rain,  it  is  of  a  yellowish  white  color.  Also  just  before  a  rain,  strise  are 
observed  to  appear  from  the  point  of  the  head  to  the  jointure  of  the  shell.  The  superior 
tentacula  are  striated,  and  the  sides  are  covered  with  tubercles.  These  helices  move  at  the  rate 
of  a  mile  in  fourteen  days  and  sixteen  hours.  If  they  are  observed  ascending  the  cliff,  it  is 
a  sure  indication  of  a  rain.  They  live  in  the  cavities  in  the  side  of  cliffs.  The  helix  hir- 
suta  is  of  a  black  color  after  a  rain,  but  before,  it  is  of  a  brown,  tinged  with  blue  around 
the  edges  of  the  animal.  The  tentacula  are  marked  by  a  cross  striae,  and  there  is  also 
to  be  seen,  a  few  days  before  the  rain,  an  indentation  which  grows  deeper  as  the  rain 
approaches :  this  helix  also  exudes  fluids,  but  not  with  the  changes  of  color  of  those  before 
mentioned. 

"We  can  also  foretell  a  change  of  weather  by  the  wasps  and  other  insects. 

"  The  leaves  of  trees  are  even  good  barometers ;  most  of  them,  for  a  short,  light  rain,  will 
turn  up  so  as  to  receive  their  fill  of  water ;  but  for  a  long  rain,  they  are  so  doubled  as  to 
conduct  the  water  away. 

"The  rana,  bufo,  and  hyla  are  also  sure  indicators  of  rain,  for,  as  they  do  not  drink 
water,  but  absorb  it  into  their  bodies,  they  are  sure  to  be  found  out  at  the  time  they  ex- 
pect rain. 

"  The  locusta  and  gryllus  are  also  good  indicators  of  a  storm.  A  few  hours  before  the  rain, 
they  are  to  be  found  under  the  leaves  of  trees  and  in  the  hollow  trunks.  We  have  many 
times  found  them  thus,  but  we  have  never  known  the  instinct  of  these  little  fellows  to  lead 
them  to  unnecessary  caution." 


METEOROLOGY.  225 

Importance  of  Meteorology  to  Farmers. 

THE  following  remarks  on  the  importance  of  meteorology  to  farmers  were  made  by  Dr. 
Anderson,  of  Scotland,  in  a  recent  address  before  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society : — 

The  whole  success  of  agricultural  experiments  depends  on  the  watchful  care  bestowed  on  the 
modifying  circumstances  which  affect  them,  and  I  have  indicated  frequent  repetition  as  a 
means  of  avoiding  the  errors  which  they  may  occasion;  but  there  is  one  great  modifying  in- 
fluence, the  importance  of  which  is  every  day  brought  prominently  before  us,  but  the  accurate 
estimation  of  which  has  surely  received  less  attention  on  the  part  of  farmers  than  it  deserves. 
Indeed,  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  more  has  not  been  done  in  the  study  of  meteorology, 
in  an  agricultural  point  of  view,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining,  with  more  precision  than  we 
at  present  can,  the  influence  of  the  weather  on  the  amount  of  production.  The  progress  of 
science  has  shown  us  that  the  growth  of  a  plant  is  dependent  on  certain  chemical  changes 
which  take  place  only  under  the  influence  of  the  sun's  rays;  and  the  quantity  of  produce 
which  can  be  raised  on  any  given  surface,  provided  the  conditions  of  the  soil,  manure,  and 
the  like,  are  identical,  is  the  measure  of  the  amount  of  light  and  heat  which  reaches  it;  and. 
conversely,  given  the  heat  and  light,  we  may  predicate  the  quantity  of  the  crop.  The  plant, 
in  fact,  gathers,  as  it  were,  the  heat  which  falls  upon  it,  and  preserves  in  a  latent  state  a 
magazine  of  that  great  prime  mover  of  mundane  affairs;  and  when  it  is  burned  under  a  fur- 
nace, or  consumed  by  an  animal,  it  only  gives  off  the  heat  which  it  had  received  from  the  sun, 
and  which  is  again  expended  in  producing  a  certain  amount  of  mechanical  force,  or  in  sus- 
taining the  temperature  and  causing  the  muscular  efforts  of  the  animal  which  eats  it. 

Now  all  this  we  know  in  a  general  way,  but  we  are  sadly  deficient  in  the  application  of  this 
knowledge  to  individual  localities,  and  in  precise  information  regarding  the  climatic  peculiari- 
ties of  different  districts;  although,  if  we  had  this  information  to  conjoin  with  our  experiments 
in  the  field,  we  should  doubtless  obtain  many  valuable  conclusions.  We  should  find,  for  in- 
stance, that  certain  manures  produce  a  more  favorable  effect  in  dry,  and  others  in  wet  seasons ; 
and  many  similar  facts,  of  which  we  have  now  only  distant  glimmerings,  "would  be  made  clear. 
By  a  well-devised  set  of  meteorological  observations,  these  and  many  other  facts  would  be 
established  in  the  course  of  time.  We  should  do  even  more  than  this,  for  though  the  weather 
is  proverbially  uncertain,  we  should  be  able  to  predict,  with  some  degree  of  accuracy,  the 
meteorological  character  of  each  year ;  for  it  is  known  that  there  is  a  cycle  of  years,  at  the 
end  of  which  similar  seasons  occur;  and  all  that  we  require  is  a  sufficient  number  of  observa- 
tions to  enable  us  to  fix  it.  It  is  manifest,  however,  that  if  results  of  any  importance  are  to 
be  obtained,  the  principle  of  association  must  be  carried  out  on  the  most  extended  scale,  and 
so  as  to  embrace  observations  made  at  a  great  number  of  different  stations. 

Protection  against  HaiL 

THE  second  volume  of  the  works  of  Arago  has  called  attention  to  several  points  in  meteor- 
ology. In  the  chapter  which  he  devotes  to  the  subject  of  hail,  he  states,  that,  in  1847,  two 
small  agricultural  districts  of  France  had  lost,  by  hail,  crops  to  the  value  of  a  million  and  a 
half  of  francs.  Certain  of  the  proprietors  from  the  neighborhood  went  to  consult  Arago  on 
the  means  of  protecting  them  from  like  disasters.  Resting  on  the  hypothesis  of  the  electric 
origin  of  the  hail,  he  suggested  the  discharge  of  the  electricity  of  the  clouds  by  balloons  com- 
municating by  a  metallic  wire  with  the  soil.  These  projects,  however,  were  not  carried  out : 
and  in  view  of  the  doubts  as  to  the  electric  origin  of  hail,  he  proposed  to  investigate  the  sub- 
ject anew.  He  had  not  the  time  to  bring  out  any  results;  but  he  persisted  in  believing  in 
the  effectiveness  of  the  method  proposed. 

Statistics  of  Lightning. 

THE  French  Academy  of  Sciences  have  received  some  interesting  observations  on  the  effects 
of  the  lightning-stroke  upon  human  beings.  The  following  facts  are  the  result  of  patient 
observations  made  by  M.  Boudin,  chief  surgeon  to  the  Hopital  du  Roule :  The  number  of 

15 


226  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

people  yearly  struck  by  lightning  in  France  averages  200.  The  number  of  people  killed  by 
lightning  between  the  years  1835  and  1852  is  no  less  than  1308;  the  number  struck,  but  not 
fatally,  is  about  three  to  one  of  the  number  killed.  Of  the  number  struck,  there  were  nearly 
three  men  to  one  woman.  The  region  where  the  lightning  had  been  most  fatal  is  the  central 
plateau  of  France,  comprising  the  departments  of  Cantal,  'Puy-de-Dome,  and  other  depart- 
ments which  are  mountainous  or  present  elevated  ground.  The  months  during  which  people 
are  the  least  exposed  to  the  fatal  effects  of  lightning  are  the  coldest  months  of  the  year — viz. 
November,  December,  January,  and  February.  Out  of  103  people  struck,  4  were  struck  in 
March,  6  in  April,  8  in  May,  22  in  June,  13  in  July,  19  in  August,  14  in  September,  and  15 
in  October.  One-fourth  of  the  people  who  have  been  struck  may  trace  the  misfortune  to  their 
own  imprudence,  in  taking  shelter  under  trees,  which  attract  the  electric  fluid.  The  greatest 
number  of  people  killed  by  a  single  flash  of  lightning  does  not  exceed  eight  or  nine.  M.  Boudin 
called  attention  to  two  curious  facts  in  connection  with  this  subject.  The  first  was,  that  dead 
men,  struck  by  lightning,  had  been  found  in  exactly  the  upright  position  they  held  when 
killed ;  the  second  was,  that  other  bodies  bore  upon  them  faint  impressions  of  outward  objects, 
probably  somewhat  resembling  photographic  shadows.  Animals,  however,  are  much  more 
exposed  to  the  influences  of  lightning  than  men,  and  suffer  more  by  its  destructive  properties. 
More  than  once  a  single  flash  of  lightning  has  destroyed  an  entire  flock  of  sheep,  and,  accord- 
ing to  M.  D'Abbadie,  flocks  of  2000  in  Ethiopia. 

Before  the  application  of  lightning-conductors,  English  ships  experienced  losses  annually 
by  the  electric  fluid  estimated  at  from  £1000  to  £1400;  but  since  their  application,  such 
losses  are  no  longer  heard  of,  although  some  pretend  to  deny  the  efficacy  of  the  lightning-rod. 


Effect  of  Flowers  on  the  Air  of  Rooms. 

PROF.  GRAY  writes  to  a  correspondent  of  the  "Country  Gentleman"  the  following  informa- 
tion relative  to  the  effect  of  plants  on  the  nature  of  the  air  of  rooms.  Prof.  Gray  says — 

"As  to  their  foliage  affecting  the  air,  plants  practically  neither  benefit  nor  injure  the 
air  of  rooms — the  amount  of  oxygen  they  increase  in  daylight,  or  that  of  carbonic  acid  they 
increase  by  night,  not  being  large  enough,  relatively,  to  make  a  sensible  difference  to  an  indi- 
vidual in  the  room.  For  instance,  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid  a  dozen  potted  shrubs  would 
exhale  in  a  single  night  would  be  less  than  what  a  child  sleeping  in  the  room  would  exhale 
in  the  same  time,  or  a  small  night-lamp  burning  would  exhale,  and  this,  in  the  actual  open 
state  of  our  apartments,  would  be  wholly  unimportant  as  affecting  health.  The  real  objection 
to  plants  in  sleeping  apartments  are  owing — 

1st.  To  the  dampness  they  might  cause  from  exhalation  or  evaporation,  as  they  must  be 
kept  moist;  and  2d,  and  chiefly,  from  the  unpleasant  effects  of  the  odors  of  most  blossoms 
in  close  rooms.  The  unpleasant  effects  here  are  owing  to  the  volatile  oil,  etc.  in  the  aroma, 
and  not  to  the  carbonic  acid;  for  though  flowers  do  give  out  carbonic  acid  gas,  day  or  night, 
yet  this  is  not  copious  enough,  by  its  accumulations  for  a  night,  to  do  the  least  damage. 

Very  odorous  flowers  often  prove  injurious  in  a  close  room  on  account  of  their  exhalations, 
which  contain  volatile  oils  and  other  principles.  I  have  known  persons  made  ill  by  sitting 
under  a  flowering  Pittosporum,  in  an  ordinary  room  in  the  day-time.  At  night  it  is  generally 
worse,  both  on  account  of  the  room  being  closed,  and  from  the  fact  that  some  flowers  exhale 
their  odors  most  abundantly  at  night. 


Epochs  of  Cold  and  Warm  Seasons. 

DR.  DREW,  of  England,  in  a  recent  work  on  meteorology,  furnishes  a  diagram  and  series  of 
tables  which  seem  to  show  that  we  shall  not  experience  another  winter  of  equal  severity  to 
the  last  for  the  next  eight  or  ten  years.  This  conclusion  is  arrived  at  by  a  comparison  of  the 
mean  annual  temperature  recorded  since  the  year  1771,  and  the  result  when  tabled  may  be 
expressed  in  the  following  manner: — 

From  the  years  named  in  the  left-hand  column,  when  the  temperature  fell  to  a  minimum,  it 


METEOROLOGY.  227 

regularly  advanced  till  it  arrived  at  a  maximum  in  the  year  named  in  the  right-hand  column, 
and  then  it  again  regularly  declined — 

1771  minimum.  1779  maximum. 

1784        "  1794 


1799 
1814 
1829 
1838 
1854 


1806 
1822 
1834 
1846 


The  long-continued  observations  of  Mr.  Luke  Howard,  and  the  elaborate  investigations  of 
Prof.  Dove,  confirm  this  movement  of  the  mean  annual  temperature  in  certain  cycles,  the 
duration  of  which  cannot,  however,  be  said  to  be  as  yet  exactly  determined. 


Prognostications  of  the  Weather. 

NUMEROUS  meteorological  observations  have  been  undertaken  recently  with  a  view  of  ascer- 
taining whether  the  popular  and  generally-received  opinions  respecting  atmospherical  phe- 
nomena have  in  reality  any  foundation.  The  conclusions  are,  that  little  or  no  dependence 
can  be  placed  upon  any  of  the  popular  signs  or  prophecies,  and  that,  in  most  cases,  fair  weather 
predominates  even  when  the  prognostications  indicate  rain.  The  following  table  of  numerous 
registered  observations  on  phenomena  which  are  said  to  indicate  either  rain  or  fair  weather, 

shows  how  the  result  stood: — 

No  of  Followed  in  24  h.  by 

Observations.  Fair       or       Rain. 

Solar  halos 204  133  71 

Lunar  halos 102  51   51 

White  stratus  in  valley 229  201  28 

§  Distance  clear 102  61 41 

'  Distant  sounds  heard  as  if  near 45  25  20 

Aurora  Borealis 76  49  27 

Colored  clouds  at  sunset 35  2«  9 

Dew  profuse 241  198  43 

White  frost...                                                             .     73 59  ..,         ..   14 


54  , 

,  32 

22 

Smoke  rising  perpendicularly.       .              . 

6  .... 

5 

1 

34  

31 

3 

Moon  shining  dimly  

18  

12 

6 

22  

12 

10 

Spiders'  webs  thickly  woven  on  the  grass  

13  
25  ... 

9 
5 

4 

...  20 

Stable  Ventilation. 

IT  is  very  generally  supposed,  by  those  who  reason  on  the  subject,  that  catarrhal  and  other 
allied  diseases  in  horses  are  generally  due  to  the  unnatural  heat  of  stables.  We  are  fully 
inclined  to  admit  that  much  harm  may  be  traced  to  unduly  warm  stables,  but  we  must  not 
forget  that  the  horse  can  endure  heat  as  well  as  most  animals.  In  the  warmest  climates  he 
seldom  seems  to  suffer  from  heat  alone,  provided  he  be  not  confined  in  stables.  Now,  so  far 
as  mere  heat  is  concerned,  we  do  not  suppose  that  any  of  our  stables  are  kept  at  any  thing 
approaching  the  temperature  of  those  tropical  heats,  or  even  summer  heats  in  this  country, 
which  a  horse  can  bear  with  impunity.  A  horse,  in  fact,  so  far  as  experience  teaches,  can 
bear  a  high  temperature  alone,  and  as  such ;  but  can  he  endure  a  high  temperature  and  an 
impure  atmosphere?  He  cannot,  without  becoming  diseased.  Now,  the  coexistence  of  un- 
natural heat  and  bad  ventilation  are  just  what  we  find  in  very  many  stables  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year.  When  the  season,  however,  is  cold,  there  is  somewhat  less  danger  to  be  appre- 
hended from  bad  ventilation  than  when  the  weather  is  hot;  and  yet  we  find  that  stablemen 
do  not,  as  a  general  rule,  make  these  corresponding  differences  in  their  ventilating  arrange- 
ments which  summer  and  winter  respectively  require.  We  have  often,  it  is  true,  seen  the 
windows  of  stables  and  certain  upper  air-holes  left  open.  But  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that 
cool  air  enters  best  and  most  effectively  at  the  ground-level,  and  hot  air  escapes  easily  from 


228  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

the  top  of  a  room.  So  that  unless  there  be  apertures  below,  we  do  not  insure  a  proper  cir- 
culation of  air  by  merely  having  open  windows.  In  a  paper  recently  communicated  to  the 
Highland  (Scotch)  Agricultural  Society  by  Mr.  Barlow,  that  gentleman  recommended  each 
stall  to  be  ventilated  separately.  He  advised  a  hole  or  holes  facing  the  head,  level  with  the 
floor,  and  another  aperture  near  the  stable-ceiling.  The  pure  air  would  enter  below  and  be 
inspired ;  the  hot  impure  air  would  ascend  and  pass  out  above.  This  plan  is  not  new ;  it  was 
recommended  by  the  late  Professor  Coleman  of  London,  and  has  been  found  exceedingly  suc- 
cessful when  practically  applied.  The  holes  can  have  slides  or  plugs  of  wood  so  arranged  as 
to  graduate  the  amount  of  admitted  air  to  the  utmost  nicety.  In  hot  weather,  they  may  be 
wide  open ;  in  cool  weather,  they  may  be  partially,  and  perhaps  sometimes  almost  completely, 
closed.  "VVe  are  convinced  of  the  fact  that  a  due  supply  of  pure  air,  be  it  warm  or  cool,  is 
the  great  security  against  diseases  of  the  respiratory  organs  in  stabled  horses.  Supplying 
plenty  of  good  air  in  the  stable  places  horses  in-doors  as  near  on  an  equality  as  possible  with 
those  at  pasture,  and  by  doing  so  lessens  the  tendency  to  disease.  When  stables  or  other 
buildings  for  farm-stock  are  ventilated  only  by  doors  and  windows,  it  frequently  happens  that 
the  cold  wind  comes  in  so  freely  as  to  chill  the  horses  standing  near.  This  renders  it  need- 
ful to  shut  the  windows  or  doors  altogether,  and  the  consequence  is,  a  rapidly-poisoned  atmo- 
sphere, that  fruitful  cause  of  coughs,  colds,  and  chest  diseases  in  general.  On  the  other  hand, 
when  each  stall  is  as  it  were  separately  ventilated,  the  apertures  are  individually  small,  and 
may  be  so  managed  as  to  prevent  all  draught.  If  we  are  asked,  then,  to  state  the  best  pre- 
ventive of  disease  of  the  respiratory  organs  in  stabled  horses,  we  have  merely  to  advise  the 
admission  of  cool,  proper  breathing  air  before  and  below  the  horse's  nose,  and  the  exit  of 
heated  impure  air  by  an  aperture  placed  at  a  higher  level.  Every  horse  and  every  man  is 
continually  exhaling  a  poisonous  gas,  and  common  sense  itself  would  indicate  the  importance 
of  getting  rid  of  this  in  the  speediest  manner  possible. — North  British  Agriculturist. 

The  following  remarks  on  the  ventilation  of  cow-houses  and  stables  are  derived  from 'a  paper 
on  this  subject  read  before  the  Hexam  Farmers'  Club,  England,  by  James  Ferguson,  Esq. : — 

A  feeding  byre  or  cow-house  for  one  row  of  cattle  when  tied  up,  should  not  be  less  in  width 
than  18  feet  within  the  falls,  including  a  passage  at  their  heads  for  feeding  3£  feet  wide. 
The  side  walls  should  not  be  less  than  10  feet  in  height  above  the  floor,  and  ought  to  be  made 
smooth  with  one  coat  of  good  plaster,  and  once  at  least  each  year  should  be  carefully  washed 
with  hot  lime,  which  makes  the  atmosphere  in  the  building  sweet  and  healthy  for  the  cattle 
confined  in  it.  A  stable  ought  to  be  in  every  respect  (except  a  passage  at  the  head  of  the 
horses,  which  is  unusual)  of  the  same  size,  and  above  neither  cow-house  nor  stable  ought 
there  to  be,  on  any  account,  any  loft  or  ceiling  whatever,  but  open  entirely  to  the  roof,  which 
should  be  slated  on  sarking-boards,  and  of  the  usual  pitch.  The  walls,  of  course,  of  the 
stables  ought  also  to  have  one  coat  of  plaster,  and  be  carefully  lime-washed  at  least  once,  if 
not  twice,  each  year. 

Now,  in  order  that  such  houses  may  be  properly  ventilated,  that  stock  may  be  kept  in  them 
in  a  perfectly  healthy  state,  ventilators,  which  may  be  made  three  feet  long  by  two  feet 
wide,  should  be  placed  on  the  apex  or  highest  part  of  the  roof,  for  the  reason  that  impure 
or  vitiated  air  in  the  building,  being  heated  and  consequently  lighter  than  the  cold  air,  always 
rises  upwards  and  vertically,  (provided  fresh  air  in  sufficient  quantity  is  admitted  below,}  and 
flies  off  by  any  aperture  in  a  line  above  it  which  may  facilitate  its  escape,  and  therefore 
out  of  reach  of  respiration.  But  in  thus  affording  means  for  the  escape  of  the  foul  air  at  the 
proper  place,  we  must  not  lose  sight  of  the  absolute  necessity  of  obtaining  fresh  supplies  of 
pure  air,  which  should  always  be  admitted  into  a  building  at  a  low  level,  for  the  very  purpose 
of  lifting  or  pressing  upwards  the  impure  air  which  will  not  ascend  otherwise ;  for  exactly 
in  proportion  as  the  cold  air  is  admitted  below,  the  vitiated  air  which  has  been  rendered  use- 
less by  frequent  respiration  will  be  expelled  or  forced  upwards ;  and  it  therefore  follows  that  an 
opening  in  the  highest  part  of  the  roof  should  be  made  to  allow  its  egress,  and  that  that  open- 
ing should  be  formed  in  such  a  manner  that  direct  currents  of  cold  air  may  not  obstruct  its 
upward  tendency.  I  must  not  omit,  however,  to  notice,  that  if  the  dung  and  urine  of  cattle 
are  not  carefully  removed  every  morning,  and  the  channels  behind  them  well  flushed  out  with 
water,  as  before  observed,  in  vain  may  the  farmer  look  for  healthy  stock,  however  suitable 


METEOROLOGY.  229 

his  houses  may  be;  for,  depend  upon  it,  ventilation  will  not  cure  disease,  although  it  will  go 
a  long  way  to  prevent  it,  if  assisted  by  order  and  cleanliness  on  the  part  of  careful  servants. 
And  here  I  may  observe  that,  at  all  times,  servants  ought  to  be  allowed  by  their  masters 
proper  time  for  this  part  of  their  duty,  for  assuredly  no  part  of  their  employment  will  in  the 
end  remunerate  the  farmer  better  than  when  their  stock  is  carefully  and  faithfully  attended 
to.  In  respect  to  cattle-boxes,  where  perhaps  two  cattle  are  loose  and  fed  together,  the  dung 
there,  if  the  cattle  are  littered  every  day,  may,  without  fear  of  doing  injury  by  any  offensive 
emanations,  be  allowed  to  lie  for  a  month  or  six  weeks,  because,  as  the  dung  is  firmly  trodden 
down  by  the  cattle  going  loose,  the  ammonia  cannot  escape,  and  hence  no  injury  can  arise. 
When  the  dung  is  removed,  a  little  gypsum  thrown  over  the  floor  (if  water  cannot  be  had) 
will  completely  absorb  the  ammonia  and  moisture,  and  the  atmosphere  again  become  healthy. 
It  is  a  very  common  method  to  admit  fresh  air  into  a  building  for  farm-stock  by  latticed 
windows,  but  as  these  allow  a  direct  current  of  cold  air  at  an  improper  place,  the  plan  is  cer- 
tainly objectionable,  at  any  rate,  for  stables,  which  ought  to  be  kept  at  a  temperature  of  about 
55°  in  winter,  and  from  60°  to  65°  in  summer.  Cow-byres,  however,  should  be  kept  much 
cooler,  and  therefore  ought  to  have  more  air-holes  or  ventiducts  than  stables,  which  would 
allow  a  temperature  ranging  from  55°  to  60°.  In  order,  however,  that  a  good  supply  of  air 
may  at  all  times  be  admitted,  air-holes  or  ventiducts  should  be  made  through  the  wall  behind 
the  cattle,  at  say  every  ten  or  twelve  feet  on  each  side  of  the  entrance  or  outside  door.  Into 
these  openings,  which  may  be  made  through  the  wall  two  feet  above  the  floor,  tubes  of  wood 
or  iron  should  be  inserted  four  or  five  inches  in  diameter,  or  they  may  be  made  square,  with 
a  grating  on  the  outside  end  to  prevent  the  ingress  of  rats  or  mice.  The  outside  end  of  the 
tulie  >ln>uM  IK>  made  flush  with  the  wall  when  fixed  in  it,  and  its  length  should  be  five  inches 
less  than  the  wall's  thickness,  in  order  that  a  groove  may  be  cut  of  that  depth  and  width  from 
its  mouth  downwards  to  within  six  inches  of  the  floor.  On  this  groove  a  thin  flag  or  board 
of  two  inches  in  thickness  should  be  fixed  flush  with  the  wall  inside,  and  the  air  is  admitted 
indirectly  into  the  building  below  the  end  or  bottom  of  the  flag,  and  about  six  inches  from 
the  floor,  by  an  aperture  which  will  be  five  inches  wide  and  three  deep. 

Grapes  Ripening  Earlier  than  Usual. 

THE  editor  of  the  American  Agriculturist  states  that  in  a  recent  conversation  with  an  emi- 
nent fruit-grower  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  City,  he  was  informed  that  the  Isabella  and 
Catawba  grapes  are  evidently  ripening  earlier  from  year  to  year.  Ten  to  twelve  years  since, 
the  earliest  bunches  of  Isabellas  were  ready  for  market  about  the  1st  of  October.  The  past 
season  they  were  equally  forward  on  the  12th  of  September ;  this  season  has,  however,  been 
a  remarkable  one,  and  some  allowance  is  to  be  made  on  that  account ;  but  last  year,  and  the 
year  before,  the  grapes  were  as  mature  about  the  18th  of  September  as  formerly  at  the  end 
of  that  month.  The  authority  referred  to  thinks  the  Isabella  may  be  cultivated  much  farther 
north  than  lias  been  generally  supposed,  by  reducing  the  amount  of  fruit  to  the  vine,  so 
that  there  may  be  a  greater  flow  of  sap,  and  by  this  means  an  earlier  growth  and  maturity 
secured.  He  thinks  much  more  depends  upon  the  method  of  manuring,  pruning,  and  the 
general  plan  of  cultivation  than  upon  climate,  since  they  often  ripen  poorly  even  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland  when  improperly  managed,  and  yet,  in  the  same  season,  ripen  well  in  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Influence  of  Locality  on  the  Growth  and  Ripening  of  Fruit-Trees. 

THE  Genesee  Farmer  publishes  the  following  extract  from  an  address  by  J.  A.  Matson, 
Esq.,  before  the  Greencastle  Horticultural  Society,  Indiana,  which  contains  some  useful  hints 
relative  to  the  location  of  fruit  orchards : — 

Another  subject  on  fruit  culture,  which  has  always  been  of  great  interest,  and  has  become 
much  more  so  within  the  last  two  years,  is  the  destruction  of  fruits  by  hard  freezing  in  win- 
ter and  by  the  late  frosts  of  spring.  Nearly  all  the  orchards  planted  by  the  early  settlers 
of  the  West  were  located  in  the  valleys,  and,  wherever  practicable,  near  the  margin  of  some 
river  or  stream  of  water.  This  was  done  under  the  impression  that  the  effects  of  the  frosts 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

would  be  neutralized  by  the  fogs  arising  from  the  water  and  resting  over  the  valleys  during 
the  morning,  and  by  the  protection  afforded  by  surrounding  hills  from  the  cold  winds. 

Fruit-growers  in  the  West,  after  witnessing  the  repeated  destruction  of  their  crops  in  the 
valleys,  while  the  trees  located  on  the  bleak  tops  of  the  surrounding  hills  were  bending  down 
with  their  luscious  burdens,  have  now  discarded  the  theory  with  which  they  set  out. 

Dr.  Kirtland,  of  Cleveland,  made  some  interesting  experiments  on  this  subject.  Supposing 
that  the  severity  of  the  frosts  in  the  valleys,  compared  with  its  effects  on  the  high  lands 
adjacent,  was  caused  by  a  current  of  warm  air  rushing  from  the  low  to  the  high  grounds  as 
the  temperature  decreased,  he  stationed  himself  with  a  thermometer,  lantern,  and.  watch,  on 
a  night  when  a  severe  frost  was  expected,  on  a  hill  near  Lake  Erie  where  the  peach  crop  had 
never  been  killed,  while  his  brother  was  stationed  with  a  thermometer,  lantern,  and  watch, 
in  the  valley  below.  Each  made  and  recorded  observations  every  half  hour  during  the  night, 
and  the  result  was  as  follows:  From  sundown  until  nine  o'clock,  each  thermometer  indicated 
the  same  degree  of  temperature.  At  nine  o'clock,  the  mercury  in  the  valley  thermometer 
commenced  sinking,  while  that  on  the  hill,  at  the  same  time,  began  to  rise ;  and  the  doctor 
observed  a  perceptible  current  of  warm  air  flowing  up  from  the  valley.  At  twelve  o'clock, 
the  thermometer  in  the  valley  indicated  12°  lower  temperature  than  that  on  the  hill,  and 
about  the  same  difference  was  observed  until  daylight  in  the  morning. 

Influence  of  Situation  on  the  Diseases  of  Plants. 

M.  MENNEVILLE,  in  the  Comptes  Rendus,  Paris,  expresses  the  opinion,  which  he  says  is  based 
on  long  observation,  that  the  great  epidemic  in  France  which  affects  so  many  plants,  and  more 
especially  the  vines,  is  due  in  great  measure  to  influences  of  temperature.  Thus,  continues 
M.  Menneville,  it  appears  to  me  that  all  valleys  having  large  streams  of  water,  and  so  situate 
as  to  be  exposed  during  winter  to  cold  northerly  winds,  are  more  or  less  free  from  the  ravages 
in  question.  The  north  slopes  of  hills  are  generally  free  also,  and  certain  elevated  tracts  of 
country,  whether  in  the  south  or  middle  of  France,  suffer  but  little,  unless  it  be  in  those 
spots  which  are  sheltered  by  irregularities  in  the  soil. 

Protection  of  Fruit-Trees  against  Extreme  Temperatures. 

MR.  N.  T.  TRUE,  a  correspondent  of  the  New  England  Farmer,  writing  from  Bethel,  Maine, 
gives  the  following  as  his  experience  in  cultivating  peach-trees  and  protecting  them  against 
the  severe  cold  of  a  Northern  winter.  He  says — 

"I  have  peach-trees  in  their  fifth  year,  which  have  never  suffered  in  the  least  from  the 
coldest  weather.  My  place  is  situated  1°  north  of  Portland,  in  the  White  Mountain  region, 
about  700  feet  above  tide- water.  The  prevalent  idea  that  extreme  cold  alone  will  kill  the 
peach,  I  believe,  must  be  abandoned;  or,  rather,  the  idea  that  when  the  thermometer  is  12° 
below  zero  it  is  fatal ;  I  have  contended  for  several  years,  that  it  is  not  so  much  the  extreme 
cold  as  the  strong  winds,  pelting  sleet  and  snow,  and  sudden  changes  of  temperature,  that 
affect  the  peach.  We  have  had  the  thermometer  once  at  34°,  and  at  several  times  from  12° 
down  to  that  extreme  degree  of  cold,  and  yet  peach-trees  that  were  protected  by  matting  or 
fir-boughs  were  not  injured  at  all.  My  practice  is  this:  Late  in  the  fall,  I  draw  the  limbs  of 
the  tree  together  and  put  round  some  matting — a  single  fold  will  answer — drive  a  stake  down 
by  the  side  of  the  tree,  and  fasten  the  tree  to  it.  One  man  can  protect  from  one  to  two  hun- 
dred trees  in  a  day ;  care  should  be  taken  not  to  unwrap  them  too  early  in  spring,  so  as  to 
expose  the  fruit-buds  to  the  late  frosts.  I  also  protected  a  locust-tree  in  the  same  way, 
simply  by  lashing  a  few  fir-boughs  to  the  north-west  side  of  the  tree.  It  now  looks  as  bright 
as  if  it  were  growing  in  the  latitude  of  Philadelphia. 

"I  can  see  no  reason  why  peaches  cannot  be  raised  in  any  part  of  Maine  simply  by  pro- 
tecting them  in  this  way.  It  may  not  be  known  to  all  that,  although  so  far  to  the  north,  the 
ground  is  rarely  frozen  to  any  extent  in  winter.  The  early  snows  prevent  this,  so  that  it  is 
only  the  tops  of  such  trees  that  need  special  protection.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  peach  in  Maine  without  some  kind  of  protection ;  they  may  survive  one,  two,  or 
even  three  winters,  should  they  be  mild,  but  the  fourth  may  kill  them  all  down." 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  235 

the  flame,  each  of  which  would  have  deposited  its  hundreds  of  eggs  in  a  few  days.  If  this 
plan  were  generally  adopted  and  persevered  in  for  a  few  successive  nights  at  the  proper  season, 
its  effect  would  doubtless  be,  if  not  entirely  to  destroy,  at  least  to  diminish  to  a  very  benefi- 
cial extent,  these  mischievous  pests.  The  first  hatching  of  the  caterpillar  in  the  spring  could 
not  at  first  be  thus  destroyed  or  their  ravages  prevented ;  but  the  second  brood,  if  it  may  be 
so  termed,  which  is  generally  considered  most  numerous  and  destructive,  and  which  furnishes 
the  eggs  for  the  supply  of  the  succeeding  year,  would  be  cut  off  to  a  great  extent.  However 
this  suggestion  may  be  received,  it  is  at  least  as  practicable  as  any  of  the  plans  that  have  been 
proposed  for  the  same  object,  some  of  which  have  been  promulgated  through  respectable  agri- 
cultural journals,  such  as  the  powdering  of  the  leaves  of  the  plant  with  finely-pulverized  quick- 
lime, or  the  fumigation  of  each  separate  plant  with  sulphurous  vapor,  produced  by  burning 
brimstone  on  chafing-dishes,  each  plant  being  enclosed,  during  the  process,  in  a  tight  canvas 
hood,  ten  minutes  being  considered  sufficient  for  each  plant.  If  this  were  at  all  practicable, 
one  hand,  with  great  diligence,  might,  at  this  rate,  go  over  one  acre  in  fifteen  or  twenty  days. 

The  caterpillar,  which  does  not  usually  appear  until  the  cotton-plant  is  pretty  well  matured, 
feeds  chiefly  upon  the  leaf,  and  the  degree  of  damage  done  depends  upon  the  period  it  com- 
mences its  depredations.  If  so  early  that  a  few  bolls  are  matured,  the  plant  must  cease  to 
grow  when  stripped  of  its  leaves.  Instances  have  occurred,  but,  it  must  be  confessed,  very 
rarely,  when  the  growth  of  the  plant  was  too  vigorous,  and  continued  too  late  in  the  season, 
in  which  a  partial  cropping  of  the  leaves  by  the  worm  has  had  a  beneficial  effect  in  arresting 
the  growth,  and  causing  the  bolls  to  mature  and  open.  If  their  appearance  is  delayed  until 
a  period  iniim'diutely  preceding  a  killing  frost,  and  during  a  dry  season,  they  confer  a  benefit 
in  removing  the  leaf,  which  after  a  frost  stains  the  cotton  and  renders  it  very  trashy  by  crumb- 
ling and  falling  upon  it. 

"  The  boll-worm  is  comparatively  small,  resembling  at  first  the  silk-worm  in  its  early  stages  ; 
its  fcttackfl  are  made  within  the  calyx,  and  about  the  base  of  the  boll,  which  it  perforates,  and 
when  first  forming,  or  tender,  it  wholly  devours,  or  causes  to  drop  off.  (See  Plate.) — Wattes' s 
Report  on  the  Geoloyy  of  Mississippi. 

The  Diseases  of  the  Cotton-Plant. 

THE  diseases  of  the  cotton-plant  are  the  rust,  the  rot,  and  the  sore-shins. 

The  first  is  most  probably  attributable  to  the  mineral  properties  of  the  soil,  as  it  is  local 
and  partial  in  its  effects ;  and  on  the  spots  of  ground  affected  by  it,  the  difference  of  soil  is 
obvious  to  the  eye.  The  appearance  of  the  plant  so  diseased  suggests  the  existence  of  micro- 
scopic fungi,  which  exhaust  by  their  parasitic  growth  the  sap  of  the  leaves,  and  cause  them 
to  wither  and  fall. 

The  rot,  or  disease  of  the  boll,  has  been  assigned  to  various  causes.  The  first  external  in- 
dication of  its  approach  is  the  appearance  of  an  almost  imperceptible  puncture  on  the  side,  and 
generally  near  the  base  of  the  boll,  surrounded  by  a  slight  discoloration,  or  change  of  tint, 
presenting  the  semblance  of  a  minute  spot  of  grease— a  character  given  it  in  the  common  con- 
versation of  planters,  in  speaking  of  the  disease.  (See  Plate.)  The  most  received  opinion, 
and  that  best  supported,  is,  that  it  is  occasioned  by  the  larvse  of  a  small  insect  which  is 
hatched  from  the  egg  deposited  in  the  boll  in  some  unknown  manner,  at  an  early  stage  of  its 
growth,  and  which,  feeding  on  the  succulent  and  pulpy  seeds  in  their  early  stage  of  formation, 
produces  the  disease  without  immediately  destroying  the  boll.  This  not  unfrequently  is  only 
partially  damaged,  and  continues  to  grow  nearly  to  its  mature  size,  becoming  in  the  end 
externally  black  and  hard ;  the  decayed  state  of  the  interior  of  the  boll  presenting  an  analogy 
to  the  peach  or  plum,  which,  though  often  presenting  even  a  fair  and  perfect  exterior,  is  found 
upon  opening  to  have  been  long  preyed  upon  by  the  curculio  or  peach-worm. 

It  is  certain  that  the  diseased  and  blackened  boll,  when  broken  open,  reveals  a  variety  of 
small  insects,  sometimes  in  the  different  stages  or  conditions  of  their  metamorphosis.  Which 
of  these  is  the  real  enemy,  can  only  be  determined  by  the  close  and  continued  observation  of 
the  practical  entomologist.* 

*  The  insect  theory  in  connection  with  the  cause  of  the  rot  is  sustained  hy  observations  made  during  the  last 
two  years.  It  has  been  remarked  that  on  lands  where  the  different  varieties  of  cotton  had  been  planted  sepa- 


236  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

This  disease  made  its  appearance  as  early  as  1810,  and  prevailed  more  or  less,  for  more 
than  ten  years,  throughout  the  South,  and  occasionally  to  such  an  extent  in  some  districts  as 
almost  to  cause  the  abandonment  of  the  cotton  culture  ;  a  contingency  prevented  by  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Tennessee  green-seed  variety,  which  was  exempt  from  the  disease,  or  much 
less  affected  by  it  than  the  naked  black-seed  variety  first  cultivated.  For  many  years  subse- 
quently the  rot  was  unheard  of;  its  partial  and  unfrequent  occurrence  being  too  inconsider- 
able to  create  alarm,  or  occasion  any  appreciable  injury.  Its  reappearance  in  1S52  and  the 
season  of  1853-4  has,  however,  on  many  plantations,  been  attended  with  considerable  damage. 

The  remaining  disease,  popularly  known  as  the  sore-shin,  attacks  the  plant  in  its  early 
stages.  If  not  wholly  destroyed,  the  bark  of  the  stem  becomes  diseased  and  hardened,  and  the 
sap  vessels  dried  up  or  obstructed,  at  or  near  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  disease  is  preva- 
lent during  the  occurrence  of  the  cold  nights  of  a  wet  and  backward  spring.  To  this  causo 
it  is  attributed,  and  maybe  owing,  in  some  degree,  to  the  plant-louse,  (apis  pauceron,}  which 
prevails  most  in  such  seasons.  The  growth  of  the  young  plant  so  affected  is  languid  and  slow ; 
and  although  the  damaged  epidermis  may  be  repaired  and  overgrown  by  a  new  bark,  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  the  plant  ever  becomes  as  vigorous  and  prolific  as  those  which  have  not  sus- 
tained this  injury.  The  cause  of  this  malady — too  early  planting — suggests  the  proper  remedy. 

The  casting  of  the  forms  or  germs  of  the  boll,  may  also,  perhaps,  be  regarded  as  a  disease 
attendant  on  a  deranged  circulation  in  the  plant,  owing  to  an  unequal  and  irregular  supply 
of  moisture.  It  is  manifested  most  generally  upon  a  sudden  transition  from  a  very  dry  to  a 
very  wet  season,  and  is  consequently  so  far  without  remedy ;  it  is,  however,  doubtless  some- 
times occasioned  or  aggravated  by  injudicious  cultivation. —  Wailes1  s  First  Report  on  the  Geology 
of  Mississippi. 

On  the  Consumption  and  Manufacture  of  Cotton. 

IN  1749,  some  good  people  in  or  near  Boston  organized  a  society  for  the  "promotion  of 
industry  and  economy,"  the  wars  preceding  that  period  having  introduced  a  habit  of  idleness 
among  the  people,  which  the  strong  religious  sentiment  of  the  early  settlers  determined  to 
discourage  and  rebuke.  On  the  occasion  of  their  anniversary  in  1753,  three  hundred  females 
of  Boston  assembled  on  the  Common,  with  their  spinning-wheels,  and  gave  a  demonstration 
of  their  skill  in  the  art  of  using  them.  They  were  neatly  attired  in  cloth  of  their  own  manu- 
facture, and  a  great  crowd  of  spectators  collected  to  witness  the  scene.  This  was  the  first 
public  exhibition  of  American  manufactures,  and  probably  produced  as  much  good  and  more 
excitement  than  those  of  later  days. 

In  1787,  the  first  cotton-mitten  Massachusetts  was  erected  at  Beverly,  by  John  Cabot  and 
others ;  but  such  were  their  difficulties,  that  in  three  years  they  were  almost  compelled  to  aban- 
don the  enterprise.  As  a  last  resort,  they  petitioned  the  legislature  for  assistance,  and  the 
committee  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred  reported  in  favor  of  granting  them  one  thousand 
pounds  sterling,  to  be  raised  by  a  lottery  ! 

In  1786,  two  Scotch  brothers,  named  Robert  and  Alexander  Barr,  erected  carding  and  spin- 
ning machines  for  Mr.  Orr,  at  East  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  which  was  considered  of  such  import- 
ance that  the  legislature,  to  reward  their  ingenuity  and  encourage  machinists,  "made  them 
a  grant  of  £200,  and  afterwards  added  to  their  bounty  by  giving  them  six  tickets  in  the  State 
Land  Lottery,  in  which  there  were  no  blanks !" 

rately,  in  alternate  rows,  for  experiment,  the  most  tender  and  succulent  varieties,  which  would  naturally  first 
invite  the  attacks  of  insects,  were  those  most  damaged,  while  the  more  hardy  and  firmly-wooded  remained  unin- 
jured. The  increase  of  these  maladies  may  probably  be  traced  in  some  measure  to  the  extirpation  or  disappear- 
ance of  birds,  owing  chiefly  to  the  destruction  of  the  forests,  leaving  them  in  a  degree  without  protection  or 
shelter. 

A  beneficent  Providence,  In  the  economy  of  nature,  designed  these  little  winged  scavengers  for  useful  purposes. 
To  restrain  the  exuberance  of  insert  life  is  their  peculiar  office;  and  so  long  as  they  are  preserved  and  protected, 
their  office  is  effectually  performed.  If  man  wantonly,  and  with  mistaken  impressions  as  to  the  extent  and  cha- 
racter of  their  depredations,  will  d<  stroy  them,  he  must  make  his  account  in  submitting  to  ravages  of  a  more  for- 
midable kind,  and  which  may  baflle  his  ingenuity  to  prevent.  This  lesson  has  been  taught  with  a  heavy  cost, 
nowhere,  perhaps  more  clearly  than  on  the  rice  plantations  of  the  South,  where  the  planters  would  now  gladly 
woo  back  the  little  denizens  of  the  air,  which  they  have  frightened  away  or  destroyed. 


AGBJCULT€RAL  BOTANY.  237 

In  1784,  the  first  parcel  of  American  cotton,  8000  pounds,  was  exported  to  England.  In 
1791,  19,200  pounds  were  exported.  The  next  year  the  quantity  rose  to  138,328  pounds. 
In  1793,  Whitney's  cotton-gin  came  into  operation,  and  its  immediate  efi'ect  maybe  inferred  from 
the  fact,  that  the  very  next  year,  in  1794,  the  United  States  exported  1,601,760  pounds,  and 
in  1795,  5,276,306.  Previous  to  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin  by  "Whitney,  the  importation 
of  cotton  into  Great  Britain  did  not  greatly  exceed  five  millions  of  pounds  per  annum,  and  the 
value  of  cotton  goods  exported  was  only  two  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling.  Since  then,  the 
amount  has  steadily  increased,  and  in  1852  Great  Britain  consumed  not  far  from  800,000,000 
pounds  of  raw  cotton,  and  exported  £31,000,000  of  manufactured  cotton  goods. 

In  the  same  year,  (1805,)  the  total  consumption  of  cotton  in  all  the  United  States  was  a 
little  more  than  one  thousand  bales  !  Now,  the  «otton  consumed  by  the  mills  of  Lowell  exceeds 
two  million  eight  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  pounds  per  month. 

In  1810,  Tench  Coxe,  of  Philadelphia,  in  accordance  with  instructions  from  Albert  Galla- 
tin,  collected  all  the  information  he  could,  touching  the  condition  of  American  manufactures 
at  that  period.  The  result  of  his  labors  was  published  in  1812  ;  and  according  to  his  report, 
during  the  year  1810,  Massachusetts  manufactured  thirty-six  thousand  yards  of  cotton  cloth, 
and  two  hundred  pieces  of  duck,  the  first  valued  at  .$28,000,  and  the  second  at  $6,000,  which 
was  the  extent  of  her  factory  operations.  In  all  the  States  combined,  there  were  only  146,974 
yards  of  cotton  cloth  manufactured  during  that  year.  Now,  the  Massachusetts  Mills  of  Lowell 
produce  something  more  than  fi  ve  h  undred  and  thirty-six  thousand  yards  per  week,  or  25,728,000 
per  year.  In  his  ardor  to  promote  domestic  manufactures,  Mr.  Coxe  urged  families  to  make 
their  own  cloth,  and  recommended  the  circulation  of  official  tracts  or  pamphlets,  describing 
the  best  machinery  for  family  use;  and,  by  way  of  inciting  the  South  to  increased  action, 
advised  them  to  manufacture,  for  the  use  of  their  slaves,  a  "  cap  of  thick  home-made,  undyed 
cotton  swan-.-kin,  similar  in  form  to  the  Highland  woollen  cap  of  North  Britain."  He  thought 
such  a  cap  would  preserve  the  health  of  the  slaves,  and  therefore  financially  benefit  their 
mast< 

The  war  of  1812  gave  a  fresh  impetus  to  American  manufactures,  insomuch  that  in  1816  a 
report  to  Congress  showed  that  forty  millions  of  dollars  were  then  invested  in  cotton  manu- 
facture*, and  twelve  millions  in  woollen  ;  and  that  during  the  year,  ninety  thousand  bales  of 
cotton  had  been  consumed  by  our  factories,  and  that  the  aggregate  value  of  all  the  goods 
manul art nred  was  equal  to  about  sixty  millions  of  dollars.  In  1850,  according  to  the  late 
census  report,  there  were  in  all  the  States  1094  establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton, 
employing  a  capital  of  $74,501,031,  and  producing  goods  annually  to  the  value  of  $61,859,184. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  the  great  increase  of  the  consumption  of  cotton  can  be  traced  to 
the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin.  Before  the  invention  of  the  cotton-gin,  it  took  a  female  one 
•whole  day  to  clean  one  pound  of  cotton,  and  the  best  machine — the  roller-gin  with  fluted  rolls 
— which  was  in  use  in  1788  for  cleaning  cotton,  could  only  finish  about  thirty  pounds  in  twelve 
hours.  The  great  consumption  of  cotton  for  manufacturing  is  attributable  to  its  cheapness ; 
but  it  never  would  have  become  a  cheap  fibrous  material  by  the  old  processes  of  cleaning,  and 
our  country  never  would  have  become  a  great  cotton  country  if  the  cotton-gin  had  not  been 
invented. 

The  first  attempts  to  introduce  the  manufacture  of  cotton  into  Great  Britain,  in  common 
with  all  like  enterprises,  met  with  a  fierce  and  well-directed  opposition.  In  order  to  protect 
woollen  manufactures,  laws  were  enacted  forbidding  the  use  of  cotton  garments,  under  the 
penalty  of  fine  and  imprisonment.  The  laboring  classes,  who  considered  cotton  detrimental  to 
their  interests,  frequently  manifested  their  hostility  to  it  by  riot  and  bloodshed  ;  vagabonds, 
too  lazy  to  work,  pretended  that  cotton  had  thrown  them  out  of  employment  and  reduced  them 
to  pauperism ;  and  felons  occasionally  pleaded  cotton  as  an  extenuation  of  their  crimes ;  an 
amusing  instance  of  which  may  be  found  in  the  following  letter,  published  in  the  Gentleman's 
Intelligencer,  for  May,  1784: 

"  From  Cork,  in  Ireland. 

"  This  day,  one  Michael  Carmody  was  executed  here  for  felony,  upon  which  the  journeymen 
weavers  of  the  city  (who  labor  under  great  difficulties  by  reason  of  the  deadness  of  trade, 


238 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


occasioned  by  the  pernicious  practice  of  wearing  cottons)  assembled  in  a  body,  and  dressed 
the  criminal,  hangman,  and  the  gallows  in  cottons,  in  order  to  discourage  the  wearing  thereof. 
And  at  the  place  of  execution  the  criminal  made  the  following  remarkable  speech : 

"  '  Give  ear,  0  good  people,  to  the  words  of  a  dying  sinner:  I  confess  I  have  been  guilty  of 
many  crimes  that  necessity  compelled  me  to  commit,  which  starving  condition  I  was  in,  I  am 
well  assured,  was  occasioned  by  the  scarcity  of  money,  that  has  proceeded  from  the  great  dis- 
couragement of  our  woollen  manufactures.  Therefore,  good  Christians,  consider-that  if  you 
go  on  to  suppress  your  own  goods,  by  wearing  such  cottons  as  I  am  now  clothed  in,  you  will 
bring  your  country  into  misery,  which  will  consequently  swarm  with  such  unhappy  male- 
factors as  your  present  object  is,  and  the  blood  of  every  miserable  felon  that  will  hang,  after 
this  warning,  from  the  gallows,  will  lie  at  your  doors.  And,  if  you  have  any  regard  for  the 
prayers  of  an  expiring  mortal,  I  beg  that  you  will  not  buy  of  the  hangman  the  cotton  gar- 
ments that  now  adorn  the  gallows,  because  I  can't  rest  quiet  in  my  grave  if  I  should  see  the 
very  things  wore  that  brought  me  to  misery,  thievery,  and  this  untimely  end  ;  all  which  I  pray 
of  the  gentry  to  hinder  their  children  and  servants,  for  their  own  character's  sake,  though 
they  have  no  tenderness  for  their  country,  because  none  will  hereafter  wear  cotton  but  oyster- 
women,  criminals,  hucksters,  and  common  hangmen.'  " 

What  would  poor  Micky  say  now,  could  he  rise  from  his  dishonored  grave,  and  learn  that, 
despite  his  prophecy,  almost  every  man,  woman,  and  child,  in  the  civilized  world  wore  that 
same  hated  cotton  that  brought  him  to  the  hemp,  and  that  it  dispensed  happiness  and  comfort 
to  millions  of  the  human  race,  who  earned  their  subsistence  by  its  culture  and  manufacture  ? 

The  following  tables,  furnished  us  by  J.  T.  Stewart  &  Co.,  Cotton  Brokers,  of  New  York, 
exhibit  a  comparative  summary  of  the  cotton  crops  of  the  United  States,  since  the  year 
1823-4,  in  bales  of  400  pounds  :— 

Crop  of  Bales.  Crop  of  Bales.  Crop  of  Bales. 

1854-55 2,847,339  1843-44 2,030,409  1832-33 1,070,438 

1853-54 2,930,027  1842-43 2,378,875  1831-32 987,477 

1852-53 3,262,882  1841-42 1,683,574  1830-31 1,038,848 

1851-52 3,015,029  1840-41 1,634,945  1829-30 976,845 

1850-51 2,355,257  1839-40 2,177,835  1828-29 857,744 

1849-50 2,096,706  1838-39 1,360,532  1827-28 720,953 

1848-49 2,728,596  1837-38 1,801,497  1826-27 957,281 

1847-48 2,347,634  1836-37 1,422,930  1825-26 720,027 

1846-47 1,778,651  1835-36 1,360,725  1824-25 569,249 

1845-46 2,100,537  1834-35 1,254,328  1823-24 509,158 

1844-45 2,394,503  1833-34 1,205,394 

The  comparative  product  of  the  United  States,  by  decades,  since  1824,  is  as  follows : — 

1824 569,249  I  1844 2,394,503 

1834 1,254,328  |  1852 3,262,882 

The  annual  quantity  of  cotton  consumed  and  in  the  hands  of  manufacturers,  north  of  Vir- 
ginia, for  the  past  twenty-six  years,  is  as  follows : — 

Crop  of  Bales.  Crop  of  Bales.  Crop  of  Bales. 

1854-55 593,584  1844-45 389,006  1834-35 216,888 

1853-54 610,571  1843-44 346,744  1833-34 196,413 

1852-53 671,009  1842-43 325,129  1832-33 194,412 

1851-52 603,029  1841-42 267,850  1831-32 173,800 

1850-51 404,108  1840-41 297,288  1830-31 182,142 

1849-50 487,769  1839-40 295,193  1829-30 126,512 

1848-49 518,039  1838-39 276,018  1828-29 118,853 

1847-48 531,772  1837-38 246,063  1827-28 120,593 

1846-47 427,967  1836-37 222,540  1826-27 149,516 

1845-46 422,597  1836-36 236,733 

The  comparative  quantity  consumed  in  1854  and  in  1855,  south  of  Virginians  as  follows : — 

1854.  1855. 

North  Carolina Bales  20,000  18,500 

South  Carolina 12,000  10,500 

Georgia 23,000  20,500 

Alabama 6,000  5,500 

Tennessee 6,000        4,000 

On  the  Ohio,  Ac 38,000  16,000 

Total  to  September  1 105,000     85,000 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  239 

In  reference  to  the  consumption  of  cotton  in  the  country,  the  past  year,  both  north  and 
south,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  has  fallen  off,  although  the  production  has  been  pretty  nearly 
the  same :  this  may  be  accounted  for,  primarily,  by  the  partial  failure  of  the  crops  of  cereals 
in  1854,  the  consequent  high  prices  of  breadstuffs  and  provisions,  and  the  general  pressure 
for  money  felt  by  all  classes  in  all  sections  of  the  country. 

The  quantity  of  new  cotton  received  at  the  shipping  ports  to  the  1st  of  September,  amounted 
to  34,069  bales,  against  1890  last  year,  716  in  1852-3,  and  5125  the  year  before.  Thus, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  quantity  of  new  cotton  received  at  the  ports  to  the  1st  of  September 
this  year,  is  largely  in  excess  of  last  year ;  but  it  is  an  admitted  fact,  that  at  that  date,  there 
remained  of  last  year's  crop  (detained  in  the  interior  by  low  rivers,  caused  by  an  unprece- 
dented drought)  a  very  large  quantity — say  250,000  bales ;  some  estimates  are  a  little  lower, 
but  others  even  higher ;  and  had  the  cotton  thus  detained  been  brought  to  market,  and  added 
to  last  year's  crop,  it  would  have  approximated  the  great  crop  of  1852-3;  as  it  is,  it  will 
doubtless  soon  come  forward,  and  materially  swell  the  aggregate  for  1855-6,  should  not  a 
similar  state  of  things  exist  next  season. 

The  value  of  American  cotton  exported  in  1854  amounted  to  $93,596,220;  of  this, 
$64,738,391  was  exported  to  Great  Britain,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  small  quantity  to 
Ireland. 

Sea-Island  Cotton  from  Algeria. 

AT  the  Great  Industrial  Exhibition  at  Paris,  samples  of  Sea-Island  cotton  from  Algeria 
were  exhibited,  which,  in  the  opinion  of  good  judges  from  the  United  States,  were  equal  to 
any  in  the  world.  It  has  been  supposed  that  this  long-stapled  cotton  would  grow  nowhere 
else  than  on  our  Southern  coast,  and  vigorous  attempts  to  naturalize  it  in  the  Indies  have 
proved  failures ;  yet  it  grows  luxuriantly  on  certain  slopes  of  Mount  Atlas,  where  the  exist- 
ence of  salt  springs  is  supposed  to  favor  its  perfection — the  underlying  mountain  being  com- 
posed in  good  part  of  salt. 

Sea-Island  Cotton  in  Texas. 

THE  Galveston  News  states  that  Sea-Island  cotton  is  successfully  cultivated  in  several  parts 
of  the  State,  and  that  there  is  a  general  disposition  at  various  places,  from  Gonzales  to  the 
Gulf,  to  go  into  the  cultivation  of  this  description  of  cotton.  Not  less  than  one  thousand 
acres,  the  Newt  is  informed,  will  this  year  be  cultivated  with  this  cotton  in  Western  Texas. 

Sea-Island  Cotton  for  Spinning. 

THE  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  of  T.  Bayley,  President  of  the  Manchester  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  to  George  M.  Sanders,  formerly  United  States  Consul  at  London,  respect- 
ing the  assortment  of  Sea-Island  cotton  : 

"To  the  simple  question,  'Do  the  manufacturers  of  Sea-Island  cotton  assort  it  by  the  lock?' 
I  can  give  the  positive  reply  that  they  do  not,  nor  would  it,  upon  an  extensive  or  practical 
scale,  be  possible  for  them  to  do  so.  The  spinners  of  the  fine  Sea-Island  cotton,  of  course, 
esteem  the  longest-stapled  cotton  as  the  best,  and  in  all  their  processes  they  get  rid  of  as  much 
short  fibre  as  they  can,  and  preserve  unimpaired  all  the  long  fibres.  Essentially,  the  art  of 
the  cotton-spinner  consists  of  disentangling  the  fibres  of  cotton,  in  freeing  these  from  all 
extraneous  substances  and  impurities,  in  securing  the  longest  fibres,  in  obtaining  them  of  equal 
length,  and  finally  placing  them  parallel,  so  that  they  will  freely  and  evenly  pass  each  other 
into  a  line  of  yarn  or  thread,  in  the  subsequent  progress  of  elongation. 

"  From  my  own  knowledge,  the  cotton  of  Florida  is  an  excellent  and  desirable  quality  for 
the  spinner,  but  it  has  been  sent  to  market  in  a  '  craply'  or  knotty  condition,  which  has  greatly 
diminished  its  value.  I  have  seen  Florida  cotton  cleaned  and  prepared  by  the  McCarthy  gin, 
and  which  cotton,  I  believe,  has  been  increased  in  value  by  that  preparation  to  the  extent  of 
twenty  per  cent.  That  his  gin,  applied  to  Florida  cotton,  would  be  a  great  advantage,  does 
not  admit  of  a  doubt. 

"If  the  cotton-planter  would  always  recollect  that  the  spinners  require  only  pure,  even, 
and  disentangled  fibres,  I  have  no  doubt  he  would  save  himself  much  trouble,  and  increase 


240  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

the  value  of  tlie  cotton ;  and  if  he  could  classify  the  fibres  according  to  their  length,  and 
pack  the  cotton  in  bales  with  equal  and  assorted  fibres,  a  further  advantage  would  bo  the 
result." 

Flax  Industry  in  Russia. 

THE  important  position  which  Russia  occupies  at  the  present  day,  as  regards  the  production 
of  flax  and  hemp,  is  well  known,  but  the  means  of  information  relative  to  the  production, 
exportation,  or  preparation  of  this  article,  in  common  with  the  statistics  of  the  other  sources 
of  agricultural  and  mineral  wealth  in  this  country,  are  exceedingly  limited.  All  materials 
for  acquiring  knowledge  relative  to  these  subjects  are  therefore  of  especial  value. 

The  flax  of  Russia  differs  materially  from  that  produced  in  either  Belgium,  Holland,  France, 
Ireland,  or  the  other  flax-growing  countries  of  Europe.  While  the  fibre  is  almost  always 
inferior,  the  Russian  flaxseed  has  the  highest  reputation.  It  is  a  pertinent  subject  of  inquiry 
— Why  the  produce  of  this  seed  sown  in  Russia  is  not  equal  to  that  produced  from  the 
seed  sown  elsewhere  ?  The  answer  is  that,  The  difference  arises  from  a  difference  of  culture, 
and  also  from  a  difference  of  soil  and  climate.  It  is  a  fact  well  known  to  botanists  and  fruit- 
growers, that  a  plant  or  tree  yielding  fruit,  transferred  from  the  north  temperate  zone  to  a 
southern  portion  of  the  same  zone,  generally  improves  in  character  and  strength,  being  at 
the  same  time  more  hardy  than  the  cognate  plants  growing  originally  in  the  same  latitudes. 

Before  entering  into  an  account  of  the  method  of  cultivation  followed  in  Russia,  we  would 
briefly  direct  attention  to  the  geological  constitution  of  the  part  of  Russia  where  the  cultiva- 
tion of  flax  is  prosecuted  to  the  greatest  extent.  The  soil  of  a  great  part  of  Russia  rests 
upon  a  sandstone  of  the  secondary  series,  red  or  gray  in  color;  this  rock,  more  or  less  disin- 
tegrated, extends  throughout  the  most  fertile  portions  of  the  country,  from  66°  N.  lat.  to  67° 
N.  lat.,  where  it  terminates.  Starting  at  latitude  56°  N.,  it  extends  in  level  tracts  upon  the 
Baltic,  touching  the  district  of  Riga,  stretches  along  the  Gulf  of  Livonia,  embraces  a  great 
part  of  the  district  of  St.  Petersburg,  extending  to  Lake  Onega,  the  White  Sea,  and  the  Gulf 
of  Archangel ;  from  thence  it  bends  to  the  north-east,  and  finally  terminates  about  G7°  N.  lat. 
The  greatest  width  of  this  deposit,  east  and  west,  is  between  Windau  on  the  Baltic,  and  Tora- 
petz  to  the  east.  The  surface  comprehends,  first,  all  the  basin  of  the  river  Don ;  second,  a 
great  part  of  the  course  of  the  Volga ;  third,  a  great  part  of  the  course  of  the  Onega,  even 
to  its  mouth ;  fourth,  most  of  the  basin  of  the  Dwina,  even  as  far  as  its  entrance  into  the  Gulf 
of  Archangel.  The  climate  of  this  country,  as  indicated  by  the  mean  temperature,  is  as  fol- 
lows: In  the  level  country  along  the  Baltic,  52°  407  N.  lat.,  the  yearly  mean  of  the  thermo- 
meter is  46°  Fahr.  Mean  temperature  of  the  winter,  32° ;  summer,  62° ;  autumn,  45°.  St. 
Petersburg,  situated  at  39°  56',  has  a  mean  temperature  of  38° ;  in  the  months  of  greatest 
heat  the  mean  temperature  is  65° ;  in  the  months  of  greatest  cold  the  mean  is  8°  67. 

Archangel  is  situated  upon  the  Dwina,  near  its  entrance  into  the  White  Sea.  During  ten 
months  of  the  year,  from  September  to  July,  all  access  to  this  place  by  water  is  prevented  by 
ice.  The  Dwina  remains  frozen  until  the  month  of  April  or  May.  On  the  llth  of  June  the 
sun  remains  above  the  horizon  from  Ih.  21m.  morning,  until  IQh.  37m.  evening.  On  the 
llth  of  December  it  appears  only  from  10A.  9m.  morning,  to  Ih.  51m.  noon.  This  district 
is  included  in  that  zone  where  the  light  continues  during  an  entire  month,  from  the  com- 
mencement of  June  to  the  first  week  in  July.  To  the  constant  light  and  heat  of  this  month 
the  production  of  flax  is  due. 

Odessa,  the  centre  of  another  flax-growing  district  of  Russia,  is  situated  upon  the  Black 
Sea,  lat.  46°  59' N.,  between  the  mouths  of  the  Dnieper  and  Dniester.  The  soil  is  of  the 
older  tertiary  formation,  designated  by  Murchisson  as  the  older  Caspian.  The  climate  closely 
resembles  that  of  the  South  of  France. 

Although  the  flax  culture  is  less  advanced  in  Russia  than  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  it  has  been  known  there  for  centuries,  at  least  in  the  vicinity  of 
Odessa,  Lithuania,  Livonia ;  but  the  provinces  of  PleskofF,  Novogorod,  and  Archangel  are  the 
districts  which  at  the  present  day  furnish  the  bulk  and  better  qualities  of  Russia  flax.  In 
Southern  Russia  they  cultivate  but  comparatively  little  flax  for  the  fibre,  but  considerable  for 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  241 

the  seed,  the  exportation  of  which  to  foreign  countries  is  rapidly  becoming  of  great  import- 
ance. The  culture  of  flax  in  the  north-west  and  central  portions  of  the  empire  requires  the 
use  of  manure,  and  of  thorough  plowing  and  pulverization  of  the  soil ;  but  in  the  southern 
portions  of  Russia,  a  single  plowing,  imperfectly  performed  in  the  autumn,  without  the  use  of 
manure,  is  sufficient  preparation  for  obtaining  an  excellent  crop  of  flax,  especially  when  the 
season  has  been  moderately  moist.  In  favorable  seasons  the  product  of  seed  is  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  bushels  for  one,  but  the  average  of  the  whole  country  is  not  more  than  eight  to 
twelve  bushels  for  every  one  of  seed. 

The  proprietors  who  cultivate  flax  for  the  seed  use  the  stalks  for  fuel,  not  knowing  how  to 
turn  them  to  any  better  account.  They  also  cut  or  mow  the  flax,  instead  of  pulling  it,  which 
renders  it  somewhat  unsuitable  for  the  production  of  fibre. 

The  method  of  cultivation  in  that  part  of  Russia  where  they  make  but  little  use  of  the 
straw  is  as  follows:  They  sow  on  the  virgin  soil  of  the  steppes,  in  the  vicinity  of  Odessa,  or 
upon  land  which  has  been  cultivated  with  grain  or  some  other  crop  the  preceding  year.  The 
crop  can  be  repeated  in  the  same  soil  for  two  succeeding  years,  without  any  inconvenience. 
The  labor  of  cultivation  is  extremely  simple.  They  plow  to  the  depth  of  about  six  inches 
once  in  the  autumn.  In  the  spring  they  harrow  with  care,  and  between  the  fifteenth  of  April 
and  the  first  of  May  they  sow  broadcast  about  three  English  pecks  of  seed  to  two  and  a  half 
acres.  When  they  design  to  preserve  the  fibre,  they  sow  about  one-third  more  flax.  The 
crop  is  a  certain  one,  if  it  rain  but  a  very  little  during  the  months  of  May  and  June.  This 
flaxseed  is  highly  esteemed  for  exportation,  and  as  it  sells  for  highly  remunerative  prices,  viz., 
from  $1  50  to  $2  00  a  bushel,  the  culture  rapidly  increases  in  Southern  Russia.  In  1830,  tin- 
amount  of  seed  exported  was  13,000  bushels :  in  1838,  it  had  increased  to  300,000 ;  in  1839, 
to  350,000,  representing  a  value  of  $600,000.  The  exportation  of  flax  fibre  from  this  section 
of  country  is  small,  as  hand  labor  is  dear,  and  the  population  sparse.  The  small  quantity 
which  is  prepared  is  imperfect  and  low-priced.  The  rotting  is  made  ordinarily  with  water, 
but  occasionally  dew-rotting  is  pursued.  The  subsequent  operations,  including  that  of  spin- 
ning and  weaving,  are  conducted  in  a  manner  equally  rude  and  imperfect.  The  manufacture 
of  cloth  is  exceedingly  restricted,  and  is  wholly  of  a  domestic  character,  the  production  not 
exceeding  the  local  consumption. 

In  the  district  known  as  New  Russia,  the  amount  of  cloth  is  not  sufficient  for  the  home- 
demand,  and  the  deficit  is  made  up  by  importations  from  the  northern  portions  of  the  empire. 

In  Lithuania,  Couriand,  and  Livonia,  the  peasant  grows  flax  once  in  three  years  upon  the 
same  soil ;  in  a  part  of  these  provinces  it  is  grown  principally  for  seed,  but  the  flax  fibre 
yielded  is  nevertheless  merchantable  as  "inferior  quality,"  unless  the  crop  is  entirely  neglected. 
In  thost-  <li<tricts  where  the  flax  is  cultivated  for  the  fibre,  the  seed  is  sold  under  the  title  of 
"swingled  flaxseed."  The  most  usual  method  of  rotting  is  by  means  of  stagnant  water,  and 
the  time  required  varies  from  eight  to  fifteen  days. 

In  1838-39,  Belgian  workmen  were  employed  by  the  government  in  various  districts,  to 
teach  the  peasantry  the  method  of  rotting  flax  by  the  improved  processes  used  in  the  Low 
Countries,  and  the  Minister  of  Finance  was  authorized  to  distribute  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
silver  roubles,  in  premiums,  to  the  peasants  who  should  most  successfully  carry  out  the  Bel- 
gian improvements. 

In  quality  the  flax  of  Russia  ranks  after  that  of  Holland,  Belgium,  France,  and  Germany. 
Some  attribute  this  inferiority  to  difficulties  which  arise  from  the  nature  of  the  climate.  It 
is  said  that  in  Russia  "  the  season  proper  for  vegetation  is  too  short."  The  flax  grows  and 
ripens  too  quickly — much  faster  than  in  France  or  Belgium,  where  nature  performs  her  tasks 
more  slowly  and  perfectly.  Flax  in  Southern  Europe,  when  sown  in  March,  generally  expe- 
riences some  bad  weather,  which  hinders  its  first  growth,  and  strengthens  the  root,  and  when 
the  warm  season  afterwards  comes  on,  the  vegetation  is  vigorous  and  furnishes  a  flax  more 
delicate  than  the  flax  of  the  Baltic.  A  difference  is  noticed  even  in  France,  when  the  sowing 
is  protracted  from  March  until  May  or  June ;  then  here  the  crops  grow  more  quickly,  and  the 
quality  of  the  fibre  closely  resembles  that  of  the  Russian  flax. 

Two  reasons  concur  to  favor  the  exportation  of  flax  from  Russia,  viz.,  the  low  price,  and 
the  division  of  the  flax  into  classes  according  to  quality. 

16 


242  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  cheapness  of  flax  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  emperor  and  the  nobles  possess  all  the 
serfs,  and  have  thus  an  abundance  of  cheap  hand  labor.  The  land  is  of  little  value,  and  the 
peasants  have  little  to  occupy  themselves  with  in  the  long  winters  with  the  exception  of 
dressing  flax. 

Flax,  in  common  with  all  other  productions  of  the  country,  is  classed  according  to  its  quality. 
This  is  effected  as  follows :  When  the  flax  arrives  at  Riga  or  St.  Petersburg,  it  is  stored  in 
depots  specially  designated  for  the  purpose.  Here  inspectors,  appointed  by  government,  are 
charged  with  the  duty  of  classifying  it.  All  marks  and  designations  are  first  obliterated ;  the 
bundles  are  then  opened,  and  all  which  is  not  of  the  first  quality  is  taken  out  and  placed  by 
itself.  This  second  lot  is  again  examined,  and  again  subdivided  according  to  its  quality.  A 
commission  appointed  by  the  buyers  watch  over  the  inspectors,  and  no  sample  of  flax  is  ex- 
amined unless  one  or  more  of  the  commission  is  present.  When  the  classification  is  effected, 
each  parcel  receives  its  distinctive  mark.  The  expense  of  these  regulations,  which  is  incon- 
siderable, is  borne  by  the  proprietors  of  the  flax.  This  plan  offers  all  satisfactory  guaran- 
tees to  the  purchasers,  and  the  owners  are  prevented  taking  any  unfair  advantage. 

The  export  of  flax  and  hemp  from  Russia  has  greatly  increased  within  the  last  twenty 
years,  and  is  progressing.  The  largest  proportion  exported  finds  a  market  in  England.  Tak- 
ing the  trade  of  fourteen  years,  from  1840  to  1853  inclusive,  it  appears  that  during  the  first 
seven  years  of  this  period,  Great  Britain  was  indebted  to  Russia  for  72  per  cent,  of  all  her  hemp 
importations ;  and  during  the  last  seven  years  for  about  62  per  cent,  of  flax.  About  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  quantity  imported  is  Russian.  From  tables  of  European  commerce  recently 
published,  it  appears  that  the  28,000,000  of  British  people  annually  export  produce  to  the 
value  of  about  £90,000,000  sterling — the  36,000,000  of  France  export  to  the  value  of  about 
£50,000,000 — and  the  67,000,000  of  European  Russia  export  to  the  value  of  about 
£14,000,000.  Russia  exports  raw  produce  exclusively,  consisting  chiefly  of  grain,  tallow, 
flax,  linseed,  hemp,  wool,  timber,  and  bristles ;  the  three  items  first  named  commonly  exceed- 
ing in  value  all  the  rest.  , 

The  following  statistics  of  the  flax  and  hemp  exportations  of  Russia,  furnish  some  idea 
of  the  extent  of  the  production  of  these  substances  in  that  cotintry : — 

The  yearly  average  importations  of  flax,  hemp,  and  tow  into  Great  Britain  from  Russia,  for 
the  ten  years  ending  1851,  was  160,000,000  pounds.  The  other  countries  of  Europe  import  from 
Russia  as  follows : — France,  in  1838,  imported  of  flax  and  hemp,  17,000  pounds ,  in  1846,  her 
imports  amounted  to  over  15,000,000  pounds,"  and,  in  1849,  to  20,403,466  pounds.  Belgium, 
which  in  1838  imported  only  4400  pounds  of  flax,  imported  upwards  of  4,000,000  pounds  in  1846. 

The  Russian  export  of  flaxseed  averages  annually  about  9,000,000  English  bushels. 

At  the  exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  all  Nations,  at  the  New  York  Crystal  Palace,  in  1853,  a 
new  variety  of  flax  and  flaxseed  from  Russia  was  exhibited  by  Mr.  Leon  Falkersaborf,  mem- 
ber of  the  Agricultural  Societies  of  St.  Petersburg,  Moskowa,  etc.,  etc.  It  was  described  as 
a  new  variety  of  flax,  sown  as  a  winter's  crop,  and  superior  to  the  spring-sown  seed.  The 
samples  of  the  flax  fibre  produced  from  this  seed,  which  were  exhibited  in  connection  with  it, 
were  the  most  perfect  as  regards  strength,  lustre,  and  lifelike  appearance,  of  any  on  exhibi- 
tion, and  were  only  surpassed  in  fineness  by  one  extraordinary  premium  sample  exhibited 
from  Ireland.  Samples  of  this  flaxseed  were  ordered  by  Mr.  Johnson,  the  Secretary  of  the 
New  York  Agricultural  Society,  for  distribution  among  American  flax  growers,  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  its  introduction  may  prove  successful  and  important. 

Most  of  the  thread  manufactured  in  Russia  is  spun  by  hand.  There  are,  however,  two 
establishments  for  machine-spinning,  the  one  at  Alexandrofsky  belonging  to  government,  and 
introduced  as  a  model ;  the  other,  a  private  establishment  of  little  importance.  Both  together 
contain  about  60,000  spindles.  Notwithstanding,  Russia  exports  a  considerable  quantity  of 
yarn  to  America,  and  supplies  in  addition,  the  domestic  consumption.  The  manufacturers 
in  the  vicinity  of  Moscow,  Jerosloff,  and  Archangel  furnish  the  common  fabrics  consumed  in 
the  empire.  Fine  linens  are  imported  into  Russia  to  a  slight  extent,  the  yearly  average  not 
exceeding  35,000  pounds  in  weight,  Notwithstanding  the  low  price  of  the  raw  material  and 
of  hand  labor,  this  branch  of  national  industry  is  protected  by  an  excessively  high  tariff  of 
duties,  and  sailcloth,  canvas,  and  cordage  of  all  descriptions  are  contraband. — Editor. 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  243 

On  the  Preparation  of  Vegetable  Fibrous  Substances. 

As  the  fibres  of  Indian  plants  are  now  beginning  to  attract  the  attention  of  manufacturers, 
it  may  be  of  some  use  to  publish  the  results  of  experiments  that  have  been  tried  to  prepare 
them  for  the  English  market,  and  to  turn  them  to  practical  account  in  India.  The  demand 
for  fibrous  substances  as  substitutes  for  flax,  hemp,  silk,  cotton,  and  hair,  is  now  becoming 
so  great  that  a  market  cannot  be  supplied  with  a  sufficiency  of  these  raw  materials  to  keep 
our  large  manufactories  in  full  operation. 

As  flax  and  hemp,  both  substances  most  urgently  called  for,  and  wasted  in  large  quantities 
in  many  parts  of  India,  are  hardly  ever  prepared  with  sufficient  care  to  make  them  profit- 
able articles  of  export,  a  description  of  the  simplest  and  most  economical  methods  of  clean- 
ing them  may  prove  of  interest  to  the  public. 

The  usual  process  followed  in  India  for  preparing  fibres  of  succulent,  fleshy  plants  consists 
in  culling  the  plants  when  in  full  vigor,  and  burying  them  in  wet  sand  on  the  banks  of  a  run- 
ning stream,  or  in  mud  at  the  edge  of  a  tank,  and  leaving  them  there  to  soak  and  rot  for  one, 
two,  or  three  weeks,  according  to  the  temperature  of  the  weather.  The  plant  is  then  taken 
out  and  spread  in  the  sun  to  dry,  after  which  it  is  stacked  or  put  up  in  heaps,  and  covered 
with  a  matting  of  dry  leaves  to  shelter  it  from  wind  or  rain.  It  is  afterwards  beat  with 
heavy  sticks  upon  the  dry,  hard  ground,  and  well  rubbed  between  the  hands  to  separate  chaff 
and  dust.  Another  method  is  to  take  the  soaked  plant  in  bundles,  and  beat  out  the  pulp  and 
impurities  on  a  flat  stone  at  the  edge  of  a  tank  or  river,  in  the  same  way  as  the  washerwomen 
wash  clothes. 

The  fibres  of  the  Marool  or  Sansiviera  Zcylanica  are  prepared  by  scraping  and  washing  in 
fresh  water  soon  after  the  plant  is  cut.  The  fibres  of  the  Yercum  or  Calotropie  gigantea 
are  separated  by  exposing  to  the  sun  for  three  days  the  fresh-cut  stalks  of  the  plant,  stripped 
of  the  leaves.  The  bark  is  then  peeled  off,  and  the  fibres  are  picked  out  with  the  finger  and 
thumb.  The  two  last  processes  yield  fibres  of  good  quality,  but  in  too  small  quantity  to  prove 
remunerative,  except  as  an  employment  for  children. 

The  system  of  cleaning  fibres  by  rotting  is  not  suited  to  warm  climates,  as  putrefaction 
sets  in  almost  as  soon  as  fermentation ;  and  while  one  part  of  a  heap  of  leaves  or  stalks  is 
beginning  to  ferment,  other  parts  are  brown  and  stained  from  putridity,  while  the  central 
parts  remain  fresh  and  unaltered. 

To  preserve  the  color  and  strength  of  fibres,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  separate  the  pulp, 
bark,  or  wood,  as  soon  as  possible  and  by  the  least  complicated  process.  The  pulp  or  juices 
of  plants  usually  contain  mucilage,  starch,  or  gum,  which  begin  to  ferment  within  twenty- 
four  hours  after  the  plant  is  cut ;  and  if  it  be  left  in  water  during  warm  weather,  fermentation 
is  completed  within  two  or  three  da^s ;  in  cold  climates,  it  takes  two  or  three  weeks  to  run 
its  course.  The  result  of  fermentation  being  completed  is  that  the  sap  becomes  acid  and 
destroys  the  strength  of  the  fibre.  This  is  followed  by  putrefaction,  which  stains  the  fibre 
and  makes  it  brownish,  brittle,  and  like  chaff. 

If  the  plant  be  exposed  to  the  sun  for  a  day  or  two  after  being  cut,  the  sap  dries,  and  the 
coloring  matter  stains  the  fibre,  which  cannot  then  be  easily  separated  from  the  bark,  spiral 
cells,  or  woody  fibre.  In  some  plants  this  discoloration  is  green,  in  others  brownish,  or  dusky- 
yellow,  which  cannot  be  removed  by  bleaching,  as  it  is  a  species  of  natural  tanning  which 
occurs  in  the  plant.  Such  fibres  always  remain  harsh,  stiff,  and  woody,  with  a  tendency  to 
snap  on  a  sudden  strain.  The  plantain  fibre  is  the  most  liable  to  this,  containing  a  good 
deal  of  tannin,  which  can  only  be  removed  by  quickly  expressing  the  juice,  and  only  cutting 
as  much  of  the  plant  as  can  be  cleaned  in  one  day. 

The  general  rules  for  cleaning  the  fibres  of  pulpy  plants  are — first,  to  bruise  or  crush  the 
plant,  keeping  the  juice  for  a  coarse  kind  of  vinegar  required  in  another  process.  The  com- 
mon native  sugar-cane  mill,  with  two  perpendicular  rollers,  a  long  lever  handle,  and  a  chan- 
nel to  convey  the  juice  into  some  convenient  vessel,  answers  this  purpose  very  well ;  the  cost 
of  such  a  mill  is  about  ten  rupees.  Those  who  cannot  afford  to  purchase  or  erect  one,  but 
who  can  command  plenty  of  labor,  will  require  to  provide  a  few  long  planks  and  heavy  wooden 
mallets  to  beat  the  plant  till  all  the  pulp  is  loosened.  When  it  is  in  a  pulpy  mass,  it  must  be 


244  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

taken  at  both  ends  and  twisted  opposite  ways  to  squeeze  out  the  sap.  It  is  then  to  be  -well 
washed  in  plenty  of  water,  untwisted,  and  scraped  in  small  handfuls  at  a  time  on  the  board, 
with  an  old  blunt  table-knife  or  a  long  piece  of  hoop-iron  fastened  into  a  straight  handle. 
When  all  impurities  are  removed,  the  fibres  may  be  soaked  for  an  hour  or  two  in  clear  water, 
and  then  hung  up  in  the  shade  to  dry.  Exposure  to  the  shn  at  first  is  apt  to  discolor  them. 
By  this  simple  process  fibres  of  great  strength,  of  silky  appearance,  and  of  a  good  color,  can 
readily  be  prepared.  The  scrapings  must  be  well  washed,  and  set  aside  in  the.  shade  to  dry 
as  tow  for  packing,  or  as  a  material  for  making  paper. 

The  Indian  plants,  to  the  cleaning  of  which  this  process  is  applicable,  are  those  of  a  fleshy 
or  pulpy  nature,  as  the  aloe,  agave,  sansiviera,  and  plantain  genera,  of  which  there  are  many 
species.  The  prices  offered  in  England  for  Indian  fibres  thus  cleaned  varied  from  £12  to  £18 
per  ton,  and  were  said  to  be  only  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  coarse  twine  or  brown  pack- 
ing-paper. The  finest  plantain  fibre,  when  carefully  cleaned  and  dressed,  was  said  to  be 
suited  for  the  imitation  of  silk  in  carriage-braid  and  carpet-work.  The  average  value  put 
upon  fibres  was  £50  per  ton,  when  Russian  hemp  was  selling  at  £40  per  ton. 

On  the  Cleaning  of  Plants  having  Bark  and  Woody  Fibres. — Many  of  the  Indian  cordage 
plants  are  of  this  kind,  and  the  native  process  of  cleaning  them  is  very  similar  to  that  fol- 
lowed in  cleaning  fleshy  and  pulpy  plants — viz.  by  burying  in  sand  or  mud  at  the  edge  of  a 
tank  or  in  a  river,  and  leaving  them  to  rot.  There  is  this  difference,  however,  that  the  plants 
are  steeped  longer  and  are  never  exposed  to  the  sun  to  dry,  or  stacked  and  covered  with  mat- 
ting to  be  cleaned  by  dry  beating.  If  this  were  done,  the  woody  fibre  would  get  hard  and 
brittle,  and  would  again  adhere  to  the  other  fibre,  which,  being  partially  rotten,  would  break 
in  the  cleaning.  To  obviate  this,  the  rotted  plant  is  taken  up  in  large  handfuls  and  beaten  on 
flat  stones,  first  at  one  end  and  then  at  the  other ;  they  are  next  well  rubbed  and  washed,  to 
separate  the  impurities,  and  are  spread  out  on  the  ground  to  dry.  We  can  hardly  wonder 
that  most  of  the  string  and  rope  made  from  fibres  prepared  in  this  rude,  coarse  way  should 
be  dark  in  color,  possessed  of  no  strength  and  of  little  value.  As  a  general  rule,  every  day's 
steeping  of  a  fibre  takes  from  its  strength  and  imparts  more  or  less  color.  To  obviate  this, 
woody  plants  should  be  first  well  beaten  with  a  mallet ;  then  the  bark  should  be  separated 
from  the  stalk,  for  it  is  on  the  inner  part  of  the  bark  that  the  fibres  for  cordage  usually  occur. 
Wrhen  the  bark  is  brought  to  a  pulpy  state,  it  must  be  well  washed  in  clean  water,  to  remove 
as  much  of  the  sap  as  possible,  for  this  is  the  destructive  agent  which  soon  causes  putrefac- 
tion. The  old  mode  of  steeping  or  rotting  flax-plants  is  quite  abandoned  in  many  districts, 
as  the  water  was  found  to  be  poisonous  to  cattle  and  fish,  and  the  neighborhood  where  it 
was  carried  on  became  feverish.  The  same  remark  has  been  made  in  India,  and  there  are 
many  districts  where  flax  is  cultivated  on  account  of  the  linseed,  but  the  plant  is  burnt  and 
fibre  wasted,  lest  cattle  should  be  poisoned  by  eating  it.  In  Flanders,  where  the  greatest 
care  is  bestowed  on  the  growth  of  flax,  the  preparatory  crops  are  barley  and  rye,  with  tur- 
nips after  them  the  same  year.  It  is  grown  the  third  year  of  a  seven-course  rotation,  or 
the  fifth  year  of  a  ten-course  rotation.  It  is  considered  an  exhausting  crop,  and  the  land 
is  richly  manured  and  dressed  with  liquid  manure ;  the  seed  is  then  sown  abundantly  in  the 
proportion  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  to  the  acre,  a  slight  harrowing  and  the  passing 
of  a  light  roller  over  the  ground  insuring  quick  germination. 

If  the  quality  of  the  fibre  be  the  chief  object,  the  seed  is  sown  thickly ;  the  plants  come 
up  in  a  crowded  manner,  and  are  tall  and  of  delicate  growth.  If  the  seed  be  the  chief  object, 
thin  sowing  and  exposure  to  the  sun  is  the  best,  the  stalks  becoming  strong  and  branched 
with  coarse  fibre.  The  weeding  of  the  flax  forms  a  considerable  item  in  the  expense  of  its 
cultivation.  This  is  performed  when  the  plant  is  a  few  inches  high ;  it  is  done  by  hoeing,  or 
by  women  and  children,  who  with  coarse  cloths  around  their  knees  creep  along  on  all-fours, 
which  injures  the  young  plant  less  than  walking  upon  them.  The  weeders  also  take  care 
to  face  the  wind,  that  the  tender  flax,  bent  down  by  their  weight,  may  be  assisted  in  rising 
again.  When  weeding  is  too  long  delayed,  the  plant  is  bruised  and  injured,  and  cannot  re- 
cover its  erect  position.  Some  tall  and  slender  varieties  are  supported  by  stakes,  lines,  and 
cords,  about  one  foot  or  eighteen  inches  from  the  ground,  or  ropes  are  tied  to  stakes  length- 
wise and  crosswise,  so  as  to  form  a  network  all  over  the  field.  The  time  of  pulling  the  crop 


AGRICULTURAL   BOTANY.  245 

depends  upon  the  season  and  the  intention  of  the  grower.  If  fine  fibre  be  the  object,  he  pulls 
the  flax  rather  green,  but  if  the  quality  of  the  seed  be  considered,  a  longer  time  is  given 
before  pulling.  The  latter  object  is  generally  attained  when  two-thirds  of  the  stalk  have 
turned  yellow,  and  when  the  seeds  have  changed  from  their  fluid  state,  for  they  ripen  suffi- 
ciently after  the  flax  is  pulled,  if  not  separated  from  the  stalk.  Taking  up  the  crop  in  a  wet 
state  is  avoided,  if  possible. 

The  pulling  is  carefully  done  by  small  handfuls  at  a  time,  which  are  laid  regularly  across 
each  other  to  dry,  and  are  afterwards  collected  in  larger  bundles,  the  root-end  on  the  ground 
and  the  seed-ends  tied  lightly  together,  as  sheaves  of  grain  in  the  harvest-field.  The  prac- 
tice of  cultivators  differs  very  much  as  to  the  after  processes.  Some  disregard  the  seed,  and 
commence  steeping  the  flax  at  once ;  some  carry  it  as  soon  as  it  is  dry  under  a  shed,  and  take 
off  the  capsules  by  a  process  called  rippling ;  others  house  the  flax  as  soon  as  it  is  dry,  allow- 
ing the  seed  to  remain  on,  and  deferring  the  processes  of  rippling  and  steeping  till  the  fol- 
lowing season. 


The  annexed  engraving  represents  the  appear- 
ance of  the  ordinary  flax  fibre,  as  seen  under  the 
microscope. 


The  great  obstacle  to  the  growth  of  flax  in  England  and  in  the  United  States  is  the  want 
of  an  intermediate  interest  to  buy  the  straw  from  the  grower,  and  to  prepare  the  fibre  for 
the  spinner.  Conducted  on  the  old  system,  it  is  only  adapted  to  small  occupations,  like  those 
of  Belgium  and  Trel-md.  New  processes  of  preparing  the  fibre  are,  moreover,  being  intro- 
duced, which  cannot  be  carried  on  upon  the  farm,  but  require  separate  establishments,  and 
which  appear  likely  to  supersede  the  old  method  of  steeping. 

Two  years  ago,  the  most  promising  of  these  new  processes  appeared  to  be  that  of  Schenck, 
which  consisted  in  steeping  the  flax  in  hot  water,  and  thus  effected,  in  from  seventy-two  to 
sixty-nine  hours,  what  under  the  old  system  occupied  from  two  to  three  weeks.  In  1852, 
twenty  retteries  on  this  system  were  established  in  Ireland,  besides  several  in  England. 

Since  then,  two  other  processes  have  been  patented,  which,  as  far  as  trials  on  a  small 
scale  have  gone,  appear  to  be  superior  to  Schenck's,  both  as  regards  the  saving  of  time  and 
expense.  One  of  these  is  by  Watts.  It  consists  in  steaming  the  straw  instead  of  steeping. 
The  other  method  is  Buchanan's,  who  operates  by  means  of  repeated  immersions  (about  ten) 
in  hot  water,  kept  by  a  very  ingenious  contrivance  from  exceeding  a  certain  temperature. 
The  process  is  conducted  by  means  of  cheap  and  simple  machinery,  by  which  labor  is  saved, 
the  risk  of  loss  from  carelessness  avoided,  and  the  time  required  for  the  preparation  of  the 
fibre  is  reduced  to  twelve  hours.  The  system  is  now  being  tested  on  a  commercial  scale  in 
Scotland. 

It  has  been  well  observed  that  the  chief  impediment  in  the  growth  of  flax  consists  in  the 
question — "Who  is  to  begin?"  The  farmer  does  not  grow  flax  for  the  want  of  the  rettery, 
and  the  rettery  is  not  established  for  want  of  the  flax.  Another  difficulty  arises  out  of  the 
continued  improvements  which  are  going  on  in  the  processes  for  preparing  the  fibre,  and  the 
perplexity  which  this  occasions  among  those  who  are  disposed  to  embark  in  the  undertaking 
as  to  which  they  shall  adopt. 

The  manufacturers  are  the  parties  who  should  make  the  first  move,  by  establishing  ret- 
teries, and  offering  a  liberal  price  to  the  farmers  for  their  straw.  The  districts  best  suited  to 


246  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

the  experiment  are  those  in  which  the  cultivation  of  flax  formerly  flourished,  and  in  which 
the  agricultural  population  are  not  wholly  strangers  to  its  management. 

Canadian  Hemp. 

IT  may,  perhaps,  not  be  generally  known  that  hemp  grows  spontaneously  in  Canada,  par- 
ticularly in  all  the  lower  or  eastern  districts  of  the  country.  And  it  is  stated,  upon  respectable 
authority,  that,  under  good  cultivation,  the  quality  is  equal  to  Russian  hemp.  The  soil  and 
climate  of  Canada  are  believed  to  be  eminently  adapted  to  the  growth  both  of  hemp  and  flax. 
Very  many  years  ago,  the  culture  of  hemp  in  Canada  was  commenced,  with  all  the  earnest- 
ness and  vigor  which  a  well-grounded  confidence  in  the  capabilities  of  the  country  for  such 
production  warranted;  but,  owing  solely,  it  is  believed,  to  the  want  of  efficient  modes  of 
converting  the  raw  produce  into  a  prepared  state,  and  thus  securing  an  immediately  profitable 
market,  the  culture  of  hemp  in  Canada,  upon  any  extensive  scale,  was  then  abandoned. 
The  quantity  of  hemp  and  flax  produced  in  Canada,  taken  together,  as  officially  returned, 
amounted,  in  1852,  to  1,917,666  pounds.  The  value  placed  upon  this  by  the  government 
board  of  registration  and  statistics  in  Canada  is  3c7.  currency,  or  £28  currency  per  ton, 
which,  reduced  to  sterling,  is  £23  3*.  The  total  value  of  the  hemp  and  flax  grown  in  Canada 
in  1852,  was,  therefore,  according  to  this  official  valuation,  £23,971  provincial  currency;  and 
very  nearly  the  whole  was  the  growth  of  Lower  Canada. 

Production  of  Vegetable  Textile  Fibres  in  China. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  London  AthencKum  furnishes  the  following  memoranda  respecting 
the  cultivation  of  various  vegetable  textile  fibres  in  the  province  of  Chekiany,  China.  He 
says :  Besides  rice,  the  staple  summer  crops  in  this  district  are  those  which  yield  textile 
fibres.  A  plant  well  known  by  the  name  of  jute  in  India — a  species  of  Corchorus — which 
has  been  largely  exported  to  Europe  of  late  years  from  India,  is  grown  here  to  a  very  large 
extent.  In  China  this  fibre  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  sacks  and  bags  for  holding  rice 
and  other  grains.  A  gigantic  species  of  hemp,  (Cannabis,}  growing  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet 
in  height,  is  also  a  staple  summer  crop.  This  is  chiefly  used  in  making  ropes  and  string  of 
various  sizes,  such  articles  being  in  great  demand  for  tracking  the  boats  up  rivers,  and  in  the 
canals  of  the  country.  Every  one  has  heard  of  China  grass-cloth — that  beautiful  fabric 
made  in  the  Canton  province,  and  largely  exported  to  Europe  and  America.  The  plant  which 
is  supposed  to  produce  this  ( Urtica  nivea)  is  also  abundantly  grown  in  the  western  part  of 
this  province,  and  in  the  adjoining  province  of  Kiangsee.  Fabrics  of  various  degrees  of 
fineness  are  made  from  this  fibre,  and  sold  in  these  provinces ;  but  I  have  not  seen  any  so 
fine  as  that  made  about  Canton.  It  is  also  spun  into  thread  for  sewing  purposes,  and  is 
found  to  be  very  strong  and  durable.  The  last  great  crop  which  I  observed  was  that  of  a 
species  of  Juncus,  the  stems  of  which  are  woven  into  beautiful  mats,  used  by  the  natives  for 
sleeping  upon,  for  covering  the  floors  of  rooms,  and  for  many  other  useful  purposes.  This 
is  cultivated  in  water,  somewhat  like  the  rice-plant,  and  is  therefore  always  planted  in  the 
lowest  parts  of  these  valleys.  At  the  time  of  my  visit,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  the  harvest 
of  this  crop  had  just  commenced,  and  hundreds  of  the  natives  were  busily  employed  in  drying 
it.  The  river  banks,  uncultivated  land,  the  dry  gravelly  bed  of  the  river,  and  every  other 
available  spot,  were  taken  up  with  this  operation.  At  gray  dawn  of  morning  the  sheaves  or 
bundles  were  taken  out  of  temporary  sheds  erected  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  off  the  rain 
and  dew,  and  shaken  thinly  over  the  surface  of  the  ground.  In  the  afternoon,  before  the 
sun  had  sunk  very  low  in  the  horizon,  it  was  gathered  up  again  into  sheaves  and  plaoc-l 
under  cover  for  the  night.  A  watch  was  then  set  in  each  of  the  sheds ;  for,  however  quiet 
and  harmless  the  people  in  these  parts  are,  there  is  no  lack  of  thieves,  who  are  very 'honest, 
if  they  have  no  opportunity  to  steal.  And  so  the  process  of  winnowing  went  on  day  by  day, 
until  the  whole  of  the  moisture  was  dried  out  of  the  reeds.  They  were  then  bound  up  firmly 
in  round  bundles,  and  either  sold  in  the  markets  of  the  country,  or  taken  to  Ningpo  and 
other  towns,  where  the  manufacture  of  mats  is  carried  on  on  a  large  scale.  It  seems  to  me 


AGRICULTURAL   BOTANY.  247 

to  be  very  remarkable,  that  a  country  like  China — rich  in  textile  fibre,  oils  of  many  kinds, 
vegetable  tallow,  dyes,  and  no  doubt  many  other  articles  which  have  not  come  under  my 
notice — should  afford  so  few  articles  for  exportation.  I  have  no  doubt  that  as  the  country 
gets  better  known,  our  merchants  will  find  many  things  beside  silk  and  tea,  which  have 
hitherto  formed  almost  the  only  articles  exported  in  quantity  to  Europe  and  America. 

Two  new  Fibres  from  Brazil. 

THERE  have  been  recently  imported  into  England,  from  Bahia,  two  varieties  of  vegetable 
fibre,  which  are  new  to  commerce.  One  of  them  is,  commercially  speaking,  a  species  of 
flax,  and  is  proposed  to  be  used  in  the  same  way  as  that  material.  It  is  in  small  hanks, 
about  twelve  inches  in  length :  the  individual  fibres  are  remarkably  fine,  and  have  a  peculiar 
appearance,  somewhat  resembling  a  long  staple  sheep's  wool.  The  color  is  a  pale  green. 
This  material  was  imported  experimentally,  and  was  called  "tecum."  Upon  comparing  it 
with  a  specimen  in  the  "Collection  of  Liverpool  Imports,"  says  Mr.  Archer,  I  am  led  to 
imagine  that  it  is  the  produce  of  a  palm-tea/.  The  price  stated  in  the  foreign  invoice  is 
equivalent  to  eighteenpence  per  pound. 

The  other  article  is  a  very  coarse  red  fibre,  of  considerable  length,  resembling  the  asta 
bark  in  Dr.  Royle's  collection  of  Indian  vegetable  fibres :  it  is  evidently,  I  think,  says  Mr. 
Archer,  the  fibrous  portion  of  the  bark  of  some  tree,  probably  an  acacia.  This  material  was 
also  sent  from  Bahia,  and  its  application  as  a  substitute  for  oakum  was  suggested. 

Sir  William  Hooker,  who  has  examined  this  last  fibre,  pronounces  it  to  be  the  product  of  a 
noble  tree,  the  seeds  or  nuts  of  which  are  well  known  to  commerce  us  the  "  Brazil-nut."  The 
bark  is  beaten  into  oakum,  and  in  this  form  is  much  used  for  caulking  ships  at  Para. 

On  the  Oblique  Direction  of  the  Ligneous  Fibre,  and  the  Twist  of  the  Trunks 
of  Trees  occasioned  thereby. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Academy  of  Berlin,  the  following  paper,  on  the  above  subject, 
was  presented  by  Prof.  Braun : — 

The  twist  of  the  wood  of  many  trees  is  a  phenomenon  well  known  to  wood-cutters,  shingle- 
makers,  carpenters,  and  others,  but  almost  entirely  neglected  by  botanists.  The  distinguished 
geologist,  the  late  Leopold  von  Buch,  appears  to  have  first  directed  the  attention  of  scientific 
men  to  it;  and  De  Candolle,  in  his  Organographic,  (1827,)  was  the  first  botanist  who  spoke 
of  it.  Most  trees  show  this  obliquity  of  the  woody  fibre  more  or  less.  In  certain  species 
the  twist  is  almost  uniformly  in  the  same  direction ;  in  others,  both  directions  occur  with 
about  equal  frequency,  while  in  not  a  few  no  twist  is  distinctly  observable.  Sometimes  the 
same  direction  prevails  in  the  majority  of  the  species  of  a  genus,  or  even  of  a  whole  family; 
in  other  cases,  opposite  directions  occur  in  the  same  genus  or  family ;  and  it  is  curious  to 
remark  that  in  some  instances  nearly-allied  species  of  Europe  and  America  twist  in  opposite 
directions.  In  a  few  instances,  the  fibre  of  a  young  tree  is  twisted  in  one  direction ;  that  of 
the  old  tree,  in  the  opposite  direction. 

In  speaking  of  the  direction,  it  is  necessary  to  come  to  an  understanding,  first  of  all,  as  to 
what  we  mean  by  right  or  left,  a  distinction  attended  with  more  difficulty  than  would  appear 
possible.  Prof.  Braun  follows  De  Candolle  and  others  in  viewing  the  twist  or  coil  objectively, 
imagining  himself  in  the  centre  of  the  coil.  Thus  viewed,  the  bean-vine  turns  to  the  left, 
the  hop-vine  to  the  right,  &c.  Linnaeus  and  others,  however,  have  adopted  the  opposite  or 
subjective  view,  and  regard  the  bean  and  other  leguminous  plants  as  turning  to  the  right,  as 
they  appear  to  an  observer  standing  before  the  coil.  The  twist  of  the  fibre  may  be  discerned 
in  splitting  the  wood,  or  in  its  cracks  when  the  bark  is  stripped  off,  or  in  the  course  of  the 
fissures  made  by  lightning.  Very  often  the  bark  itself,  at  the  angles  or  superficial  lines  of 
.the  trunk,  indicate  the  direction  of  the  wood  within  very  distinctly.  We  make  a  few  extracts 
from  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  species  observed. 

No  manifest  twist  has  been  observed  in  species  of  Fagus,  Juglans,  and  Carya,  either  in 
Europe  or  America,  nor  in  Ulmus,  Ailanthus,  Fraxinus,  Acer  dasycarpum,  Gleditschia,  or  Robinia, 


248  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

though  the  latter  exhibits  a  very  slight  twist  to  the  left.  The  woody  fibre  twists  to  the  right 
in  Pinus  strobus,  Ostrya  Virginica,  the  chestnut  of  Europe,  the  European  and  American 
Salices,  Populus  pyramidalis,  Cormis  Florida,  Liriodendron,  (in  Indiana  and  Illinois,  though 
in  cultivated  specimens  the  twist  was  found  to  be  the  other  way ;  but  more  observations  are 
required,)  the  peach,  plum,  and  cherry-trees,  and  in  the 'European  Cercis  siliquastrum,  the 
only  leguminous  tree  known  to  twist  to  the  right.  The  twist  to  the  left  hand  is  the  more 
common :  it  occurs  in  most  Coniferce,  especially  in  Juniperus  Virginiana,  Taxodiwn  distichum, 
Pinus  sylvestris,  (of  which  young  trees  twist,  however,  in  the  opposite  direction,)  Picea  ex- 
celsa,  &c.,  Bctula  and  Alnus,  Ostrya  vulgaris,  and  Castanea  Americana,  (both  in  opposite 
directions  to  the  nearly-allied  species  of  the  Old  World,)  Quercus  robur,  Populus  angulata,  * 
Catalpa,  JEsculus,  Hippocastanum,  the  pear-tree,  and,  more  than  any  other,  the  pomegranate ; 
also  most  leguminous  trees.  Most  American  oaks,  the  sassafras,  Acer  nigrum,  the  apple- 
tree,  £c.  twist  about  as  often  to  the  right  as  to  the  left. 

The  cause  of  the  apparent  twisting  is  not  easily  ascertained.  It  is  not  occasioned  by  an 
actual  twisting  of  the  whole  stem,  but  belongs  to  the  growth  of  the  successive  annual  layers. 
Prof.  Braun  connects  it  with  the  growth  of  the  wood-cells,  the  ends  of  which,  at  their  com- 
mencement, are  nearly  horizontal,  but  become  wedge-shaped  as  they  elongate  ;  and  if  these 
wedges  assume  the  same  direction  in  the  whole  circumference  of  the  stem,  as  they  are  apt  to 
do,  the  wood-cells  would  assume  a  certain  obliquity ;  so  that  this  twist  of  the  wood  is  con- 
nected with  the  intimate  nature  or  disposition  of  the  cells  themselves.  But  this  is  not  suf- 
ficient to  explain  the  higher  grades  of  the  obliquity,  which  sometimes  reaches  an  angle  of 
forty-five  degrees.  It  would  here  be  desirable  to  ascertain  whether  the  cambium  cells  divide 
in  this  oblique  direction  and  high  angle.  Our  common  Tupelo,  or  Pepperidge,  or  Nyssa,  would 
be  a  good  subject  for  the  investigation,  since  the  obliquity  of  its  wood  is  generally  very  considerable, 
and  the  layers  of  a  certain  number  of  years  incline  in  the  opposite  direction  from  those  of  the 
preceding  layers. 

Observations  on  the  Correspondence  between  the  Leaf-Venation  and  Kami- 

fication  of  the  Plant. 

PROF.  M'Cosn,  in  a  paper  before  the  British  Association,  observed  that  this  correspondence 
might  be  illustrated  under  two  general  heads:  1.  Between  the  disposition  of  the  branches 
on  their  axis,  and  that  of  the  veins  on  the  midrib,  or  other  veins  from  which  they  spring. 
In  trees  where  the  leaf  has  no  leaf-stalk,  the  tree  is  feathered  from  the  ground ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  when  the  leaf  has  a  leaf-stalk,  the  tree  has  a  bare,  unbranched  trunk.  It  had 
been  objected  that  the  beech-leaf  has  no  leaf-stalk;  whereas  the  tree  has  often  an  unbranched 
axis.  This  objection  he  had  been  able  to  answer  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  gentleman  who 
urged  it.  It  is  customary,  in  planting  out  beeches,  to  strip  off  the  lower  branches,  and  cut 
over  the  axis,  and  hence  the  form  which  the  plant  often  assumes  in  lawns ;  but  the  beech, 
when  uneaten  by  cattle,  and  not  drawn  up  by  being  planted  in  the  heart  of  a  wood,  is  feath- 
ered or  branched  from  the  base.  This  may  be  seen  from  its  mode  of  growth  in  hedges.  He 
would  have  it  to  be  understood,  however,  that  this  correspondence  does  not  imply  that  the 
tree  and  leaf  necessarily  assume  precisely  the  same  shape.  Thus,  when  the  leaf  is  pinnate, 
there  is  no  correspondence  between  the  form  of  the  leafage  and  the  form  of  the  tree.  He 
was  inclined  to  think  that  when  the  leaf  is  pinnate,  as  in  the  ash  and  mountain-ash,  the  tree 
is  decomposite;  that  is,  instead  of  sending  forth  one  main  axis  from  top  to  bottom,  it  sends 
off,  in  a  scattered  way,  branch  after  branch,  till  the  axis  is  lost.  2.  The  branch  goes  off 
from  its  axis  at  much  the  same  angle  as  the  vein  goes  off  from  the  midrib  or  lateral  vein 
There  was  little  difficulty  in  establishing  this  in  plants  with  woody  structure,  or  in  herbaceous 
plants  which  have  a  true  branch  and  not  a  mere  flower-stalk.  The  only  exceptions  which 
he  had  found  in  plants  with  true  branches  were  those  with  decurrent  leaves,  such  as  thistles, 
where  the  natural  angle  seems  to  be  affected  by  the  decurrency  of  the  leaf.  But  there  was 
a  difficulty  in  establishing  the  correspondence  in  herbaceous  plants,  which  either  have  no 
branch,  or  in  which  it  is  difficult  to  say  whether  we  have  a  branch  or  merely  a  peduncle  or 
leaf-stalk;  the  more  so,  as  botanists  had  not  laid  down  any  rule  by  which  to  distinguish 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  249 

between  branch  and  peduncle.  He  had  found  it  necessary,  in  applying  these  views  to  her- 
baceous plants,  to  distinguish  between  what  he  might  be  allowed  to  call  the  primary  and 
secondary  angle,  both  of  venation  and  ramification;  meaning  by  the  primary  angle  that  made 
by  the  main  branches  and  the  main  lateral  veins ;  and  by  the  secondary,  that  made  by  the 
lesser  branches  or  lesser  veins  proceeding  from  the  others.  He  had  found,  in  many  cases, 
that  the  angle  at  which  the  peduncle  or  flower-stalk  goes  off  corresponds  not  to  the  primary, 
but  secondary  angle  of  this  leaf.  (Appended  to  the  paper  was  a  list  of  200  species  of  plants 
measured  by  him  since  1852.)  He  remarked,  in  conclusion,  as  a  proof  of  the  angular  struc- 
ture of  plants  being  a  feature  of  importance,  that  he  had  found  in  corals  that  there  is  a 
definite  angle  of  ramification  for  every  species,  and  that  there  is  a  primary  and  a  secondary 
angle. 

Varieties  and  Culture  of  the  Basket  Willow. 

THE  willow  manufacture  in  the  city  of  New  York  is  already  immense,  and  destined 
constantly  to  increase.  The  amount  of  imported  willow-ware  is  annually  more  than  three 
millions  of  dollars,  while  the  quantity  of  unmanufactured  willow  imported  amounts  to  a  much 
larger  sum.  And  this  amount  of  imported  ware  must  also  increase  largely,  unless  the 
manufacture  of  the  ware  and  the  cultivation  of  the  willow  should  be  prosecuted  extensively 
in  the  United  States.  The  late  John  Reed,  of  Staten  Island,  amassed  a  little  fortune  by 
cultivating  less  than  three  acres  of  apparently  worthless  swamp,  in  rearing  the  osier  willow. 
Others  have  failed  in  the  attempt,  through  ignorance  of  the  proper  species  for  this  region  of 
the  earth,  and  the  proper  mode  of  cultivation.  Dr.  C.  W.  Grant,  of  Newburgh,  about  five 
years  ago,  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  among  his  varied  objects  of  enterprise,  he  would 
include  the  cultivation  of  the  willow;  for  which  purpose  he  purchased  a  marsh  on  the  Hudson, 
not  far  below  West  Point,  connected  with  an  extensive  upland  farm,  which  marshy  ground 
he  supposed  would  make  a  good  osier-field.  On  trial,  it  was  found  that  only  a  small  portion 
of  the  ground  was  adapted  for  that  purpose.  Partial  failure  served  only  to  stimulate  him  to 
fresh  exertions,  and  the  loss  of  some  capital  was  followed  by  the  resolve  to  recover  it.  He 
therefore  engaged  in  extensive  investigation  of  the  whole  subject,  and  availed  himself  of  all 
attainable  knowledge  respecting  the  culture  of  the  osier  in  England,  Scotland,  Continental 
Europe,  and  America.  Nearly  one  hundred  kinds  of  willow  were  imported,  and  experiments 
were  carefully  instituted  on  different  soils,  with  very  satisfactory  results.  Willow  of  his 
production  was  tested  last  fall  by  different  basket  manufacturers,  and  found  equal  in  quality 
to  the  very  best  European  osier,  and  far  superior  to  the  largest  portion  of  that  which  is 
imported.  In  the  course  of  Dr.  Grant's  investigations,  a  new  species  was  found  in  the  county 
of  Suffolk,  England,  which  proves  to  be  a  great  acquisition  not  only  in  the  arts,  but  as  an 
ornamental  tree. 

To  those  who  have  undertaken,  or  are  about  to  undertake,  the  cultivation  of  willow,  it  will 
undoubtedly  prove  very  largely  remunerative,  if  conducted  with  the  requisite  care  and  know- 
ledge. No  crop  will  better  pay  for  proper  tillage  and  proper  soil — even  yielding  a  profitable 
return  the  first  year;  but  in  the  hands  of  unskilf illness  and  neglect  it  will,  of  course,  prove 
an  entire  failure.  In  Rockland  county,  a  small  field  of  it  was  planted  in  the  spring,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  the  same  year  yielded  shoots  of  the  finest  quality,  averaging  at  least  six  feet 
in  length,  and  some  of  the  tallest  more  than  ten  feet.  The  gross  worth  of  the  crop  could  not 
be  less  than  $150  per  acre.  Here  nothing  remarkable  was  done,  but  (with  a  slight  excep- 
tion) every  thing  was  well  done.  The  soil  was  pretty  rich  clayey  alluvial,  and  deeply 
worked,  the  subsoil  plow  running  to  the  depth  of  eighteen  or  twenty  inches,  (two  feet  would 
have  been  better.)  A  very  little  stable  manure  and  a  few  bushels  of  ashes  were  used  as  a 
top  dressing.  The  manure  should  have  been  worked  in  with  very  light  furrow,  or  with  the 
cultivator,  but  a  heavy  rain  made  it  impracticable  at  the  most  advantageous  season,  and  in 
a  great  measure  compensated  for  the  neglect.  A  small  portion  of  it  retained  standing  water 
until  the  middle  of  June.  Some  of  the  cuttings  did  not,  in  this  wet  place,  strike  at  all,  and 
others  made  little  growth.  A  blind  drain  was  then  made  through  it,  when  the  plants  began 
immediately  to  thrive,  and  made  a  pretty  good  growth,  but  not  equalling  the  others  by  about 
one-half.  The  cuttings  were  of  very  vigorous  one-year  old  wood,  a  few  of  them  retaining 


250  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

some  of  the  former  year's  wood.  Unless  the  cuttings  have  to  the  heart  a  high  degree  of  viral 
energy,  the  life  of  the  centre  fails,  and  the  plant  becomes  rotten  at  the  heart;  and  although 
it  does  not  soon  die,  it  gives  but  imperfect  shoots,  whereas  the  one  that  is  full  of  vital  energy 
makes  a  plant  in  every  respect  as  good  as  a  seedling. 

Willow-growing  is  destined  to  become  a  business  of  impdrtance,  or  rather  is  now  becoming 
so ;  and  those  who  early  engage  in  it  judiciously  will  receive  the  reward.  I  have  just  learned 
that  Dr.  Grant  is  so  well  pleased  with  it,  that  he  is  preparing  to  plant  another  field  of  twenty 
acres  next  season.  That  would  generally  be  thought  too  much  for  a  new  beginner,  and  in 
most  cases  rightly  so ;  but  one-tenth  of  that  quantity  would  be  little  enough  for  a  beginning, 
and  would  be  too  little,  unless  you  have,  of  suitable  land,  (or  mean  to  have,)  enough  to  extend 
it  considerably.  Those  who  make  a  large  business  of  it  will  get  the  best  percentage.  A 
few  words  on  the  soil  suitable  for  willow.  It  cannot  be  profitably  grown  in  a  swamp;  but  a 
swamp  thoroughly  drained  and  cultivated  is  no  longer  a  swamp.  On  such,  willow  will  grow 
most  luxuriantly,  and  so  will  red  clover ;  but  the  upheaval  of  winter  frost  will  throw  out  the 
clover  and  kill  it,  but  will  not  injure  the  willow.  It  must,  for  its  roots,  have  at  least  a  foot 
of  soil  that  is  not  constantly  sodden  with  water — and  far  better  if  you  get  two  feet.  Then 
the  vigor  will  be  astonishing  to  those  who  have  not  seen  it ;  and  to  get  shoots  averaging  eight 
feet  is  easily  practicable,  and  is  quite  profitable.  I  will  relate  a  case  that  came  under  my  own 
observation.  A  field  that  had  been  cultivated  the  previous  year  (on  a  portion  of  it,  although 
the  season  was  very  dry,  the  crop  had  been  lost  by  too  much  wetness)  was  plowed,  trench- 
plowed,  and  subsoiled ;  that  is,  one  plow  followed  another  in  the  same  furrow,  besides  the 
subsoil  plow,  making  three.  It  was  commenced  early,  and  found  to  be  very  muddy  work, 
and  half  of  it  left  until  after  corn-planting,  bringing  it  to  the  last  of  May,  and  some  of  it  was 
not  planted  until  the  early  part  of  June.  The  cuttings  had  been  provided  in  the  winter,  and 
deeply  covered  with  litter  in  a  cool  place ;  but  before  the  last  of  planting,  some  of  them  had 
thrown  out  shoots  of  considerable  length.  Drought  of  unexampled  severity  followed,  (1852.) 
Apprehension  was  entertained  of  entire  failure ;  yet  where  the  ground  was  deeply  worked  no 
failure  occurred,  but  a  little  not  deeply  worked  was  an  entire  failure.  The  deep  working  so 
obviated  the  wetness,  that  the  past  wet  season  caused  but  little  injury.  The  early-planted 
are  still  somewhat  the  best,  but  on  any  part  the  crop  is  quite  satisfactory. — Correspondence 
N.  Y.  Country  Gentleman. 

New  Sources  of  Vegetable  Oils. 

A  VERY  large  white  pea  is  grown  near  Shanghae,  in  China,  from  which  oil  is  extracted  for 
burning.  After  the  oil  is  expressed,  the  refuse  is  used  for  manure  and  for  feeding  cattle 
and  swine.  So  extensively  is  this  article  used,  that  from  Shanghae  alone  ten  million  dollars' 
worth  is  yearly  distributed  over  China.  This  leguminous  plant  is  called  Teuss.  There  is 
another  Chinese  production,  called  tea-oil,  said  to  be  produced  from  the  seeds  of  species  of 
the  two  genera  Thea  and  Camellia,  which  oil  is  nearly  unknown  in  Europe.  When  fresh,  it 
is  quite  free  of  smell,  of  a  pale  yellow  tint,  and  devoid  of  sediment.  It  resists  a  cold  of  40° 
Fahr.,  and  its  density  is  -927.  It  burns  with  a  remarkably  clear  white  flame.  This  oil 
might  prove  an  important  article  of  commerce  in  the  East,  because  in  its  properties  it  is 
superior  to  cocoanut-oil  and  the  various  other  oils  used  for  burning  or  as  oleaginous  condi- 
ments in  Asiatic  countries. 

From  the  leaves  of  the  Australian  Eucalypti  an  oil  can  be  procured  of  equal  utility  to  the 
cajeput-oil  of  the  East.  The  sandarac  exuding  from  the  calitris  or  pine-tree,  the  balsamic 
resin  of  the  grass-trees,  and,  moreover,  the  eucalyptus  gum,  which  could  be  gathered  in 
boundless  quantities  in  Australia,  and  which  for  its  astringent  qualities  might  supersede  the 
use  of  kino  or  catechu,  will,  probably,  at  a  future  period,  form  articles  of  import. — Journal 
of  the  Society  of  Arts. 

Vegetable  Oils  in  the  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro  Districts. 

SPRUCE  remarks  that  vegetables  yielding  oils  abound  in  the  Rio  Negro  district.  Nearly 
all  the  palm-fruits  yield  oil;  but  the  bright  vermilion  fruit  of  Elais  melanococca,  or  Carani 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  251 

palm,  furnishes  it  in  very  large  quantity.  Various  species  of  CEnocarpus,  -which  abound  on 
the  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro,  are  oil-bearing.  The  oil  procured  from  (Enocarpus  batana, 
which  forms  forests  in  the  Rio  Negro,  is  called  batana-oil  by  the  Indians,  and  resembles  much 
that  procured  from  olives.  Raphua  toldigera,  the  Inpati  palm,  has  a  very  oleaginous  fruit, 
and  its  leaf-stalks  can  be  used  as  flambeaux.  Andirola-oil  is  the  produce  of  Carapa  gura- 
ncnsis.  Bertholletia  excelsa,  the  Castanha  or  Tuna,  is  another  oil-giving  tree  of  the  Amazon 
district. 

Beech-oiL 

AMONG  the  various  kinds  of  oil  used  in  Northern  Germany,  especially  the  kingdom  of 
Hanover,  for  culinary  purposes  or  as  materials  of  combustion,  that  extracted  from  the  nuts 
of  the  beech  (Tagus  sylvatica,  Linn.)  is,  on  account  of  its  numerous  good  qualities,  de- 
serving of  notice.  Beech-oil  does  not  play  a  prominent  part  in  commerce,  nor  is  it  likely  to 
do  so,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  cannot  be  procured  in  large  quantities ;  the  country-people 
who  collect  the  nuts,  or  who  cause  them  to  be  collected,  use  the  greater  part  of  the  oil  ex- 
tracted from  them  in  their  own  households,  and  only  dispose  of  the  remaining  fraction.  This 
is  the  reason  why  it  is  impossible  to  give  even  a  rough  estimate  of  the  quantity  annually 
produced.  About  Hanover,  the  nuts  are  gathered  towards  the  end  of  October  or  the  begin- 
ning of  November;  this  is  done  either  by  picking  up  by  hand  those  which  have  fallen  to  the 
ground,  or  by  spreading  out  large  sheets  under  the  trees  and  beating  the  branches  with 
poles,  so  as  to  cause  the  nuts  to  separate  from  them.  The  latter  process  appears,  at  first 
sight,  tlit-  least  expensive;  but  as  the  good  nuts  have  to  be  separated  from  the  bad  (abortive) 
UIH-,  it  i>  tumul,  on  closer  examination,  to  be  ju>t  the  contrary.  In  1854,  about  twenty-five 
pounds  of  nuts  s«»M  in  Hanover  for  eighteenpence ;  twenty-five  pounds  yield  about  five 
pounds  of  oil,  one  pound  selling  for  about  serenpence.  The  oil  is  of  a  pale-yellow  color, 
and  has  :m  oxti-emely  agreeable  taste.  It  is  often  adulterated  with  walnut-oil ;  the  latter  is 
even  sold  as  beech-oil,  and  that  may  account  for  the  difference  of  opinion  entertained  re- 
specting the  quality  of  beech-oil.  The  towns-people  use  it  chiefly  as  salad  oil ;  but  the  pea- 
santry employ  it  generally  as  a  substitute  for  butter,  &c.,  and  only  when  there  has  been  a 
good  harvest  of  nuts,  for  burning  in  their  lamps.  The  husks  (epicarpia)  are,  after  the  oil 
has  been  expressed,  made  into  cakes  about  nine  inches  square  and  an  inch  and  a  half  thick  : 
these  are  used  for  combustibles,  and  not  given,  as  some  people  imagine,  as  food  to  cattle. — 
Hooker's  Journal  of  Botany. 

Rapeseed-oiL 

THE  following  information  respecting  the  demand  for  oils,  especially  that  expressed  from 
rapeseed,  is  derived  from  the  last  Report  of  the  Lighthouse  Board : — 

In  1841-42  the  price  of  sperm-oil  was  $0.55       per  gallon  j 
-   is 47-48  "  "  1.07-18          « 

"  1851-52  "  "  1.19-37          " 

"  1853-54  "  "  1.38-75          " 

and  the  last  purchase  made  by  public  contract  for  the  Lighthouse  establishment  was  at  $1.58 
for  full-strained  sperm-oil. 

The  most  respectable  merchants  and  ship-owners  engaged  in  the  sperm-whale  fishery  are 
of  opinion  that  there  will  be  a  considerable  advance  upon  the  present  price  ($1.60  per  gallon) 
for  winter  oil  during  the  present  year,  and  that  it  will  probably  be  as  high  as  $2  per  gallon 
at  no  distant  day. 

The  rapid  advance  in  the  price  of  this  essential  article  for  lighthouse  purposes  is  said  to 
be  attributable  to  the  limited  and  annually  diminishing  supply,  and  to  the  increased  demand 
for  it  for  lubricating  and  manufacturing  purposes  in  this  country  and  in  Great  Britain. 
Numerous  experiments  have  been  made  to  test  the  practicability  of  using  lard-oil,  cotton- 
seed-oil, and  some  of  the  various  patent  oils,  both  animal  and  vegetable,  in  lighthouses  ;  but 
it  is  believed  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  colza  or  rapeseed-oil,  none  of  them  are  suited  to 
purposes  of  lighthouse  illumination.  The  lighthouses  and  lightvessels  on  the  continent  of 
Europe  and  in  Great  Britain,  with  few  exceptions,  are  now  illuminated  by  the  colza  or  rape- 


252  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

seed-oil.  It  has  been  found,  after  careful  test  and  by  trial,  to  be  superior  in  many  respects 
to  the  best  sperm-oil,  while  its  cost  is  only  about  one-half  the  present  price  of  sperm-oil. 
This  valuable  agricultural  product  occupies  an  important  place  in  the  economy  of  the 
farmers  of  France,  Belgium,  Holland,  and  many  parts  of  Germany.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  great 
agricultural  staple  of  many  districts,  and  from  which  the  farmers  derive  their  entire  living 
income.  In  England,  this  vegetable  is  cultivated  not  so  much  for  the  production  of  oil  which 
it  yields,  as  for  grazing  and  fertilizing  purposes.  In  this  .country,  it  is  cultivated  to  some 
extent  for  grazing  and  as  a  fertilizer  of  the  soil.  Among  the  German  population  of  Texas, 
the  colza  is  cultivated,  and  the  oil  expressed  from  its  seed  in  sufficient  quantities  to  supply 
the  domestic  wants  of  the  cultivators.  In  Mexico  it  has  been  introduced,  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  many  villages,  towns,  and  cities,  including  the  city  of  Mexico,  are  dependent 
upon  it  for  oil  to  light  their  streets  and  houses. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  this  valuable  vegetable  could  be  very  successfully  cultivated  in 
nearly  every  portion  of  the  United  States ;  and  even  at  the  present  European  price  for  the 
oil,  it  would  prove  quite  as  remunerative  as  tobacco,  wheat,  and  Indian  corn. 

The  annual  diminution  in  the  supply  of  sperm-oil,  and  the  increasing  demand  for  it  for 
mechanical  purposes,  would  seem  to  render  it  indispensable  that  an  article  of  good  quality, 
and  adapted  to  purposes  of  illumination,  should  be  found  as  a  substitute  for  it. 

The  cultivation  of  this  vegetable  on  a  large  scale  would  prove  a  great  boon  to  the  country, 
as  well  as  a  source  of  profit  to  the  producers.  It  would  also  be  the  means  of  rendering  us 
altogether  independent  of  European  markets  and  of  their  fluctuations  for  oil  for  illuminating 
our  lighthouses,  in  case  of  a  failure  of  the  supply  from  the  sperm-whale  fishing-grounds,  and 
also  in  the  event  of  the  interruption  of  the  fisheries  and  of  commerce  by  war  with  a  power- 
ful maritime  State.  Should  the  agriculturists  of  this  country  not  commence  the  cultivation 
of  this  valuable  and  remunerative  product,  and  should  the  supply  of  sperm-oil  continue  to 
diminish  in  the  same  ratio  it  has  done  for  some  years  past,  this  government  will  be  reduced 
to  the  necessity  of  importing  rapeseed-oil  from  Europe  for  the  lighthouse  service. 

A  New  Oil  Plant. 

THE  small  tree  (Castigliona  lobata)  known  in  Peru  under  the  name  of  pioncello,  and  surco, 
huacho,  and  sambageque,  also  growing  wild  in  considerable  abundance  in  those  regions,  it 
has  been  ascertained,  yields  a  valuable  oil,  well  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  illumination. 
Its  beanlike  fruit  or  seeds,  when  roasted,  have  an  agreeable  flavor,  preferable  to  that  of  the 
olive.  When  eaten  raw,  the  ethereal  oil  generated  between  the  kernel  and  the  outer  skin  is 
a  strong  cathartic,  the  effects  of  which  can  only  be  counteracted  by  drinking  cold  water.  It 
has  been  ascertained  that  the  seeds  will  grow  in  Baltimore ;  and,  doubtless,  plantations  of 
this  tree  might  be  formed  in  many  parts  of  the  South,  from  which  vast  quantities  of  oil 
might  be  produced.  The  Patent  Office  has  taken  measures  to  procure  some  of  the  seeds  of 
this  tree  for  trial  in  the  South  and  South-west. 


Turpentine  Product  of  the  South. 

THE  following  is  the  report  of  a  committee  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  turpentine  pro- 
ducers of  Alabama,  in  December  last: — 

The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  resolution  upon  the  subject  of  the  cultivation  of 
turpentine,  &c.,  beg  leave  to  make  the  following  report: — That  the  character  of  the  soil  best 
adapted  to  the  production  of  the  turpentine-pine  should  be  of  light  and  porous  nature,  with 
a  subsoil  of  clay  capable  of  retaining  moisture.  The  pine  should  be  of  an  extended,  low- 
growing  top,  with  thick  bark  and  sapwood,  the  trees  not  to  stand  so  thickly  upon  the  land 
as  to  be  too  much  shaded  by  the  overgrowing  foliage.  The  number  of  boxes  to  be  cut  in  a 
tree  should  be  governed  by  the  size  of  the  same.  As  a  general  rule  for  cutting  boxes,  the 
committee  recommend  the  following  standard :  The  box  to  be  thirteen  inches  in  horizontal 
width,  three  and  a  half  inches  in  horizontal  depth,  and  seven  inches  in  perpendicular  depth. 
This  will  produce  a  box  of  the  capacity  of  one  and  a  quarter  quarts,  which,  after  a  few 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  253 

years'  use,  will  be  reduced  to  a  box  capable  of  containing. a  full  quart  only,  -which,  from  ex- 
perience, your  committee  believe  to  be  the  most  profitable  size.  Taking  a  tree  capable  of 
sustaining  two  boxes,  they  would  recommend  that  the  boxes  be  cut  side  by  side,  with  a  life- 
streak  of  bark  of  four  inches  intervening  between  them,  in  preference  to  cutting  them  oppo- 
site to  each  other,  and  that  one-third  or  more  of  the  bark  should  be  left  for  the  support  of 
the  tree,  the  boxes  to  be  cut  just  at  the  bulge  of  the  tree  near  the  root  of  the  same.  The 
corners  of  the  boxes  should  be  cut  out  with  the  inclination  of  the  face  of  the  box,  and  to  ex- 
tend in  a  line  perpendicular  to  the  outer  corners  of  the  same,  so  as  to  show  a  line  horizontal 
with  the  top  of  the  box,  the  object  of  chipping  being  to  expose  a  new  surface  of  the  pores  for 
the  exudation  of  the  turpentine.  The  cut  of  the  hacker  should  extend  a  half  inch  in  depth 
into  the  tree,  and  one-fourth  in  altitude,  and  the  chipping  should  be  renewed  once  a  week. 
The  best  instrument  for  the  purpose  is  the  hacker  with  a  small  bowl,  to  be  kept  exceedingly 
sharp,  and  the  best  instrument  for  sharpening  the  same  is  the  stone  known  as  the  Siam 
hone  or  slip. 

Your  committee  have  nothing  new  to  suggest  or  recommend  as  to  the  best  mode  of  dipping, 
or  the  best  instrument  for  that  purpose ;  but  in  reference  to  the  scrape  or  hard  turpentine, 
they  would  advise  the  use  of  cloths  instead  of  the  old-fashioned  box  for  receiving  the  same. 
The  committee  would  recommend  the  light  iron  axle  two-horse  wagon  as  the  most  expedi- 
tious and  economical  for  hauling  turpentine.  The  frame  for  the  barrels  should  be  made  of 
four-by-six-inch  scantling,  with  segments  of  circles  cut  therein,  one-half  across  the  upper 
face  of  the  same,  to  receive  the  ends  of  the  barrels,  with  two  interior  parallel  r:iils,  so  that 
when  either  end  of  a  barrel  is  removed  from  the  concave  which  it  occupies,  it  can  be  rolled 
from  the  wagon  on  a  smooth  surface.  The  committee  would  recommend  that  when  the  dis- 
tiller can  avail  himself  of  a  hill-side,  the  simplest  plan  to  elevate  turpentine  to  the  still  is  to 
extend  a  railway  from  the  top  of  the  hill  to  the  platform ;  if  upon  a  level  plain,  the  use  of 
the  marliine  employed  by  flour  mills  to  elevate  their  sacks  and  barrels  to  the  upper  stories 
of  the  mill,  the  said  machine  being  a  platform,  with  four  upright  posts,  with  a  roller  at  the 
end  of  each,  two  ropes  from  the  roof  of  the  still-house,  passing  beneath  said  rollers,  (one  on 
each  side,)  thence  through  sheave-blocks  and  around  a  cylinder  turned  by  a  crank  from  be- 
low. In  regard  to  preparing  the  turpentine  for  distillation,  we  refer  you  to  the  explanation 
made  by  a  member  of  the  committee  as  to  the  style  best  adapted  to  making  the  best  article 
of  rosin. 

The  experience  of  your  committee  would  lead  them  to  decide  in  favor  of  a  small  size  still, 
or  with  a  flat  and  greatly  extended  surface.  The  committee  would  recommend  that  in  dis- 
tilling, the  still  should  be  charged  to  only  two-thirds  its  capacity,  to  allow  for  the  expansion 
of  the  material  during  ebullition.  The  amount  of  water  to  be  supplied  should  be  equivalent 
to  the  amount  condensed  in  the  still-worm,  and  kept  in  the  same  ratio  as  long  as  the  spirit 
comes  over ;  and  should  the  still  have  a  tendency  to  boil  over,  an  increased  amount  of  fuel  is 
to  be  supplied  until  the  excessive  ebullition  ceases ;  the  heat  is  then  to  be  diminished,  and 
the  still  run  regularly  as  before.  Your  committee  deem  it  unnecessary  to  enlarge  on  this 
point,  as  they  presume  that  in  all  cases  of  new  beginners  a  practical  distiller  will  be 
employed. 

Your  committee  recommend,  in  addition  to  the  usual  mode  of  glueing  the  spirit  casks, 
that  the  casks,  being  partially  drained  after  each  glueing,  be  placed  upon  a  horizontal  plane, 
each  head  alternately  placed  upon  each  plane ;  and  would  further  recommend  the  use  of  the 
Scotch  glue  in  all  cases  in  which  the  distiller  is  unable  to  manufacture  his  own  glue  from 
good  sound  hides.  The  committee  would  recommend  that  in  making  barrels  and  casks,  the 
staves  and  heading  should  be  fully  dressed,  ready  for  the  truss-hoop,  and  be  permitted  to  re- 
main some  time  previous  to  being  made  into  barrels,  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  the  staves, 
&c.  to  shrink.  By  adopting  this  course  the  barrels  are  less  liable  to  leakage.  The  staves 
for  turpentine  barrels  should  be  thirty-two  inches  in  length,  the  head  to  be  worked  in  a 
twenty-inch  truss-hoop.  The  spirit  cask  should  contain  forty-five  gallons,  and  in  case  oak 
heading  cannot  be  obtained,  we  would  recommend  the  substitution  of  poplar  instead. 


254  THE  TEAR-BOOK  OF   AGRICULTURE. 

New  American  Gum. 

DURING  the  past  year  attention  has  been  called  to  a  new  gum,  known  synonymously  as 
Muckeet,  Mezqueet,  and  Musquit,  and  first  described  by  Dr.  S.  S.  Shumard,  U.  S.  Army.  This 
substance,  which  bids  fair  to  become  of  great  importance  as  a  substitute  for  gum  Arabic,  is 
the  product  of  a  tree  flourishing  extensively  in  the  high  and  dry  regions  of  the  plains  of 
Western  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  the  adjacent  Indian  Territory.  It  occurs  in  inexhaustible 
quantities,  and  will  no  doubt  in  time  prove  a  valuable  source  of  revenue  to  the  inhabitants 
of  Texas  and  New  Mexico,  besides  affording  employment  to  the  different  tribes  of  Indians 
now  roving  upon  the  plains,  many  of  whom  would  no  doubt  be  glad  to  gather  and  deliver  it 
to  the  different  frontier  posts  for  a  very  small  compensation. 

In  relation  to  the  tree  from  which  this  gum  is  obtained,  Dr.  Shumard  says : — The  mezquite- 
tree,  from  which  this  gum  is  obtained,  is  by  far  the  most  abundant  tree  of  the  plains,  cover- 
ing thousands  of  miles  of  the  surface,  and  always  flourishes  most  luxuriantly  in  elevated  and 
dry  regions.  The  gum  exudes  spontaneously  in  a  semifluid  state  from  the  bark  of  the  trunk 
and  branches,  and  soon  hardens  by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  forming  more  or  less  rounded 
and  variously-colored  masses,  each  weighing  from  a  few  grains  to  several  ounces.  These 
soon  bleach  and  whiten  upon  exposure  to  the  light  of  the  sun,  finally  becoming  nearly  color- 
less, semi-transparent,  and  often  filled  with  minute  fissures.  Specimens  collected  from  the 
trunks  of  the  trees  were  generally  found  to  be  less  pure  and  more  highly  colored  than  when 
obtained  from  the  branches. 

The  gum  may  be  collected  during  the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September ;  but  the 
most  favorable  period  for  that  purpose  is  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  when  it  may  be  ob- 
tained in  the  greatest  abundance  and  with  but  very  little  trouble.  The  quantity  yielded  by 
each  tree  I  found  to  vary  from  an  ounce  to  three  pounds ;  but  incisions  in  the  bark  not  only 
greatly  facilitated  its  exudation,  but  caused  the  tree  to  yield  a  much  greater  amount.  As  it, 
is,  a  good  hand  will  probably  be  able  to  collect  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds  in  a  day.  Were 
incisions  resorted  to,  probably  double  the  amount  may  be  obtained. 

The  following  is  a  report  of  the  chemical  examination  of  this  gum,  as  made  under  the 
direction  of  Mr.  Morffit,  of  Baltimore.  In  a  communication  to  Silliman's  Journal,  Mr.  M. 
says- 
It  is  a  spontaneous  semifluid  exudation,  concreting  by  exposure  into  tears  and  lumps  of  va- 
riable size  and  form.  One  sample,  which  was  a  part  of  that  brought  in  by  Dr.  Shumard,  and 
obtained  directly  from  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  consisted  of  small,  irregular  pieces 
and  rounded  balls  about  the  size  of  a  hazlenut,  semi-transparent,  and  shading  in  color  from 
a  lemon  white  to  dark  amber.  When  broken,  the  fracture  faces  were  brilliant ;  and  the  gum 
was  easily  reduced  under  the  pestle  to  a  dull,  white  powder.  One  of  the  balls  was  enveloped 
with  an  outer  pellicle  of  gum  of  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 

These  proportions  approximate  very  closely  to  those  obtained  from  gums  Senegal  and 
Arabic  by  Guerin  and  Mulder.  The  general  appearance,  too,  of  the  gum  is  similar  to  that 
of  gum  Senegal,  and  the  dark  inferior  qualities  of  gum  Arabic.  In  chemical  properties 
also  it  is  allied  to  them,  being  insoluble  in  absolute  alcohol,  partially  soluble  in  common 
alcohol,  and  readily  forming  with  hot  or  cold  water  a  very  adhesive  mucilage.  It  is,  in  fine, 
a  true  gum ;  and  promises,  in  its  physical  and  chemical  behavior,  much  of  the  advantage 
expected  by  its  discoverer  as  an  economical  substitute  for  gum  Arabic  or  Senegal. 

The  specific  gravity  of  the  gum  was  1  -5,  but  this  determination  may  possibly  admit  of  cor- 
rection upon  purer  samples  than  were  disposable  for  the  experiment. 

Its  proximate  composition  was  found  to  be — 

Water 11-640 

Foreign  matters 0-236 

Bassorin 0-206 

Arabin 84-967 

Ash 3-000 

100-049 

Cerasin  was  also  sought  for,  but  not  found.  The  ash  was  estimated  by  burning  a  given 
quantity  in  an  atmosphere  of  oxygen  and  weighing  the  residue. 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  255 

The  ultimate  analysis,  made  also  by  effecting  combustion  of  the  carefully-dried  gum  in 
oxygen  gas,  yielded,  in  two  separate  experiments,  the  following  numbers: — 

Carbon 43'63 43-10 

Hydrogen 6-11 6-50 

Oxygen 47'26 47.40 

Ash 3-00. 3-00 

100-00  100-00 

The  following  additional  information  respecting  this  tree  is  given  by  the  Boston  Journal : — 
Kunth  notices  a  Prosopis  dulcis  which  resembles  in  appearance  the  tree  spoken  of  by  Dr. 
S.,  and  remarks  that  it  "yields  a  gum  (Mezquitina)  which  is  used  instead  of  gum  Arabic," 
and  many  have  erroneously  supposed  the  two  to  be  identical.  The  botanical  name  of  the 
commonly-known  mezquite-tree  is  given  by  Professor  Spencer  F.  Baird,  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institute,  as  Algarabia  glandulosce.  Dr.  Shumard  states  that  it  luxuriates  only  in  dry  and 
elevated  regions ;  but  all  other  accounts,  including  that  in  the  report  of  Captain  Marcy,  state 
that  its  home  is  in  the  "river-bottoms,"  and  its  presence  is  generally  considered  as  evidence 
of  a  rich  soil.  Captain  M.  states  that  it  is  eeen  standing  at  such  intervals  as  to  present  much 
the  appearance  of  an  immense  peach-orchard.  They  are  from  five  to  ten  inches  in  diameter, 
and  their  stocks  about  ten  feet  in  length.  It  is  found  on  the  river  Gila,  and  plentifully  on 
the  Colorado.  The  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande  produce  some,  as  indeed  do  most  of  the  rivers 
of  the  northern  part  of  Texas.  It  is  said  to  exist  in  forests  of  miles  in  extent  in  Northern 
California.  Like  many  of  the  plants  of  that  latitude,  its  fruit  is  seen  in  blossom  and  in  ma- 
turity at  the  same  period.  It  is  first  recognised  by  the  Pacific-bound  emigrant  as  a  stinted 
shrub,  but  as  he  approaches  his  destination,  it  is  seen  only  in  a  tree  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in 
height. 

The  gum  is,  however,  not  the  only  valuable  product  of  this  tree.  Mules  devour  with 
avidity  the  fruit,  which  is  contained  in  a  pod  of  a  twisted  appearance,  beinjr  a  berry  of  the  size 
of  a  bean,  each  covered  with  a  mealy  pulp.  Lieut.  A.  W.  Whipple,  of  U.  S.  Corps  Topographical 
Engineers,  observing  its  peculiar  effect  upon  them,  was  induced  to  examine  it,  and  found  that 
each  berry  possessed  an  intense  strin^i-nt  property.  The  Indians  and  Mexicans  are  in  the 
habit  of  boiling  its  chips  in  water,  and  with  the  decoction  dyeing  articles  of  apparel,  &c.  The 
tree  certainly  belongs  to  the  class  Mimosa,  as  does  the  acacia-tree,  from  which  gum  Arabic 
is  obtained  ;  and  from  the  similar  properties,  not  only  of  the  gum  but  the  wood  and  bark,  wo 
may  practically  regard  the  two  as  alike.  The  gum  may  be  procured  during  the  month  of 
August  in  large  quantities,  and  brought  to  market  with  trivial  expenses,  and  bids  fair  not  only 
to  lessen  our  importations  of  gum  Arabic,  but  in  a  few  years  to  enable  us  to  export  with 
advantage. 

Cultivation  of  Quina  in  Java. 

SOME  time  since,  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Miquel,  of  Amsterdam,  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment undertook  the  cultivation  of  the  Quina  or  Peruvian  bark-tree  in  Java.  The  experi- 
ment, by  the  last  accounts,  has  proved  entirely  successful.  The  young  plantations  established 
in  the  mountains  thrive  extremely  well.  Lately,  M.  Karl  arrived  in  Java  with  a  whole  ship- 
load full  of  young  plants  and  seeds  from  Peru ;  so  that  in  a  few  years  Java  will  be  able  to  sup- 
ply almost  as  much  Quina-bark  as  is  wanted,  which  is  the  more  a  matter  of  congratulation, 
as  the  Quina  forests  in  South  America  are  fast  approaching  their  entire  extermination. 

On  the  Cultivation,  Uses,  and  Analyses  of  Madder. 

AN  important  communication  has  recently  been  published  by  Mr.  Carnes,  of  Lowell,  show- 
ing the  results  of  an  investigation  undertaken  with  a  view  of  discovering  the  reason  of  the 
superiority  of  the  French  or  Avignon  madders  over  all  others.  By  the  addition  of  carbonate 
of  lime,  the  Turkish  madders  are  greatly  improved  in  color;  but  the  French  madders,  as 
imported,  ground  for  use,  need  no  such  addition.  The  object  of  the  investigation  was  to 
show  whether  there  existed  in  the  French  madders  a  larger  amount  of  carbonate  of  lime  than 
in  the  other  varieties. 


256  THE   YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

There  are  several  theories  as  to  the  function  of  the  chalk,  or  carbonate  of  lime ;  by  some, 
it  is  supposed  to  act  by  saturating  an  acid  present;  by  others,  it  is  thought  that  the  combi- 
nation of  two  different  bases  with  the  coloring  matter  gives  much  more  solidity  to  the  dye, 
in  consequence  probably  of  a  greater  insolubility  in  the  compound  formed.  Experiments 
made  in  Germany  seem  to  prove  that  in  all  instances  of  ifiadder-dyeing  under  the  influence 
of  chalk,  a  certain  amount  of  lime  becomes  added  to  the  aluminous  mordant,  and  in  a  subse- 
quent clearing  with  a  soap-bath  some  of  the  alumina  is  removed,  and  there  remains  upon 
the  fibre  of  the  cloth  the  two  earths — lime  and  alumina,  in  atomic  proportions,  or  nearly 
so.  The  madders  subjected  to  analysis  were  American,  Avignon,  and  Turkey.  The  American 
was  grown  in  Montague,  Massachusetts,  on  the  farm  of  Martin  H.  Clapp,  and  the  roots  used 
were  of  four  years'  growth.  The  land  upon  which  it  was  grown  is  the  "interval"  lying 
near  the  Connecticut  River;  it  was  treated  with  twenty  loads  of  strong  green  manure,  and  one 
hundred  pounds  of  plaster  to  the  acre ;  Indian  corn  was  grown  upon  it  the  year  previous  to 
planting  with  madder.  The  next  year  the  manure  and  plaster  were  applied  as  before,  and 
the  madder-roots  planted.  The  crop  was  cultivated  the  last  three  years  in  the  same  manner 
as  potatoes,  with  the  addition  of  one  shovelful  of  well-rotted  manure  and  a  little  plaster  to 
each  hill,  late  in  the  autumn  of  each  year.  The  different  samples  were  burned  in  a  muffle, 
without  regard  to  the  percentage  amount  of  ash  which  each  variety  yielded. 

The  different  ashes  were  found  to  consist  of — 

American.                  French.  Turkey. 

Chloride  of  sodium 2-61  3-76 4-71 

Carbonate  of  potassa 7'45  4-40  5-50 

Carbonate  of  soda 39-23  9-78  22-71 

Silica 8-48  25-86  27'71 

Phosphate  of  lime 12-75  19-75  17'85 

Carbonate  of  lime 23'39  32-76  18-35 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 6-05   (?)     3*14 

Alumina —    3-66  (?) 

99-96  99-97  99-97 

The  American  madder,  when  treated  with  from  four  to  six  per  cent,  of  chalk,  gives  colors 
every  way  superior  to  the  best  French.  The  "pinks"  and  "roses"  stand  the  process  d'Avi- 
sage,  furnishing  colors  which  are  more  "pink"  and  "rosy"  than  the  French;  it  also  furnishes 
a  purple  of  a  much  more  desirable  shade  than  that  obtained  from  the  French.  Used  in  equal 
weights,  the  American  gives  deeper  colors  than  the  French,  showing  a  greater  percentage  of 
coloring  matter.  The  ground  French  madder,  as  imported,  will,  if  treated  with  an  addi- 
tional amount  of  carbonate  of  lime,  furnish  colors  which  are  inferior  to  those  produced  by  the 
Bame  article  without  this  addition. 

The  French  madder  will,  if  treated  with  a  dilute  acid,  effervesce  strongly.  This  effer- 
vescence will  not  take  place  by  treating  any  other  of  the  ground  woods  or  plants  used  in 
dyeing  in  the  same  way,  and  seems  to  indicate  the  presence  of  a  free  carbonate.  The  Dutch 
madders  have  always  needed  an  addition  of  carbonate  of  lime  to  produce  brilliant  and  "fast" 
colors,  but  within  a  few  years  Dutch  madders  have  been  imported,  ground  on  the  French  pro- 
cess. These  do  not  need  any  addition  of  carbonate  of  lime.  The  Dutch  madders,  as  formerly 
imported,  will  not  effervesce  when  treated  with  a  dilute  acid.  The  new  "Dutch  roots 
ground  on  the  French  process,"  when  treated  in  the  same  manner,  show  evident  signs  of  the 
presence  of  a  carbonate. 

It  would  seem  as  if  all  that  is  needed  to  obtain  as  good  a  reputation  for  the  American 
madders  as  any  in  the  world,  is  to  have  them  ground  on  the  French  process,  which,  from  the 
deportment  of  the  different  varieties  of  madder  when  treated  with  carbonate  of  lime,  would 
lead  to  the  supposition  that  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  carbonate  of  lime  added  to  the  best 
French  roots  during  the  process  of  grinding. 

There  seems  to  be  a  fair  inducement  for  the  farmers  and  growers  of  New  England  to  culti- 
vate madder;  for  although  Mr.  Clapp  labored  under  many  disadvantages,  such  as  building 
and  procuring  an  entire  set  of  apparatus,  drying  kilns,  &c.,  and  obtaining  but  about  one- 
third  of  a  crop  from  his  land  as  compared  with  the  crops  raised  in  Western  New  York,  still 
he  lost  only  the  interest  on  the  land  cultivated. 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  257 

Culture  of  Madder.— Mr.  Russel  Bronson,  of  Birmingham,  Huron  county,  Ohio,  a  success- 
ful cultivator  of  madder,  has  published  a  communication  upon  this  subject,  which  contains 
the  following  information : — 

"A  location  facing  the  south  or  south-east,  is  to  be  preferred.  A  sandy  loam,  not  over 
stiff  and  heavy  or  light  and  sandy,  or  a  good  brown,  deep,  rich  upland  loam,  free  from  foul 
grass,  weeds,  stones,  or  stumps  of  trees.  Where  a  crop  of  potatoes,  peas,  corn,  or  wheat 
has  been  cultivated  the  past  season,  plow  deep  twice,  once  in  September  and  once  in  Octo- 
ber, and  if  rather  stiff,  let  it  lie  after  the  plow  until  spring.  When  the  spring  opens,  and 
the  ground  has  become  dry  and  warm,  plow  again  deep,  the  deeper  the  better ;  then  harrow 
well,  and  strike  it  into  ridges,  with  a  one-horse  plow,  three  feet  wide  and  four  feet  vacant,  or 
making  a  ridge  once  in  seven  feet,  raising  it,  if  on  rather  moist  ground,  eight  or  ten  inches, 
and  if  on  dry  land,  six  or  eight  from  the  natural  level ;  then,  with  a  light  harrow,  level  and 
shape  the  ridges  like  a  well-formed  bed  of  beets,  &c. 

We  will  suppose  you  intend  to  plant  one  acre  of  ground,  and  that  you  have  purchased 
eight  bushels  of  tap-roots  in  the  fall,  and  buried  them  like  potatoes  on  your  premises ;  count 
the  ridges  on  your  acre,  and  take  out  of  the  ground  one  bushel  of  roots  and  plant  it  on  one 
eighth  of  your  ridges ;  you  will  then  be  able  to  ascertain  how  to  proportion  your  roots  for  the 
remainder. 

The  following  is  the  manner  of  planting,  cultivating,  &c.,  when  the  quantities  of  ground  do 
not  exceed  three  or  four  acres.  One  person  on  each  side  of  the  ridge  to  make  the  holes, 
(plant  four  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  bed,  or  thereabouts,  when  covered,)  one  on  each 
side  to  drop  the  roots,  and  one  on  each  side  to  cover,  pressing  the  hill  in  the  manner  of  plant- 
ing corn ;  or  three  persons  may  be  placed  on  one  side,  as  the  case  may  be,  whether  you  have 
one  or  more  acres  to  plant.  Let  the  owner  be  the  dropper  of  roots,  and  his  most  thorough  assist- 
ant behind  him.  Make  the  holes  from  twelve  to  ten  inches  apart,  and  about  six  inches  from 
the  edge  of  the  ridge.  As  the  plants  are  supposed  to  have  been  purchased  in  the  fall,  the  roots 
may  have  thrown  out  sprouts,  and  possibly  have  leaved.  In  this  case,  in  dropping  and 
covering,  you  will  leave  the  most  prominent  sprouts  a  little  out  of  the  ground,  as  where  a 
plant  has  leaved,  it  ought  not  to  be  smothered. 

When  the  plant  gets  up  three  or  four  inches,  weed  with  the  hoe,  and  plow  with  one  horse 
between  the  ridges  or  beds,  but  not  on  them ;  this  will  take  place  two  or  three  weeks  after 
planting.  When  up  twelve  or  fifteen  inches,  many  of  the  tops  will  fall ;  assist  them  with 
ten-feet  poles  crossing  the  beds,  covering  with  a  shovel  or  garden-rake,  throwing  the  soil 
from  between  the  ridges.  After  loosening  with  the  one-horse  plow,  you  will,  with  a  shovel, 
scatter  the  earth  between  the  stalks,  rather  than  throw  it  into  heaps ;  of  course  we  wish  to 
keep  the  stalks  separate,  as  they  are  to  form  new  and  important  roots  in  the  centre  of  the 
beds.  About  the  20th  of  June  you  may  plow  between  the  beds,  and  scatter  more  earth  on 
the  fresh  tops,  (all  but  the  ends,)  and  when  you  get  through,  you  may  plant  potatoes  between 
the  beds,  if  you  please.  I  do  not  recommend  it,  if  you  have  plenty  of  land,  although  I  raised 
1,070  bushels  of  pink-eyes  on  eight  acres  the  first  year,  and  sixty  bushels  of  corn.  If  your 
land  is  perfectly  clear  of  weeds,  you  are  through  with  your  labor  on  the  madder  crop  for 
this  year,  except  in  latitudes  where  there  is  not  much  snow  and  considerable  frost;  in  this 
case,  cover  in  October,  two  inches  or  thereabouts.  Second  year,  some  operations  in  weeding, 
but  no  crop  between ;  cover  once  in  June.  Third  year,  weed  only.  Fourth  year,  weed  in  the 
spring,  if  a  weedy  piece  of  ground. 

Begin  to  plow  out  the  roots  in  Tennessee  (three  years  old)  first  of  September ;  Ohio,  (four 
years,)  same  time ;  New  York,  15th  or  20th,  after  cutting  off  the  tops  with  a  sharp  hoe.  In 
plowing  out  the  roots,  use  a  heavy  span  of  horses  and  a  large  plow.  We  ought  to  choose  a 
soil  neither  too  wet  nor  to«  dry,  too  stiff  or  light.  Shake  the  dirt  from  the  roots,  and  rinse 
or  wash,  as  the  soil  may  be  stiff  or  light;  dry  in  a  common  hop-kiln;  grind  them  in  a  mill 
similar  to  Wilson's  patent  coffee-mill;  this  mill  weighs  from  one  to  two  pounds.  The  madder 
mill  may  be  from  sixty  to  eighty  pounds  weight.  Grind  coarse,  and  fan  in  a  fanning-mill  : 
then  grind  again  for  market.  The  profit  of  this  crop  is  immense ;  the  exhaustion  of  soil 
trifling,  and  glutting  the  market  out  of  the  question. 

As  the  tops  of  the  plants  spread  very  much,  some  advise  placing  them  in  hills,  somewhat 

17 


258  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

like  Indian  corn,  four  and  even  six  feet  apart  each  way,  and  two  plants  in  each  hill." — New 
England  Farmer. 

On  the  Cultivation  and  Production  of  Sumach, 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  Scientific  American  furnishes  the  following  information  relative 
to  the  sumach,  several  varieties  of  which  grow  spontaneously  in  our  own  country : — Sicilian 
sumach  is  imported  largely  into  this  country  from  Messina  and  Palermo,  arid  some  of  in- 
ferior quality  is  also  used,  which  is  grown  in  Germany  and  Trieste ;  if  the  sumach  of  this 
country  can  supply  its  place,  the  object  would  be  worthy  of  the  attention  of  our  agriculturists. 

Sumach  is  extensively  used  in  morocco-tanning,  in  calico-printing  and  dyeing.  There  are 
three  species  used  in  dyeing — the  Rhus  glabrum,  the  Rhus  coriceria,  and  the  Rhus  cotinus. 
The  first  two  only  are  used  in  tanning.  The  first  is  the  common  sumach  of  North  America, 
and  is  much  used  by  our  country  dyers,  and,  to  a  limited  extent,  by  our  tanners.  The  an- 
nual shoots  or  peduncles,  with  their  leaves,  are  gathered,  and  in  this  country  are  mostly  used 
without  grinding. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  most  astringent  vegetables,  or  those  containing  the  largest  por- 
tion of  gallic  acid,  are  brought  from  warm  climates;  and  the  following  facts  will  prove  that  the 
quality  of  the  sumach  depends  on  the  warmth  of  the  climate  in  which  it  grows.  The  sumach 
in  Europe  is  the  Rhus  coriceria.  That  which  is  grown  in  the  north  of  Europe,  and  imported 
from  Trieste,  is  no  better  than  our  Northern  sumach,  excepting  a  small  portion  grown  in  the 
Tyrol,  and  even  this  is  not  superior  to  the  best  American  grown  in  New  Jersey ;  whereas 
that  grown  in  Sicily,  Syria,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  where  it  is  cultivated  with  great  care,  is 
found  by  experience  to  be  vastly  superior  to  that  from  Trieste,  and  sells  much  higher.  A 
similar  difference  is  observable  in  the  sumach  grown  in  this  country.  That  from  the  south- 
ern side  of  New  Jersey  is  superior  to  the  New  York,  and  that  from  Virginia  to  the  New  Jer- 
sey ;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  if  raised  in  the  Southern  States,  dried  with  care,  and  ground 
fine,  it  would  be  equal  to  the  best  imported. 

Sumach  should  be  cut  or  gathered  in  clear  weather,  and  should  be  so  spread  on  a  floor  as  to 
dry  rapidly;  for,  if  only  a  small  part  should  ferment,  the  whole  mass  will  be  seriously  injured. 
It  should  be  finely  ground  when  dry,  and  packed  in  bags.  No  rain  or  dew  should  fall  on  it 
after  cutting,  for  even  the  damp  from  the  hold  of  a  ship  will  greatly  injure  its  quality. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  American  sumach  will  not  reproduce  from  the  seed,  and  if  this 
be  true,  there  would  be  some  difficulty  in  extending  the  article  to  a  great  extent  by  field  cul- 
tivation. Sumach  is  said  to  be  hybridous,  in  which  case  plants  from  Sicily  planted  among 
our  glabrum  would  enable  the  seed  of  both  to  reproduce,  and  in  this  way  the  cultivation 
might  be  extended  at  pleasure. 

The  Rhus  cotinus,  or  Venice  sumach,  is  also  an  important  article  in  dyeing.  It  is  known 
in  England  as  young  fustic ;  the  stem  and  trunk  of  the  shrub,  and  the  root,  are  extensively 
used  in  Europe  for  dyeing  golden  and  orange-yellows.  The  leaves  and  stalk,  when  bruised, 
have  an  aromatic,  but  pungent  and  acid  scent.  The  plant  is  grown  in  our  nurseries,  and  sold 
as  an  ornamental  shrub.  It  is  by  some  called  the  fringe-tree,  and  by  others  the  burning-bush. 

The  cotinus  is  cultivated  by  layers.  The  stalks  sent  to  market  in  Europe  are  from  one  to 
two  inches  in  diameter,  with  the  bark  taken  off.  There  is  considerable  white  sap  outside, 
and  dark -yellow  and  orange-colored  rings  inside,  the  latter  being  the  coloring  matter.  The 
leaves  from  this  wood,  when  cut,  are  gathered,  dried,  and  ground  with  the  other  sumach. 

The  Neio  York  Tribune  has  the  following  article  upon  the  production  of  sumach : — 

"I  was  brought  Tip  to  the  woollen  business  in  Western  Massachusetts,  and  have  not  only 
cut  and  cured,  but  used  tons  of  sumach  as  an  ingredient  for  dyeing.  The  only  reason  why 
American  sumach  is  inferior  to  the  imported  article  is  that  old  growths  are  used.  If  it  is  cut 
every  year  and  nothing  but  the  new  growth  saved,  it  is  doubtless  equal  to  that  which  comes 
from  abroad.  Foreigners,  who  make  it  an  article  of  commerce,  cut,  cure,  and  sell  the  growth 
of  each  year,  so  that  it  is  full  of  coloring  matter.  We  used  to  cut  over  our  growth  each 
year,  and  thus  keeping  it  down,  the  sprouts  were  abundant  and  of  the  first  quality.  Sumach 
generally  grows  in  rocky,  worthless  land,  and,  if  managed  properly,  will  yield  more  value  in 
sumach  than  it  could  be  made  to  produce  in  any  other  crop  with  the  addition  of  careful  and 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  259 

expensive  culture.  The  rocky  dells  and  worthless  hillsides  of  Hampden  and  Berkshire  coun- 
ties in  Massachusetts,  yield,  or  if  properly  kept  down  would  yield,  all  the  sumach  that  the 
entire  State  would  use  with  all  her  morocco  and  cloth  manufacture ;  and  could  be  cut  and 
cured  by  berry-picking  school-boys.  I  did  it  before  I  was  old  enough  to  be  of  any  service 
in  working  a  ship  to  import  it.  But  nine-tenths  of  the  population,  whose  children  industri- 
ously pick  blackberries  and  whortleberries  to  buy  straw  hats  and  school-books,  are  not 
aware  that  sumach  is  of  any  earthly  use,  and  would  gladly  avail  themselves  of  its  profit,  if 
informed. 

"It  should  be  cut  just  before  frost  comes,  and  cured  like  corn-stalks,  and  when  dry  cut  by 
means  of  a  straw-cutting  machine,  leaves,  sticks,  and  all,  and  put  into  sacks  for  market ;  or 
it  might  be  ground  fine  in  a  bark-mill.  If  cut  close  to  the  ground,  several  sprouts  will  grow, 
four  feet  high,  from  the  stump  in  a  season.  This  is  the  sumach  of  commerce." 

The  Rice-paper  Plant  of  China. 

THE  following  description  of  the  celebrated  rice-paper  plant  of  China,  is  derived  from  a 
recent  article  by  Mr.  Fortune : — 

"  In  April,  1854,  the  steamer  in  which  I  was  a  passenger  dropped  her  anchor  a  little  way 
up  one  of  the  rivers  on  the  north-east  part  of  Formosa.  As  this  was  my  first  visit  to  this 
fine  island,  and  as  I  knew  we  had  only  a  short  time  to  stay,  I  lost  no  time  in  going  on  shore. 
Before  leaving  the  vessel  I  had  been  examining  with  a  spy-glass  some  large  white  flowers 
which  grew  on  the  banks  and  on  the  hillsides,  and  I  now  went  in  that  direction,  in  order  to 
ascertain  what  they  were.  When  I  reached  the  spot  where  they  were  growing,,  they  proved 
to  be  very  fine  specimens  of  Lilium  japonicum — the  largest  and  most  vigorous  I  had  ever  seen. 
As  I  was  admiring  these  beautiful  lilies,  which  were  growing  as  wild  as  the  primroses  in  our 
woods  in  England,  another  plant  of  far  more  interest  caught  my  eye.  This  was  nothing  less 
than  the  rice-paper  plant — the  species  which  produces  the  far-famed  rice-paper  of  China, 
named  by  Sir  W.  Hooker  Aralia  papyrifcra.  It  was  growing  apparently  wild ;  but  the  site 
may  have  been  an  old  plantation,  which  was  now  overgrown  with  weeds  and  brushwood.  The 
largest  specimens  which  came  under  my  notice  were  about  five  or  six  feet  in  height,  and  from 
six  to  three  inches  in  circumference  at  the  base,  but  nearly  of  an  equal  thickness  all  up  the 
stem.  The  stems,  usually  bare  all  the  way  up,  were  crowned  at  the  top  with  a  number  of 
noble-looking  palmate  leaves,  on  long  foot-stalks,  which  gave  to  the  plant  a  very  ornamental 
appearance.  The  under-side  of  each  leaf,  its  foot-stalk,  and  the  top  part  of  the  stem,  which 
was  clasped  by  these  stalks,  were  densely  covered  with  down  of  a  rich  brown  color,  which 
readily  came  off  upon  any  substance  with  which  it  came  in  contact.  I  did  not  meet  with  any 
plant  in  flower  during  my  ramble,  but  it  is  probable  the  plant  flowers  at  a  later  period  of 
the  year.  The  proportion  of  pith  in  these  stems  is  very  great,  particularly  near  the  top  of 
vigorous-growing  ones,  and  it  is  from  this  pure  white  substance  that  the  beautiful  article 
erroneously  called  rice-paper  is  prepared.  The  Chinese  call  this  plant  the  Tung-tsaou.  What 
it  was,  or  to  what  part  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  it  belonged,  was  long  a  mystery  to  botanists, 
who  were  oftentimes  sadly  misled  by  imaginary  Chinese  drawings,  as  some  of  those  which 
have  been  published  will  clearly  show,  now  that  our  knowledge  has  increased. 

"  The  Tung-tsaou  is  largely  cultivated  in  many  parts  of  the  island  of  Formosa,  and  with  rice 
and  camphor  forms  one  of  the  chief  articles  of  export.  Mr.  Bowring,  who  read  a  paper  upon 
the  rice-paper  plant^  before  the  China  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  informs  us  that 
the  Canton  and  Fokien  provinces  are  the  chief  consumers,  and  that  the  town  of  Foo-chow 
alone  is  supposed  to  take  annually  not  less  than  $30,000  worth  of  this  curious  production. 
The  cheapness  of  this  paper  in  the  Chinese  market,  as  Mr.  Bowring  justly  remarks,  is  evi- 
dence of  the  abundance  of  the  plant  in  its  place  of  growth,  and  more  especially  of  the  cheap- 
ness of  labor.  '  That  one  hundred  sheets  of  this  material,  (each  about  three  inches  square,) 
certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  delicate  substances  with  which  we  are  acquainted, 
should  be  procurable  for  the  small  sum  of  \\d.  or  l$d.,  is  truly  astonishing;  and  when  once 
the  attention  of  foreigners  is  directed  to  it,  it  will  doubtless  be  in  considerable  request  among 
workers  in  artificial  flowers  in  Europe  and  America,  being  admirably  adapted  to  their 


260  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

wants.'     The  larger  sheets,  such  as  those  used  by  the  Canton  flower-painters,  are  sold  for 
about  l\d.  each. 

"  If  the  Tung-tsaou  proves  hardy  in  England,  its  fine  foliage  will  render  it  a  favorite  among 
ornamental  plants  in  our  gardens." 

Healthiness  of  the  Roots  of  Plants  Essential  to  their  Successful  Growth, 

THE  following,  from  the  Floricultural  Cabinet,  is  a  valuable  contribution  giyen  upon  the 
authority  of  the  most  distinguished  physiological  botanists,  and  doubtless  represent!  the 
truth,  at  least  in  part,  in  regard  to  the  absorbent  powers  of  roots,  and  the  ascent  of  sap  in 
plants.  The  objection  in  regard  to  mulching  would  hold  good  where  rich,  warm  manures 
are  used,  such  as  horse-dung ;  but  not  so  where  straw,  leaves,  salt-hay,  or  other  rough  refuse 
material  are  employed. — Ed.  Working  Farmer. 

As  the  roots  of  plants  are  the  chief  medium  through  which  they  receive  nourishment, 
some  account  of  their  structure,  and  of  the  curious  and  simple  mode  by  which  they  effect 
their  object,  will,  I  hope,  prove  of  some  utility  to  the  readers  hereof. 

The  root  may  be  defined  to  be  that  portion  of  a  plant  which  grows  in  an  opposite  direc- 
tion to  the  stem,  and  differing  from  the  latter  in  its  remarkable  downward  tendency  and 
from  its  disposition  to  shun  the  light  of  day.  So  powerful,  indeed,  is  this  disposition  to 
descend,  "that  no  known  force  is  sufficient  to  overcome  it."  The  chief  object  of  the  root 
appears  to  be  that  of  fixing  the  plant  firmly  in  the  earth,  and  of  taking  up  a  supply  of  moist- 
ure from  the  humid  medium  by  which  it  is  surrounded.  It  usually  consists  of  several  rami- 
fications, from  the  sides  and  extremities  of  which,  without  apparent  order  or  regularity, 
proceed  an  indefinite  number  of  delicate  fibrils  with  spongy  points.  N9W  these  fibrils  are 
the  only  true  roots,  and  to  their  soft  extremities  (spongelets)  is  consigned  the  whole  office 
of  absorbing  fluid ;  the  more  woody  portion  of  the  root  merely  serving  as  canals  to  convey 
the  fluid  thus  obtained  to  the  upper  part  of  the  plant.  The  roots  generally  pierce  the  soil  in 
a  downward  or  horizontal  direction,  according  to  the  individual  habit,  but  more  especially  in 
that  course  which  offers  the  least  resistance  and  yields  the  greatest  quantity  of  soluble  food. 
Hence  the  propriety  of  mulching  is,  by  some  gardeners,  called  into  question,  because  the 
richness  of  the  mulching  material,  and  the  warmth  produced  by  its  fermentation,  has  a  ten- 
dency to  attract  to  the  surface  the  young  fibrils.  And  then,  upon  the  removal  of  the  manure 
employed  in  the  operation,  their  extremely  succulent  and  tender  tips  become  exposed  to  the 
influence  of  drought,  &c.,  than  which  nothing  can  be  more  injurious,  as  it  quickly  destroys 
their  absorbing  power,  and  thus  deprives  the  plant  of  its  chief  source  of  nourishment.  It 
has  been  said  that  the  fibrils  are  the  only  true  roots,  and  that  the  feeding  function  is  chiefly 
confined  to  the  lax  tissue  of  their  extreme  points.  That,  this  is  really  the  case  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  cause  to  doubt,  or  why  should  the  success  of  planting  depend  so  materially 
upon  their  preservation  ?  it  being  a  well-known  fact  that  subjects  of  any  size,  such  as  fruit- 
trees,  are  invariably  less  prolific  the  first  season  after  transplantation,  than  on  the  previous 
and  ensuing  years.  Why  these  little  spongelets  should  possess  the  power  of  absorbing  moist- 
ure with  great  force,  and  of  transmitting  it  to  every  part  of  the  plant,  is  a  curious  question, 
and  has  given  rise  to  many  ingenious  conjectures.  But  it  has  at  length  been  satisfactorily 
answered  by  that  clever  French  author,  M.  Dutrocet.  If  a  small  glass-tube,  having  its  end 
covered  with  a  piece  of  bladder,  be  partially  filled  with  gum-water,  and  then  plunged  into 
simple  water,  sufficient  to  wet  the  outside  of  the  bladder,  the  latter  will  be  permeated  by  the 
water,  and  the  volume  within  the  tube  will  continue  to  increase,  so  long  as  the  density  of  the 
fluids  on  each  side  of  the  intervening  membrane  remains  unequal.  "  But  there  is  also  a  con- 
trary current  to  less  amount — the  interior  fluid  passing  out  to  mix  with  the  surrounding 
water."  The  first  and  more  powerful  of  these  currents  is  called  endosmose,  (flow  inwards,) 
and  the  second  and  less  powerful,  exosmose,  (flow  outwards.)  The  cause  of  their  motion 
was  by  Dutrocet  referred  to  galvanism ;  but  it  is  now  more  generally  believed  to  arise  from 
"the  attraction  exerted  between  the  particles  of  the  different  fluids  employed,  as  they  meet 
in  the  porous  membrane." — Dr.  Reid. 

"  Now  the  conditions  requisite  for  this  action  are  two  fluids  of  different  densities,  separated 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  261 

by  a  septem  or  partition  of  a  porous  character.  This  we  find  in  the  roots.  The  fluid  in  their 
interior  is  rendered  denser  than  the  water  around  by  an  admixture  of  the  descending  sap  ;  and 
the  spongiole  (or  spongelet)  supplies  the  place  of  a  partition.  Thus,  then,  as  long  as  this  dif- 
ference of  density  is  maintained,  the  absorption  of  fluid  may  continue.  But  if  the  rise  of  the 
sap  is  due  to  the  action  of  endosmose,  there  ought  also  to  be  an  exosmose.  This  is  found  to 
take  place ;  for  if  a  plant  is  grown  with  its  roots  in  water,  the  fluid  surrounding  them  is  soon 
found  to  contain  some  of  the  peculiar  substances  they  form,  and  which  are  contained  in  the 
descending  sap.  Thus  a  pea  or  bean  would  discharge  a  gummy  matter ;  a  poppy  would  com- 
municate to  the  water  an  opiate  impregnation,  and  a  spurge  would  give  it  an  acrid  taste. 

"Thus  we  see  how  beautifully  and  how  simply  this  action,  extraordinary  as  it  seems,  is 
accounted  for,  when  its  whole  history  is  known  on  principles  which  operate  in  other  depart- 
ments of  nature." — Dr.  Carpenter. 

From  this  it  must  appear  obvious  to  every  one  that,  to  keep  plants  in  a  healthy  state,  the 
conditions  of  endosmose  and  exosmose  must  be  carefully  maintained.  Thus  in  the  case  of 
bulbs  maturing  and  at  rest,  and  of  plants  cut  down  in  the  autumn,  such  as  Pelargoniums  and 
Fuchsias,  the  action  of  the  leaves  being  destroyed,  the  fluid,  rising  by  the  force  of  endos- 
mose, must  gradually  subside,  and  the  plants  languish  into  a  state  of  semi-vitality,  till  such 
time  as  genial  warmth  shall  expand  the  fluid  within  their  latent  buds,  and  cause  them  to  open 
and  put  forth  new  leaves.  This  is  the  reason  why  the  application  of  water  to  plants  thus  cir- 
cumstanced should  be  carefully  avoided,  excepting,  indeed,  a  few  special  subjects,  whose  suc- 
culency  is  not  sufficient  to  keep  them  from  being  shrivelled  up. 


Tropical  Scenery  of  the  Amazon. 

MB.  WALLACE,  a  recent  traveller  in  South  America,  gives  us  the  following  highly  instruc- 
tive and  well-stated  estimate  of  tropical  vegetation.  lie  says — 

"  There  is  grandeur  and  solemnity  in  the  tropical  forest,  but  little  of  beauty  or  brilliancy 
of  color.  The  huge  buttress  trees,  the  fissured  trunks,  the  extraordinary  air-roots,  the 
twisted  and  wrinkled  climbers,  and  the  elegant  palms  are  what  strike  the  attention  and  fill 
the  mirnl  with  admiration  and  surprise  and  awe.  But  all  is  gloomy  and  solemn,  and  one 
feels  a  relief  on  again  seeing  the  blue  sky  and  feeling  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun. 

"It  is  on  the  roadside  and  on  the  rivers'  banks  that  we  see  all  the  beauty  of  the  tropical 
vegetation.  There  we  find  a  mass  of  bushes,  and  shrubs,  and  trees  of  every  height,  rising 
over  one  another,  all  exposed  to  the  bright  light  and  the  fresh  air,  and  putting  forth,  within 
reach,  their  flowers  and  fruit,  which,  in  the  forest,  only  grow  far  up  on  the  topmost  branches. 
Bright  flowers  and  green  foliage  combine  their  charms,  and  climbers  with  their  flowery  fes- 
toons cover  over  the  bare  and  decaying  stems.  Yet,  pick  out  the  loveliest  spots,  where  the 
most  gorgeous  flowers  of  the  tropics  expand  their  glowing  petals,  and  for  every  scene  of  this 
kind  we  may  find  another  at  home  of  equal  beauty,  and  with  an  equal  amount  of  brilliant 
color. 

"  Look  at  a  field  of  buttercups  and  daisies, — a  hillside  covered  with  gorse  and  broom, — a 
mountain  rich  with  purple  heather, — or  a  forest-glade  azure  with  a  carpet  of  wild  hyacinths, 
— and  they  will  bear  a  comparison  with  any  scene  the  tropics  can  produce.  I  have  never 
seen  any  thing  more  glorious  than  an  old  crab-tree  in  full  blossom ;  and  the  horse-chestnut, 
lilac,  and  laburnum  will  vie  with  the  choicest  tropical  trees  and  shrubs.  In  the  tropical 
waters  are  no  more  beautiful  plants  than  our  white  and  yellow  water-lilies,  our  irises,  and 
flowering  rush ;  for  I  cannot  consider  the  flower  of  the  Victoria  regia  more  beautiful  than  that 
of  the  Nymphcea  alba,  though  it  may  be  larger ;  nor  is  it  so  abundant  an  ornament  of  the  tro- 
pical waters  as  the  latter  is  of  ours. 

"  But  the  question  is  not  to  be  decided  by  a  comparison  of  individual  plants,  or  the  effects 
they  may  produce  in  the  landscape,  but  on  the  frequency  with  which  they  occur,  and  the  pro- 
portion the  brilliantly-colored  bear  to  the  inconspicuous  plants.  My  friend  Mr.  R.  Spruce, 
now  investigating  the  botany  of  the  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro,  assures  me  that  by  far  the  greater 
proportion  of  plants  gathered  by  him  have  inconspicuous  green  or  white  flowers ;  and,  with 
regard  to  the  frequency  of  their  occurrence,  it  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  me  to  pass 


262  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

days  travelling  up  the  rivers  without  seeing  any  striking  flowering  tree  or  shrub.  This  is 
partly  owing  to  the  flowers  of  most  tropical  trees  being  so  deciduous ;  they  no  sooner  open 
than  they  begin  to  fall ;  the  Melastomas,  in  particular,  generally  burst  into  flower  in  the 
morning,  and  the  next  day  are  withered,  and  for  twelve  months  that  tree  bears  no  more 
flowers.  This  will  serve  to  explain  why  the  tropical  flowering  trees  and  shrubs  do  not  make 
so  much  show  as  might  be  expected." 

The  Ailanthus-tree. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  N.  Y.  Times  furnishes  the  following  statement  respecting  the  dis- 
tribution and  propagation  of  the  ailanthus-tree  in  the  United  States.  They  were  imported 
some  fifty  years  since  by  a  nurseryman  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  at  a  time  when  there 
was  some  excitement  about  manufacturing  morocco  leather,  which  previously  had  been  im- 
ported. This  tree  was  imported  as  the  one  which  furnished  the  material  with  which  the  im- 
ported morocco  leather  was  tanned.  It  was  soon  found  that  many  species  of  the  genus  Rhus 
growing  in  our  country,  all  of  which  are  more  or  less  poisonous,  answered  equally  as  well  as 
the  imported  ailanthus  for  making  the  same  leather;  hence  the  demand  for  the  imported 
plant  ceased;  but  they  had  been  set  in  one  corner  of  the  gentleman's  nursery,  where  they  had 
spread  and  became  as  great  a  nuisance  as  Canada  thistles ;  the  inquiry  then  was  how  to  get 
them  out  of  the  ground.  While  the  gentleman's  son  was  pondering  upon  this  business,  he 
thought  he  would  try  the  effect  of  a  puff  direct;  therefore  he  set  himself  to  the  task,  and  com- 
menced by  calling  it  "  the  tree  of  heaven,"  and  gave  a  wonderful  description  of  the  beauty  of 
the  tree — changed  the  price  from  twenty-five  cents  to  one  dollar  for  each  plant,  and  told  the 
writer  that  he  sold  off  the  next  season  five  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  plants  from  the  same 
ground  that  previous  to  that  puff  he  would  have  given  one  hundred  dollars  to  have  cleared  of 
them. 

The  gentleman's  success  in  that  one  humbug  encouraged  him  to  try  another  with  the  same 
plant. 

I  think  it  was  about  the  year  1847  or  '48  that  every  postmaster  in  the  United  States  re- 
ceived a  package  of  seeds  of  the  ailanthus,  containing  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  seeds, 
requesting  them  to  sell  one  hundred  of  them  at  one  cent  each,  and  remit  to  a  person  named, 
one  dollar,  and  keep  twenty-five  seeds  to  pay  them  for  their  trouble ;  at  the  same  time  de- 
scribing it  as  one  of  the  most  splendid  and  valuable  trees  that  had  ever  been  discovered. 

So  far  as  the  writer  was  informed,  about  one-half  of  the  postmasters  remitted  their  dollar 
forthwith,  not  knowing  the  tree  in  question. 

Rotation  of  Forest  Trees. 

THERE  are  millions  of  acres  of  pine-forests  which  present  an  even  surface  for  tillage,  whose 
improvement  for  continued  and  profitable  cultivation  is  a  matter  of  great  moment.  If  their 
virgin  soils  do  not  exhibit  an  acid  reaction,  they  at  least  possess  too  little  of  alkaline  ingre- 
dients for  high  agricultural  productiveness.  We  have  been  astonished  at  the  benefits  that 
accrued  from  the  application  of  marl  and  shell-lime  to  these  virgin  earths,  in  which  there  was 
no  lack  of  organic  substances.  Where  the  potash  came  from  that  existed  in  such  large  crops 
of  wheat  and  corn,  appeared  a  mystery.  Lime  seemed  to  bring  it  out  from  its  before  insoluble 
silicates.  Indeed,  we  can  account  for  the  natural  fertility  in  the  southern  peninsula  of  Mary- 
hind,  and  those,  districts  of  Virginia  and  Georgia  where  marl  abounds,  in  no  other  way.  In 
an  acre  of  wheat  and  corn  there  is  five  times  more  potash  than  lime ;  while  the  amount  of 
soluble  potash  in  natural  pine-bearing  soils  is  exceedingly  small.  A  pine-tree,  when  burnt, 
yields  but  little  ashes,  and  they  are  not  rich  in  potash.  Pine-leaves,  however,  yield,  pound 
for  pound,  twelve  times  more  ashes  than  pine-wood ;  and  it  is  mainly  the  annual  fall  of  leaves 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  giving  alkalies  drawn  from  the  deep  subsoils,  as  well  as  organ- 
ized carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen,  that  enriches  the  land.  By  adding  a  little  lime  to  this 
natural  source  of  fruitfulness,  the  owner  of  pine-leaves  will  greatly  enhance  their  value. 
They  can  be  changed  permanently  from  the  production  of  coniferous  plants  to  that  of  cereals — 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  263 

a  difference  as  wide  as  that  from  a  loaf  of  bread  made  of  pine  sawdust  to  one  made  of  wheat 
flour.  The  difference  in  a  soil  that  will  yield  pine-wood  abundantly,  but  wheat  and  maize 
very  sparingly,  is  the  proof  of  plant  rotation. 

The  volatile  alkali  ammonia  which  abounds  in  Peruvian  guano  works  this  change  in  piney 
wood  land  for  one  or  two  crops,  in  a  remarkable  degree.  Wood-ashes  also  produce  signal 
effects  on  such  soils,  being  far  more  lasting  than  guano.  Alkalies  in  some  form  appear  to  be 
necessary  to  change  a  pine-growing  soil  into  one  adapted  for  the  production  of  oaks,  hickory, 
and  grain.  Numerous  facts  similar  in  purport  to  those  above  stated  are  well  known  to  every 
observing  farmer ;  but  the  reason  suggested  by  Professor  Johnston  and  others,  why  pine-trees 
succeed  oak  forests,  and  the  latter,  or  beech,  or  other  hard  deciduous  trees  succeed  pines,  do 
not  appear  entirely  satisfactory.  On  the  rich  lands  of  the  Western  States  and  in  Western 
New  York,  where  beech  and  maple  or  oak-bearing  soils  are  left  to  grow  up  a  second  time  in 
forests,  they  do  not,  like  the  comparatively  poor  land  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Virginia, 
North  and  South  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  produce  a  crop  of  old  field  pines,  but  a  second  growth 
of  the  trees  of  the  primitive  forests.  Coniferous  plants  never  supercede  those  of  a  higher 
order  and  more  complex  development,  where  the  latter  can  flourish.  If  pines  drive  out  oaks 
and  poplars,  it  is  because  the  latter  find  an  uncongenial  soil,  made  not  so  by  nature,  but  by 
the  labors  of  man.  Nature  never  rotates  her  vegetable  productions  from  a  higher  to  a  lower 
order  of  organism,  if  her  developments  are  not  molested.  The  deeply-descending  tap-root  of 
the  pine,  its  light  wind-driven  seed,  and  its  abundant  foliage,  fit  it,  in  an  eminent  degree,  to 
recuperate  impoverished  old  fields,  and  prepare  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  bear  a  crop  of 
oaks,  corn,  or  cotton.  The  growth  of  pines  does  not,  however,  necessarily  induce  the  growth 
of  oaks  or  beeches ;  for  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  pine  forests  of  North  and  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  have  not  flourished  on  the  same  surface  for  twenty  successive  genera- 
tions of  trees.  There  is  no  evidence  of  a  natural  system  of  a  rotation  of  plants  from  pine  to 
oak,  and  oak  to  pine,  in  Southern  cultivation. — Am.  Cotton-Planter. 

The  Sesquoia  gigantea,  or  Great  Tree  of  California. 

THE  great  tree  of  California,  originally  called  by  the  English  botanists  Wellingtonia  gi- 
gantea, and  supposed  to  be  a  new  species,  has  been  recently  determined  by  Professor  Gray, 
of  Cambridge,  to  belong  to  the  family  Sesquoia,  and  must  hence  be  known  as  the  Sesquoia 
gigantea.  It  inhabits  a  solitary  district  in  California  on  the  elevated  slopes  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  near  the  head- waters  of  the  Stanislaus  and  St.  Antonio  rivers,  at  an  elevation  of  five 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  From  eighty  to  ninety  trees  exist,  all  within  the 
circuit  of  a  mile,  with  a  height  varying  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  and 
twenty  feet,  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter.  Their  manner  of  growth  is  much 
like  the  Taxodium  sempervirens :  some  are  solitary,  some  are  in  pairs ;  while  some,  and  not 
unfrequently,  stand  three  and  four  together.  A  tree  recently  felled  measured  about  three 
hundred  feet  in  length,  with  a  diameter,  including  bark,  of  twenty-nine  feet  two  inches  at 
five  feet  from  the  ground ;  at  eighteen  feet  from  the  ground  it  was  fourteen  feet  six  inches 
through ;  at  one  hundred  feet  from  the  ground,  fourteen  feet ;  and  at  two  hundred  from  the 
ground,  five  feet  five  inches.  The  bark  is  of  a  pale  cinnamon-brown,  and  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches  in  thickness.  The  ^ranchleta  are  round,  somewhat  pendant,  resembling  a 
cypress  or  juniper.  The  leaves  are  pale  grass-green.  Those  of  the  young  trees  are  spread- 
ing, with  a  sharp,  accuminate  point.  The  cones  are  about  two  and  a  half  inches  long  and  two 
inches  across  at  the  thickest  part.  The  trunk  of  the  tree  in  question  was  perfectly  solid 
from  the  sap-wood  to  the  centre  ;  and,  judging  from  the  number  of  concentric  rings,  its  age 
has  been  estimated  at  three  thousand  years.  The  wood  is  light,  soft,  and  of  a  reddish  color, 
like  redwood  or  Taxodium  sempervirens.  Of  this  vegetable  monster,  twenty-one  feet  of  the 
bark,  from  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk,  have  been  put  in  the  natural  form  in  San  Francisco 
for  exhibition ;  it  there  forms  a  spacious  carpeted  room,  and  contains  a  piano,  with  seats 
for  forty  persons.  Op  one  occasion,  one  hundred  and  forty  children  were  admitted  without 
inconvenience. 

A  piece  of  the  wood,  recently  examined  by  Professor  Gray,  of  Cambridge,  was  found  to 


264  THE   YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

contain,  on  an  average,  forty-eight  annual  layers  to  the  inch.  The  semi-diameter  of  the  tree, 
at  the  point  where  the  specimen  examined  was  taken  from,  being  five  feet  two  inches,  (viz.  at 
twenty-five  feet  from  the  ground, )  supposing  the  tree  increased  in  diameter  at  the  same  rate 
during  its  whole  life,  there  would  be  nearly  three  thousand  annual  layers  ;  but  Dr.  Gray,  in 
consideration  of  the  greater  thickness  of  the  layers  of  a  yryung  tree,  and  from  comparison  of 
sections  of  the  so-called  cypress  of  the  Southern  States,  (Taxodium  distichum,)  assigns  about 
two  thousand  years  as  its  highest  probable  age.  ,.. 

Dr.  C.  F.  Winslow,  formerly  of  Boston,  furnishes  to  the  California  Farmer  the  following 
description  of  a  visit  to  the  localities  of  these  gigantic  trees;  he  says :  "  The  road  was  more 
or  less  shaded  all  the  way  by  pines  so  gigantic  as  to  awaken  in  me,  who  had  never  before 
seen  the  native  and  lofty  forest  scenery  of  the  north  temperate  zone,  the  strongest  feelings 
of  wonder  and  admiration.  I  had  never  before  conceived  of  the  capacity  of  the  various  spe- 
cies of  conifera  to  attain  such  enormous  dimensions.  They  were  often  six  feet  through,  and 
from  one  hundred  and  thirty  to  three  hundred  feet  high,  and  so  symmetrical  and  perfect  in 
form  as  to  impress  me  with  new  and  more  commanding  ideas  respecting  the  force  and  ope- 
ration of  the  vital  principle  presiding  over  the  nourishment  and  growth  of  organized  bodies. 

"The  height  of  the  locality  is  about  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  two  thousand 
four  hundred  feet  above  '  Murphy's  Camp,'  on  the  Stanislaus.  So  far  as  known,  the  vege- 
table growth,  to  which  the  n,ame  of  '  Big  Tree'  has  been  attached,  grows  in  no  other  region  of 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  nor  on  any  other  mountain  range  of  the  earth.  It  exists  here  only ;  and 
all  the  individuals  of  its  kind,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  are  localized  to  this  vicinity.  They  are 
embraced  within  a  range  of  two  hundred  acres,  and  are  enclosed  in  a  basin  of  coarse,  siliceous 
material,  surrounded  by  a  sloping  ridge  of  sienitic  rock,  which  in  some  places  projects  above 
the  soil.  The  basin  is  reeking  with  moisture,  and  in  the  lowest  places  the  water  is  standing, 
and  some  of  the  largest  trees  dip  their  roots  into  the  pools  or  water-runs.  The  trees  of  very 
large  dimensions  number  considerably  more  than  one  hundred.  Mr.  Blake  measured  one 
ninety-four  feet  in  circumference  at  the  root,  the  side  of  which  had  been  partly  burned  by 
contact  with  another  tree,  the  head  of  which  had  fallen  against  it.  The  latter  can  be  mea- 
sured four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  its  head  to  its  root.  A  large  portion  of  this  fallen 
monster  is  still  to  be  seen  and  examined  ;  and  by  the  measurement  of  Mr.  Lapham,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  place,  it  is  said  to  be  ten  feet  in  diameter  at  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from 
its  uptorn  root.  In  falling,  it  had  prostrated  another  large  tree  in  its  course,  and  pressed 
out  the  earth  beneath  itself  so  as  to  be  imbedded  a  number  of  feet  into  the  ground.  Its 
diameter  across  its  root  is  forty  feet.  A  man  is  nothing  in  comparison  of  dimensions  while 
walking  on  it  or  standing  near  its  side.  This,  to  me,  was  the  greatest  wonder  of  the  forest. 
The  tree  which  it  prostrated  in  falling  has  been  burned  hollow,  and  is  so  large,  a  gentleman 
who  accompanied  us  from  Murphy's  informed  us  that,  when  he  first  visited  the  place  two 
years  ago,  he  rode  through  it  on  horseback  for  two  hundred  feet  without  stooping  but  at  one 
spot  as  he  entered  at  the  root.  We  all  walked  many  scores  of  feet  through  it ;  but  a  large 
piece  of  its  side  has  fallen  in  near  the  head.  But  there  are  many  standing  whose  magnitude 
absolutely  oppresses  the  mind  with  awe.  In  one  place,  three  of  these  gigantic  objects  grow 
side  by  side,  as  if  planted  with  special  reference  to  their  present  appearance.  Another,  so 
monstrous  as  absolutely  to  compel  you  to  walk  around  it,  and  even  linger,  is  divided  at  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  from  the  ground  into  three  of  these  straight  mammoth  trunks, 
towering  over  three  hundred  feet  into  the  sky.  There  are  others  whose  proportions  are  as 
delicate,  symmetrical,  clean,  and  straight  as  small  spruces,  that  rise  three  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  from  the  ground.  In  one  spot  a  huge  knot  of  some  ancient  prostrate  giant  is  visible 
above  the  soil,  where  it  fell  ages  ago,  and  the  earth  has  accumulated  so  as  nearly  to  oblite- 
rate all  traces  of  its  former  existence.  The  wood  of  this  tree,  I  am  told  by  Mr.  Lapham,  is 
remarkable  for  its  slow  decay.  When  first  cut  down,  its  fibre  is  white ;  but  it  soon  becomes 
reddish,  and  long  exposure  makes  it  as  dark  as  mahogany  ;  it  is  soft,  and  resembles,  in  some 
respects,  pine  and  cedar.  Its  bark,  however,  is  much  unlike  these  trees ;  nearest  the  ground 
it  is  prodigiously  thick,  fibrous,  and,  when  pressed  on,  has  a  peculiar  feeUng  of  elasticity.  In 
some  places  it  is  eighteen  inches  thick,  and  resembles  a  mass  of  cocoanut-husks  thickly 
matted  and  pressed  together,  only  the  fibrous  material  is  exceedingly  fine,  and  altogether 


AGRICULTURAL   BOTANY.  265 

unlike  the  husk  of  the  cocoanut.  This  bark  is  fissured  irregularly  with  numerous  indenta- 
tions, which  give  it  the  appearance  of  great  inequality  and  roughness.  A  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  from  the  ground  it  is  only  about  two  inches  thick  on  a  living  tree,  which  is  now  being 
stripped  of  its  bark  for  transportation  from  the  country. 

"The  cone  of  this  tree  is  small  and  compact,  and  nearly  regularly  oval ;  and,  although 
the  tree  itself  is  the  largest  of  the  conifers®,  its  fruit  is  as  small  as  that  of  the  dwarfish 
pines  of  North  Carolina  and  Cape  Cod.  Its  foliage  is  not,  as  a  general  thing,  altogether 
agreeable  to  the  eye,  as  the  head  of  the  tree  is  small  in  proportion  to  the  size  and  height  of 
the  trunk.  But  the  boughs,  when  examined  more  closely,  are  bright-green,  rather  compli- 
cated and  delicate  in  structure,  and  pleasing  to  the  mind  by  contrast  with  the  rough  and 
gigantic  stem  and  branch  from  which  they  spring." 

Dr.  Torrey,  of  New  York,  has  recently  had  an  opportuntity  of  counting  the  circles  in  a 
complete  radius  of  the  trunk  of  the  famous  Sesquoia  exhibited  at  New  York,  and  he  finds 
that  they  are  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty  in  number.  From  the  data  furnished  by 
Dr.  Torrey,  we  find  that  on  the  radius  examined — 

Inches.  Inches. 


First  100  circles  occupy  a  breadth  of. 17i 

Second  "            "           "           "            14 

Third     "            "           "          "             12* 

Fourth  "            "           "           "             13 

Fifth      "            "           "           "             16i 

Sixth     "            «          "           "            8i 


Seventh  100  circles  occupy  a  breadth  of. 7£ 

Eighth    "  "  "  "      11 

Xinth       "  "  "  "     10 

Tenth       "  "  "  "     11 

Eleventh"  "  "  "      11J 

The  remaining  20  layers 1 


There  are  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty  circles  in  a  semidiameter  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  inches,  or  eleven  feet  and  three  inches.  The  facts  show  that  the  tree  lacks 
about  three  centuries  of  being  half  as  old  as  it  was  said  to  be.  Its  enormous  size  is  owing 
rather  to  its  continued  rapid  growth. 

Grafted  Chestnut-trees. 

THE  Cincinnati  Gazette  publishes  an  interesting  letter  from  Mr.  Sheldon  I.  Kellogg  to  the 
Wine-Growers'  Association,  dated  Bordeaux,  France,  on  the  cultivation  of  the  chestnut. 
He  says — 

"  I  have  been  much  surprised  in  seeing  the  great  dependence  the  poorer  classes  make  upon 
the  large  chestnut  for  their  daily  food.  It  is  cultivated  in  this  neighborhood  in  great  abun- 
dance for  this  purpose.  All  classes  use  them  more  or  less ;  the  rich  having  them  daily  brought 
upon  their  tables  as  dessert,  either  boiled  or  roasted.  It  is  often  made  into  a  soup,  which  is 
highly  esteemed.  They  are  cooked  in  a  multitude  of  ways,  and  I  know  of  nothing  of  a  fari- 
naceous nature  which  is  so  very  delicate  and  nourishing. 

"  The  marron,  or  large  chestnut,  is  the  produce  of  the  wild  chestnut  after  being  engrafted. 
The  wild  tree,  at  three  or  four  years  of  age,  is  cut  square  off,  say  four  or  five  feet  from  the 
ground.  The  stump  is  then  split  twice.  These  splits  intersect  at  right  angles  at  the  centre 
of  the  stump.  There  is  then  inserted  one  good-sized  branch  of  the  same  tree  in  every  section 
of  the  splits,  making  four  branches  in  each  stump.  Care  is  always  taken  to  make  the  bark 
of  the  branches  and  the  bark  of  the  stump  join  each  other  as  closely  as  possible.  The  graft 
is  then  surrounded  with  clay  and  moss,  to  prevent  the  outflow  of  the  sap,  and  it  scarcely  ever 
fails  of  success.  The  period  selected  in  this  climate  for  this  operation  is  the  month  of  Febru- 
ary. The  produce  of  this  graft  is  usually  a  fine,  large,  beautifully-colored  marron,  about 
the  size  of  our  buckeyes.  They  are  much  more  delicate  in  texture  and  flavor  than  our  own 
wild  chestnut.  They  are  never  eaten  without  being  cooked.  The  tree  is  a  very  beautiful 
one,  being,  though  not  so  high  as  ours,  much  more  dense  in  foliage,  and  shading  a  larger 
space  of  ground." 

Durability  of,  and  Season  for  Cutting,  Ship-Timber, 

THE  New  York  Nautical  Magazine  furnishes  the  following  detail  of  an  interesting  series  of 
experiments  instituted  by  James  Jarvis,  Esq.,  Inspector  of  Timber  for  the  United  States 


266  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Government,  at  Norfolk.  The  experiments  were  made  under  the  direction  of  the  Navy  De- 
partment, with  a  view  of  determining  the  proper  time  for  cutting  timber,  and  the  best  mode 
of  curing  it  or  securing  it  from  dry-rot.  These  are  confined  to  the  three  principal  kinds  of 
ship-timber,  viz.,  live  oak,  white  oak,  and  yellow  pine,  and  will  be  of  incalculable  benefit  to 
the  naval  and  mechanical  interests  of  the  United  States. '?  When  we  remember  that  there  is 
no  table  of  specific  gravity  that  is  at  all  reliable  for  any  meridian  in  North  America,  and  that 
our  mechanics  have  been  making  their  calculations  from  tables  of  specific  gmvity  found  in 
European  works,  we  shall  begin  to  approximate  a  conception  of  its  value.  A  location  in  the 
timber  districts  of  this  wooded  country  for  practical  purposes  will  satisfy  the  most  incre- 
dulous that  little  is  known  about  the  productions  of  the  American  forest. 

The  following  is  the  order  of  the  experiments  followed  by  Mr.  Jarvis:  On  the  13th  of 
September  he  received,  in  twelve-feet  lengths,  the  butts  of  ten  trees  of  live  oak,  and  an 
equal  number  of  white  oak  and  yellow  pine ;  five  of  each  kind  were  worked  square  at  the 
place  where  cut,  and  the  remaining  five  were  brought  round  with  the  bark  on.  After  their 
arrival,  they  were  subdivided  into  three-feet  lengths ;  the  square  pieces  were  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches  square ;  the  round  pieces  in  bark  from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in  diameter. 
The  specific  gravity  of  each  piece  was  at  once  obtained,  and  then  they  were  located  as  follows : 
Four  pieces  of  the  squared  live  oak,  and  four  pieces  of  the  round  live  oak  in  bark,  were  placed 
in  tanks  under  cover,  where  were  solutions  of  corrosive  sublimate,  alum,  copperas,  and  coal  tar, 
and  the  same  number  of  white  oak  and  yellow  pine,  amounting  in  all  to  twenty-four  pieces 
of  the  varieties  of  ship-timber ;  one-half  of  which  were  square  pieces,  the  other  half  round 
and  in  bark.  These  live  oak,  white  oak,  and  yellow  pine  pieces  were  kept  in  the  tank,  sub- 
merged one  month,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  they  were  distributed  as  follows — under 
cover  in  open  air,  planted  as  posts,  and  laid  as  railroad  sills.  There  is  a  suitable  number  of 
the  pieces  which  have  not  been  prepared,  also  under  cover  in  open  air,  planted  as  posts,  and 
laid  as  railroad  sills.  A  proportion  of  the  pieces  are  square,  and  some  round,  and  water- 
seasoned  for  six  months.  After  being  removed  from  the  water,  two  pieces  are  made  of  one, 
and  one  kept  under  cover,  the  other  in  open  air.  The  pieces  which  have  not  been  in  the 
solution  are  the  test-pieces ;  and  among  these  pieces  Mr.  Jarvis  has  fitted  some  together, 
wood  and  wood,  except  having  between  them  tarred  paper  coated  with  charcoal-dust.  A  few 
years  will  prove,  by  ocular  demonstration,  which  of  the  solutions,  substances,  or  water,  will 
make  timber  most  durable.  The  pieces  which  have  had  no  preparation  on  them,  and  are 
kept  under  cover,  are  weighed  each  month,  to  observe  the  amount  of  juices  or  moisture  lost 
by  evaporation  in  one  month  and  in  one  year.  The  object  in  weighing  or  obtaining  the 
specific  gravity  each  month  in  the  year  is  that  he  may  be  able  to  determine  the  best  time  for 
cutting  ship-timber,  or  whether  it  is  of  any  material  consequence ;  and,  by  testing  the  weight 
of  the  same  kinds  of  timber,  in  connection  with  its  durability,  thus  set  this  matter  at  rest. 
The  timber  used  for  these  experiments  is  thus  described :  the  live  and  white  oak  are  of  ex- 
cellent quality,  and  felled  purposely,  with  a  few  exceptions,  for  these  experiments.  The 
yellow  pine  is  not  as  good  as  is  used  in  the  navy ;  its  specific  gravity  will  not  prove  the  fact. 
The  very  best  of  yellow  pine  is  not  of  the  greatest  density.  Pitch-pine  is  not  as  good  for 
decks  or  deck-frames  as  other  fine-grained  pines  from  the  South.  The  very  best  yellow  pine 
timber  is  that  in  which  the  even  fineness  of  the  grain  is  continued  to  the  centre  or  pith  of 
the  tree.  By  careful  observation,  much  information  that  is  valuable  may  be  obtained  from 
the  table  of  specific  gravity:  notwithstanding  the  thickness  of  the  bark  of  the  yellow  pine, 
and  its  lightness,  (the  specific  gravity  differing  not  materially  from  that  of  cork,)  we  find 
that  the  pine  timber  in  bark  weighs  much  more  than  the  square  timber.  This,  to  the  casual 
observer,  would  hardly  seem  possible ;  the  man  unacquainted  with  the  nature  of  yellow  pine 
sap-wood  would  be  likely  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  table.  But  such  is  the  nature  of 
the  exterior  coating  immediately  under  the  bark  of  yellow  pine,  that  we  cannot  find  a  more 
analogous  substance  than  that  of  sponge ;  its  retentive  properties  are  very  similar,  and  the 
turpentine  with  which  this  sap-wood  is  saturated  is  the  cause  of  its  increased  specific  gravity 
above  that  of  the  squared  timber,  when  covered  with  bark.  The  thinner  the  sap-wood,  the 
less  the  specific  gravity.  There  is  an  error  in  the  prevailing  opinion  in  relation  to  the  dura- 
bility of  yellow  pine  timber.  Our  government  has  become  a  heavy  stockholder  in  this  pre- 


AGRICULTURAL   BOTANY.  267 

vailing  error,  by  acting  on  the  supposition  that  yellow  pine  timber  required  a  great  amount 
of  seasoning.  The  consequence  has  been,  that  large  timber-houses  have  been  erected  and 
filled  with  yellow  pine  timber,  and  kept  for  many  years,  and  when  in  a  state  of  decay  have 
been  used  both  for  new  vessels  and  those  undergoing  repairs.  This  is  a  great  mistake  ;  an 
equal  number  of  months  would  have  answered  a  better  purpose  than  as  many  years,  as  it 
regards  the  shrinkage  of  yellow  pine.  When  in  pieces  of  any  considerable  size,  it  shrinks 
but  little  when  the  vessel  is  in  active  service ;  and  when  used  as  deck-plank,  should  be  made 
narrow.  The  convictions  of  our  judgment  lead  us  to  this  conclusion,  that  yellow  pine 
requires  no  seasoning  to  make  it  durable.  The  ebb  and  flow  of  the  turpentine  is  through 
the  sap,  as  the  specific  gravity  will  show ;  hence  we  say  that  the  capillary  tubes  of  the  heart 
would  have  no  more  of  the  resinous  property,  if  cut  at  the  proper  season,  than  is  required 
for  strength  and  to  render  it  durable.  There  is  another  error  in  that  of  preparing  yellow 
pine  timber  in  the  woods,  both  for  private  and  for  naval  purposes ;  it  being  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  the  sap  should  be  excluded.  The  timber  should  be  eight  instead  of  four-square, 
thus  in  effect  only  taking  off  the  sap,  on  account  of  the  very  best  of  the  timber  being  next 
to  the  sap ;  this  would  enable  the  builder  to  work  out  water-ways  and  all  similar  pieces 
without  cutting  in  as  far  as  the  pith  on  the  exposed  side  of  the  piece.  The  present  manner 
of  cutting  yellow  pine  timber  is  a  reckless  waste,  the  very  best  parts  of  the  tree  being  left 
in  the  woods. 

Inspectors  measure  square  logs  clear  of  sap,  and  the  consequence  is,  that  a  very  small 
three-cornered  strip  or  vane  of  sap  is  left  on  the  corners ;  whereas,  if  at  the  centre  of  the 
length  of  the  log  the  sap  were  removed,  and  the  log  were  measured  as  in  other  girth  mea- 
surements, the  most  valuable  parts  would  be  brought  as  timber  into  the  private  and  public 
v.-u-'ls ;  :nnl  although  it  would  be  somewhat  awkward  at  first  to  receive  timber  in  this  manner, 
IHMH;:  .-u-fustomed  to  the  square  log,  yet  the  price  per  cubic  foot  would  actually  be  less,  and 
the  timber-getter  would  save  in  labor  what  he  paid  in  extra  hauling  and  freight ;  and  not 
only  so,  but  he  would  get  paid  for  all  the  timber  he  bought.  The  government  would  save 
thousands  of  dollars,  besides  having  better  pine  timber,  were  the  Navy  Department  to  have 
yellow  pine  forests  at  their  command  rather  than  timber-sheds  stored  with  pine  timber, 
besides  retaining  the  life  of  the  timber  by  not<  having  the  turpentine  drawn  from  the  tree 
before  it  is  worked  into  timber,  as  we  have  already  remarked.  The  most  dense  timber  is 
not  the  best  or  most  durable,  because  of  the  amount  of  turpentine  it  contains ;  it  is  often 
rendered  so  near  the  butt,  in  consequence  of  the  tree  having  been  tapped  while  standing,  in 
order  to  draw  off  the  turpentine.  We  would  prefer  the  quality  of  pine  we  have  alluded  to 
in  its  pristine  state,  without  seasoning,  for  durability,  provided  it  were  properly  ventilated 
when  in  the  ship.  With  regard  to  the  density  of  white  oak,  it  may  with  strong  propriety  be 
assumed  that  the  quality  is  in  the  same  ratio  as  the  density ;  but  we  shall  discover  that  the 
tables  of  specific  gravity  do  not  furnish  an  index  for  determining  the  best  quality,  inasmuch 
as  they  show  the  squared  white  oak  timber,  cut  in  December  and  May,  to  be  the  heaviest 
when  cut,  while  at  the  same  time  that  which  was  cut  in  January  and  July  was  of  the  best  or 
better  quality.  In  order  to  detect  this  supposed  discrepancy,  let  us  follow  the  subject  far- 
ther :  the  timber  in  bark  will  show  that  our  first  conclusions  were  correct,  inasmuch  as  the 
timber  cut  in  July  is  of  the  greatest  density,  and  that  cut  in  January  differs  but  a  trifle  from 
that  cut  in  December ;  hence,  we  are  inevitably  brought  to  the  threshold  of  this  conclusion, 
that  no  table  of  specific  gravity  for  white  oak  timber  is  reliable  for  determining  the  quality, 
unless  its  weight  can  be  shown  in  the  bark.  The  reason  of  this  discrepancy  between  round 
and  square  timber  in  its  density  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the  texture  of  the  grain  of  some 
trees  is  better  adapted  for  receiving  the  juices  than  others  throughout  the  entire  transverse 
section,  while  others  receive  the  supply  chiefly  through  the  sap.  This  latter  kind  is  the  best 
quality,  and,  as  a  consequence,  is  likely  to  prove  the  most  durable,  as  well  as  being  the 
strongest.  There  may,  however,  be  exceptions  even  to  this  as  a  general  rule.  With  regard 
to  the  specific  gravity  of  the  live  oak,  as  shown  by  the  tables,  we  clearly  discover  that  the 
sap-wood  is  lighter  than  the  heart,  inasmuch  as  the  bark  being  thin,  could  scarcely  reduce 
the  weight  as  much  as  shown  by  the  tables.  The  tables  will  not  warrant  this  conclusion  of 
white  oak,  inasmuch  as  we  find  that  which  was  cut  in  March  was  heavier  in  bark  than  when 


268 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


squared ;  but  although  the  sap  of  live  oak  and  white  oak  is  less  durable  than  the  heart,  it  ia 
generally  received  with  the  heart  and  as  merchantable  timber. 

The  lasting  property  of  live  oak  consists  chiefly  in  its  being  devoid  of  that  acid  juice  which 
white  oak  contains.  But  this  is  not  all :  the  whole  of  the  capillary  tubes  seem  to  be  com- 
pletely coated  and  filled  with  a  greasy,  glutinous  substatfce  that  is  not  found  in  the  sap, 
which  is  doubtless  the  reason  why  the  sap  is  not  rendered  equally  durable.  This  substance 
may  be  brought  out  for  analyzation  by  steaming:  it  takes  steam  quite  as  well,df  not  better, 
than  yellow  pine.  The  monthly  tables  of  specific  gravity  of  the  green  tree  furnishing  us,  as 
they  do,  a  basis  of  (doubtless)  the  most  reliable  series  of  experiments  ever  undertaken  in 
this  or  any  other  country,  will,  we  think,  be  examined  with  interest  by  mechanics,  and  par- 
ticularly those  whose  business  it  is  to  use  the  three  kinds  of  timber  of  which  they  take  cog- 
nizance. In  addition  to  the  monthly  tables,  Mr.  Jarvis  has  furnished  us  with  the  mean 
specific  gravity  as  made  up  of  twelve  months,  and  carried  the  whole  out  into  pounds  and 
ounces  avoirdupois. 

GREEN   TREE. 

Specific  Gravity  of  Timber  fresh  from  the  Forest,  none  of  which  was  felled  more  than  ten  days 
before  the  Specific  Gravity  was  obtained. 


ROUND  LIVE  OAK. 

Month  felled.  Specific  gravity. 

September  15 1-144  =  71  10 

October  15 1-173  =  73     5 

November  15 1-182  =  73  14 

December  15 1-186  =  74    2 

January  15 1-194  =  74  10 

February  15 1-173  =  73     5 

March  15 1-187  =  74    5 

Aprillo 1-193  =  74     9 

May  15 1-182  =  73  14 

June  15 1-154  =  72     2 

July  15 1-148  =  71  12 

August  12 1-176  =  73     8 

SQUARE  LIVE  OAK. 

Month  felled.  Specific  gravity. 

Ibs.    oz. 

September  15 1-242  =  77  10 

October  15 1.273  =  79     9 

November  15 1-274  =  79  10 

December  15 1-283  =  80     3 

January  15 1-283  =  80     3 

February  15 1-252  =  78     4 

March  15 1-261  =  78  13 

April  15 1-244  =  77  12 

May  15 1-258  =  78  10 

June  15 1-257  =  78     9 

July  15 1-239  =  76  15 

August  12 1-245  =  77  13 


ROUND  WHITE   OAK. 

Month  felled.  Specific  gravity, 

ibs.  oz. 

September  15 -950  =  59     6 

October  15 -997  =  62     5 

November  15 -996  =  62     4 

December  15 1-018  =  63  10 

January  15 1-015  =  63     7 

February  15 1-014  =  63     6 

March  15 1-070  =  67     7 

Aprill5 1-013  =  63     5 

May  15 1-021  =  63  13 

June  15 1-005=62  13 

July  15 1-089  =  68     1 

August  15 1-054  =  65  14 

SQUARE  WHITE  OAK. 

Month  felled.  Specific  gravity. 

Ibs.    oz. 

September  15 1-037  =  64  13 

October  15 1-069  =  66  13 

November  15 1-058  =  66     2 

December  15 1-083  =  67  11 

January  15 1-068  =  66  12 

February  15 1-066  =  66  10 

March  15 1-044  =  65     4 

April  15 1-071  =  66  15 

May  15 1-102  =  68  14 

June  15 1-032  =  64     8 

July  15 1-123  =  70     3 

August  15 1-082  =  67  10 

MEAN  SPECIFIC  GRAVITY  FOR  ONE  YEAH, 


ROUND  YELLOW   PINE. 

Month  felled.  Specific  gravity. 

Ibi.    oz. 

September  15 -828  =  5112 

October  15 -764  =  4712 

November  15 -777  ='48    9 

December  15 -765  =  47  13 

January  15 -823  =  51     7 

February  15 -789  =  49     5 

March  15 -782  =  48  14 

April  15 -795  =  49  11 

May  15 -744  =  46     8 

June  15 -792  =  49    8 

July  15 -751  =  46  15 

August  15 -772  =  48    4 

SQUARE  YELLOW  PINE. 

Month  felled.  Specific  gravity. 

Ibs.    ox. 

September  15 -665  =  41     9 

October  15 -662  =  41     6 

November  15 -653  =  40  13 

December  15 -639  =  3915 

January  15 -625  =  39     1 

February  15 -673  =  42     1 

March  15 '581  =  36     5 

April  15 -683  =  4211 

May  15 '583  =  36     7 

June  15 -595  =  37    3 

July  15 -655  =  40  15 

August  15 -639  =  3915 


Square  pieces  of  live  oak  (fractions  off) 1-259  =  78  11 


Round 
Square 
Round 
Square 
Round 


in  bark 2-191  =  74  7 

white  oak 1-069  =  66  13 

«  "  in  bark 1-020  =  63  12 

yellow  pine -637  =  39  13 

"        "  in  bark...                                                       '781  =  48  13 


Too  Many  Shade-trees  Injurious. 

HON.  MR.  DICKINSON,  an  extensive  farmer  of  Steuben  county,  New  York,  has  recently  ad- 
vanced the  idea  (says  the  Rural  New  Yorker)  that  no  farmer  can  afford  to  keep  shade-trees 
elsewhere  than  by  the  wayside,  and  hardly  there.  Mr.  D.  carries  on  a  number  of  faring, 
upon  which,  by  great  expense  and  labor,  he  has  saved  a  large  number  of  the  finest  shade-trees ; 
but  he  is  now  cutting  them  down,  for  he  farms  for  profit,  and  cannot  let  them  stand.  The 
injury  they  do  to  a  crop  in  taking  up  the  moisture  for  some  distance  around,  and  leaving  the 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  269 

growing  plant  to  famish,  or  at  best  attain  but  a  stinted  growth,  is  least  in  importance  with 
him.  It  is  mainly  in  their  effect  in  fattening  cattle  that  his  trees  have  become  so  obnoxious 
in  his  eyes,  and  are  falling  at  the  hands  of  the  axe-man. 

Mr.  D.  has  two  fields,  of  30  acres  each,  as  nearly  alike  in  the  amount  and  quality  of  pas- 
ture they  furnish  as  two  lots  well  can  be,  where  he  alleges  he  has  by  repeated  and  varied  ex- 
periments tested  the  damaging  effect  of  shade.  His  mode  has  been  to  select  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  cattle  of  as  nearly  equal  quality  as  possible  for  each  lot,  and  in  the  fall,  when  he  came 
to  draw  for  the  market,  he  has  invariably  found  that  while  the  open  lot  furnished  a  goodly 
number  in  suitable  condition  for  the  first  draft,  it  was  not  till  the  second  or  third  drawing 
thac  any  could  be  found  in  the  requisite  condition  as  to  flesh  in  the  shaded.  He  has  also,  by 
actual  weighing,  found  a  difference  of  15  pounds  per  head  increase  a  month  in  favor  of  open 
fields  ;  and  avers  that,  other  things  being  equal,  a  lot  of  steers  will  gain  as  much  in  an  open 
field  in  four  months  of  summer  as  they  will  in  five  months  in  a  field  where  they  have  access 
to  shade.  The  cattle  in  the  first  instance  feed  at  all  hours  of  the  day  upon  dry  and  fattening 
grass,  instead  of  standing  under  the  trees,  as  in  the  second  instance,  until  driven  out  by 
hunger,  and  filling  themselves  only  in  the  morning  and  evening  with  wet  and  flashy  food. 
And  therefore  it  is  that  he  cannot  afford  to  keep  his  trees,  and  is  hewing  them  down. 

Watering  Transplanted  Trees, 

THE  following  suggestions  respecting  the  watering  of  transplanted  trees,  are  communicated 
to  the  Horticulturist  by  Thomas  Meehan,  of  Gennantown,  Pa. : — 

That  a  plant  must  have  a  certain  amount  of  moisture  to  enable  it  to  live,  is  well  known  to 
every  one ;  and  that  this  moisture  must  be  absorbed  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  fibres 
or  small  rootlets,  is  a  no  less  widely-disseminated  t':n-t.  When  a  tree  is  "well  established" — 
that  is,  has  been  growing  for  some  time  in  a  given  situation — the  rootlets  pierce  the  soil,  so 
that  they  are  in  a  manner  encased  by  it.  In  this  situation,  how  easy  it  is  for  them  to  draw  in 
their  required  supplies  of  moisture  1  The  communication  between  them  and  the  soil  is  un- 
broken, and  moisture  passes  from  one  to  the  other  by  a  process  nearly  akin  to  capillary 
attraction.  How  important,  then,  that  soil  thrown  in  round  roots  at  transplanting  should  be 
finely  pulverized,  and  that  every  means  should  be  taken  to  induce  it  to  enter  every  "hole 
and  corner!"  But  with  the  greatest  possible  care,  this  can  never  be  done  to  a  perfect  degree. 
The  soil  will  still  have  an  opportunity  to  sink, — that  is,  will  be  filled  with  large  air  spaces, — 
and  whatever  roots  may  be  in  these  cavities  or  air  spaces  will  either  get  dried  up  or  injured. 
It  is  a  good  plan,  and  one  which,  in  critical  cases,  I  have  often  employed  to  advantage,  to  fill 
up  the  hole  intended  for  the  tree  with  water,  throwing  in  soil  enough  to  make  it  of  the  con- 
sistency of  thin  mortar,  into  which  the  tree  is  put,  and  the  remaining  soil  drawn  in  without 
tramping  or  pressure  of  any  kind.  A  tree  so  planted  will  never  require  watering  afterwards ; 
but  it  will  require  other  treatment,  which  will  be  yet  noticed  before  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

Surface-water  should  never  be  applied  to  a  transplanted  tree  in  the  manner  usually  given, 
for  the  following  reasons :  Every  one  knows  that  there  are  certain  substances  which  do  not 
absorb  heat  readily,  and  which  are  termed  good  non-conductors ;  and  others  which  are  soon 
heated,  or  conductors.  Wood  is  a  tolerably  good  non-conductor,  because  it  will  not  become 
as  readily  heated  as  iron ;  while  brick  is  a  better  conductor  of  heat  than  clay  or  other  soil, 
because  it  sooner  becomes  warmed  through.  A  large  clod  of  earth  also  becomes  heated 
through  in  much  quicker  time  than  the  same  bulk  of  soil  would  have  done  in  a  well-pul- 
verized state.  This  absorption  of  heat  would  not,  perhaps,  be  of  so  much  consequence  to  the 
plant  were  it  not  for  the  increased  impetus  it  gives  to  evaporation.  A  large  clod  of  soil  not 
only  soon  heats  through,  but  soon  dries  through ;  it  is  a  better  conductor  than  pulverized  soil. 
It  is  obvious,  then,  that  a  soil  is  in  a  good  condition  to  retain  moisture  about  the  roots  of 
newly-transplanted  trees  when  it  is  as  far  removed  from  a  clotty  condition  as  possible.  But 
water,  when  frequently  and  forcibly  applied  to  the  surface,  tends  to  harden  it,  and  renders  it 
liable  to  "bake"  by  a  very  little  sun;  therefore,  surface-watering  should,  if  possible,  be 
avoided,  as,  indeed,  should  every  thing  liable  to  produce  this  effect  on  soils. 

The  question  now  occurs,  That  if  a  tree  has  not  been  watered  at  transplanting  in  the  man- 


270  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

ner  above  described,  and  if  it  is  evidently  suffering,  or  likely  to  suffer,  for  want  of  moisture, 
how  is  it  to  be  applied,  except  through  the  surface  ?  The  mode  is  this :  Draw  away  the 
soil  from  around  the  stem  of  the  tree  with  a  spade  or  hoe  until  the  roots  are  nearly  reached, 
and  in  such  manner  as  to  form  a  basin  around  it ;  fill  in  water  to  the  brim.  An  hour  or  so 
afterwards,  when  the  water  has  soaked  thproughly  away,  draw  back  the  dry  soil  forming  the 
brim  of  the  basin  to  its  former  position,  as  lightly  and  without  pressure  as  possible.  It  is  all 
the  water  it  will  require  that  season,  if  properly  performed.  And  now  that  we  have  seen  our 
trees  well  planted,  and  those  that  need  it  afterwards  well  watered,  how  shall  we  proceed  to 
aid  the  soil  in  retaining  the  moisture  supplied  to  it  ?  Simply  by  keeping  the  surface  well 
pulverized,  and  in  the  best  condition  of  a  non-conductor  that  we  can  bring  it  into ;  but  it  is 
necessary  not  to  mistake  what  pulverization  means.  Stirring  or  "loosening  up"  a  soil  is  not 
pulverizing  it,  though  often  supposed  to  be.  It  is,  however,  the  first  step  towards  it.  In 
farming,  the  plow  stirs  up  the  soil ;  the  roller,  or  harrow,  pulverizes.  The  hoe  and  the  spade 
are  the  gardener's  plow;  his  feet  form  his  roller,  or  clod-crusher.  The  operations  of  plow- 
ing and  rolling,  and  of  loosening  and  pressing,  in  gardening  should  always  go  together ;  and, 
in  relation  to  tree-planting,  whenever  a  soil  is  getting  hard,  or  in  a  "  cakey"  condition,  it 
should  not  only  be  hoed  or  stirred  up,  but,  as  soon  as  the  loosened  soil  has  become  a  little 
dry,  it  should  be  pressed  with  the  feet  and  crushed  to  atoms. 

This  is  the  whole  secret  of  the  business.  Get  the  soil  once  well  encased  round  the  roots — 
once  well  watered — and  all  that  is  necessary  afterwards  is  to  keep  the  surface  soil  well  pul- 
verized ;  that  is,  its  little  atoms  well  divided,  in  perfect  dust,  if  you  will ;  and  there  will  sel- 
dom be  a  failure,  if  the  tree  be  healthy  otherwise. 


The  Tamarind-tree  in  Virginia. 

WILLIAM  M.  SINGLETON,  Esq.,  of  Winchester,  communicates  the  following  to  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents : — 

"  Of  all  the  ornamental  trees  propagated  among  us,  either  foreign  or  native,  there  is  none, 
in  my  judgment,  more  desirable  than  the  tamarind.  Its  growth  is  rapid,  its  form  symmetri- 
cal, its  foliage  beautifully  delicate,  and  it  is  altogether  highly  ornamental ;  besides,  it  is  per- 
fectly free  from  blight,  as  well  as  from  the  depredations  of  insects.  If  cultivated  on  our 
Western  prairies,  it  would  doubtless  form  a  valuable  acquisition. 

"  From  the  growth  of  some  tamarind-seeds  which  I  obtained  at  a  confectioner's  shop  some 
eight  years  since,  I  have  a  tree  standing  in  my  yard  eighteen  inches  in  circumference.  The 
past  season  it  perfected  its  fruit,  which  in  quality  was  equally  as  good  as  that  imported. 
The  seed  may  be  sown  in  drills,  about  four  inches  apart,  and  covered  from  two  to  three 
inches  deep  with  light,  rich  soil.  They  may  be  sown  either  in  the  fall  or  spring.  If 
in  the  latter,  they  should  be  exposed  to  the  weather  during  the  winter  previous,  in  order  that 
they  may  be  acted  on  by  the  frost.  When  grown  to  a  height  of  three  or  four  feet,  the  young 
trees  may  be  transplanted  to  the  sites  where  they  are  permanently  to  remain." 


On  the  Tapping  of  the  Sugar-Maple, 

IN  the  spring  of  1850,  the  following  experiments  were  made  under  the  direction  of  the 
Agricultural  Society  of  Bratleboro',  Vermont:  — 

A  committee,  consisting  of  three  persons,  was  appointed  to  ascertain  by  actual  experiment 
the  proper  size  and  depth  of  the  bore  in  tapping  the  sugar-maple.  They  accordingly  pro- 
ceeded to  test  this  question  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  using  all  sizes  of  bits,  from  half  an 
inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  each  making  his  experiment  independently  of  the 
others ;  and  the  result  of  all  was  that  no  difference  could  be  perceived,  the  half-inch  giving  as 
much  sap  as  any  other.  Each  one  also  tapped  several  trees,  setting  two  buckets  to  a  tree, 
with  a  single  spile  to  each,  but  bored  to  different  depths,  from  one  to  three  and  a  half 
inches ;  and  the  results  in  this  case  were,  in  every  instance  when  the  weather  was  sufficiently 
warm  to  thaw  the  tree  through,  that  the  flow  of  sap  was  in  proportion  to  the  depth  of  bore ; 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  271 

and  to  make  the  matter  more  certain,  on  deepening  the  shallow  bores  subsequently,  they 
immediately  overtook  the  others  in  quantity.  These  experiments  were  repeated  in  1851  by 
a  different  committee,  with  the  same  general  results. 

It  thus  appears  that  an  aperture  half  an  inch  in  diameter  is  almost  equally  as  effective  as 
one  of  double  its  size ;  but,  in  the  one  case,  the  wound  readily  heals  over  by  the  growth  of 
the  same  season ;  in  the  other,  the  growth  of  several  seasons  will  hardly  close  the  wound, 
endangering  the  vigor  and  health  of  the  tree. 


On  the  Planting  of  Trees. 

THE  following  suggestions,  relative  to  the  planting  of  trees,  and  the  most  appropriate 
time  for  effecting  the  same,  are  communicated  to  the  Germantown  Telegraph  by  Thomas 
Meehan : — 

Our  readers  will  not,  doubtless,  consider  the  assertion  as  very  original,  that  of  the  nume- 
rous trees  annually  planted,  great  numbers  die ;  but  I  am  not  so  sure  that  they  would  not 
attribute  the  deaths  to  very  opposite  causes.  Yet  the  facts  of  the  "millions  of  cases"  lie  in 
a  nutshell.  I  will  explain.  At  the  outset,  let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  to  the  roots  of  plants 
small  rootlets  or  fibres  are  attached,  and  that  all  fluids  for  the  support  of  the  plant  have  to 
be  chiefly  received  through  these  fibres.  When  a  tree  is  transplanted,  many  of  the  fibres 
are  broken  off  or  damaged,  and,  if  it  has  never  been  transplanted  before,  most  of  the  fibres 
being  at  the  ends  of  the  principal  roots,  far  away  from  the  base  of  the  tree,  will  be  left  in 
the  ground,  and  very  few  come  away  with  it.  If  the  operation  is  performed  late  in  the 
spring,  the  buds  burst  and  the  leaves  unfold:  they  ask  for  moisture,  and  if  the  trees  have  an 
abundance  of  fibres,  they  get  a  fair  supply ;  if  they  have  few  or  none,  they  wither  and  wilt, 
and  no  matter  how  carefully  planted,  no  matter  how  carefully  pruned,  mulched,  or  watered 
afterwards,  nothing  but  very  extraordinary  skill  indeed  can  save  them. 

This  is  speaking  of  trees  generally.  Some  trees  have  very  spongy  wood,  in  which  moisture 
is  stored  or  accumulated ;  on  this  moisture  they  can  subsist  till  the  tree  has  had  time  to  form 
new  fibres.  To  this  class  belong  the  ailanthus,  paulownia,  catalpa,  some  poplars,  and  wil- 
lows. Others  have  half-fleshy  roots,  and  can  draw  a  small  amount  of  moisture  from  tjiese 
for  a  time.  The  horse-chestnut,  ash,  lindens,  many  maples,  and  some  evergreens  are  of 
this  kind.  These  do  not  suffer  so  certainly  from  the  want  of  fibres  as  the  majority  of  trees, 
comprising  the  numerous  varieties  of  oak,  hickory,  birch,  beech,  chestnut,  &c.  Now,  as  the 
roots  of  a  tree  are  continually  forming  fibres,  except  when  actually  enveloped  in  frozen 
soil,  it  directly  follows  that  the  longer  time  we  give  a  tree  before  the  bursting  of  its  buds,  in 
which  to  establish  itself  after  transplanting,  the  better  able  will  it  be  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  foliage  for  moisture  when  the  warm  weather  comes ;  and  this  brings  me  at  once  to  the 
pith  of  the  subject — the  advantage  of  autumn  planting.  A  tree  planted  as  soon  after  the  fall 
of  the  leaf  as  possible  will  begin  to  form  fibres  at  once,  and  continue  to  do  so  till  spring 
calls  the  foliage  into  action,  when  the  roots  will  be  able  to  meet  any  ordinary  demand  made 
on  them ;  at  any  rate,  it  has  a  better  chance  than  the  same  tree  would  have  if  planted  in  the 
spring. 

I  do  not  deny  that  spring  planting  has  many  favorable  points  of  view.  In  my  recent 
work  on  trees,  I  have  freely  granted  this ;  and  I  would  here  even  go  so  far  with  its  advocates 
as  to  admit  that,  in  some  cases  and  in  skilful  hands,  trees  can  be  made  to  do  better  when 
planted  early  in  spring  than  in  the  fall ;  but,  as  a  general  rule  and  in  general  hands,  and  for 
the  reasons  I  have  given,  autumn  is  the  safest,  and,  in  many  cases,  the  only  safe  time  in 
which  to  remove  trees. 

Notes  on  the  Grasses. 

BY  REV.  JOHN  BACHMAN,  D.D.,  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 

So  much  confusion  has  been  produced  by  applying  the  same  common  names  to  grasses  of 
different  species,  that  the  agriculturist,  in  sending  for  seeds  designated  by  the  common  name, 
has  often  introduced  either  those  that  were  of  no  value,  or  were  already  found  growing  in 


272  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

his  own  fields  or  in  the  immediate  neighborhood.  To  botanists  the  scientific  name  is  an 
infallible  guide,  and  it  would  be  well  if  the  farmer  could  apply  the  English  name,  where  we 
have  one,  to  the  grasses  for  which  the  name  was  intended,  and  to  render  himself  familiar 
with  the  different  species,  in  order  to  be  guarded  against  imposition  or  error. 

The  following  are  the  specific  names  of  grasses  in  usual  cultivation  in  America,  as  also 
of  some  of  those  which  may  be  cultivated  with  some  prospect  of  success,  but  which  require  to 
be  better  tested  by  future  culture : — 

1.  Medicago  sativa:  the  Lucerne. — A  native  of  Europe.     This  is  a  deep-rooted  perennial 
plant,  sending  up  numerous  tall,  clover-like  shoots.     In  the  lower  country  of  Carolina  it 
succeeds  better  than  the  red  clover,  being  better  adapted  on  account  of  its  tap-root  to  sur- 
vive the  effects  of  drought.     The  objections  to  it  are,  that  it  requires  an  additional  season  to 
bring  it  to  maturity,  and  frequently  dies  out  in  spots.     In  Europe,  a  field  of  Lucerne  may 
be  annually  mowed  or  pastured  for  eight  or  ten  years. 

2.  Medicago  maculata:  Spotted  Medick. — This  is  the  species  cultivated  in  this  country  as 
yellow  clover.     It  is  not  valued  in  Europe  as  a  grass  worthy  of  cultivation,  but  seems  to 
succeed  better  in  our  Southern  country. 

3.  Medicago  falcata:  Yellow  Lucerne;  Swiss  Lucerne. — This  species  is  a  coarser  and  more 
hardy  plant  than  either  of  the  species  mentioned  above.     I  observed  it  producing  a  good 
yield  in  some  of  the  sandy  soils  of  Switzerland. 

4.  Trifolium  pratense:  Common  Red  Clover. — In  all  clay  soils,  more  especially  in  lands 
containing  calcareous  matter,  clover  can  be  easily  raised.     The  application  of  gypsum  seems 
essential  to  its  successful  culture.     For  pasturage  and  resuscitation  of  poor  lands,  this  is 
among  the  most  valuable  of  all  our  grasses.     It  should  be  remarked  that  some  varieties  of 
red  clover,  of  the  same  species,  are  perennial;  others  are  biennial,  or,  at  farthest,  last  only 
three  or  four  years. 

5.  Trifolium  repens:  White  or  Dutch  Clover. — This  is  a  much  smaller  species,  and  is  not 
used  as  hay,  but  in  good  soils  forms  a  valuable  pasture.     There  are  fifty-nine  species  of 
clover  described  by  botanists;  a  very  small  number  of  these  are  cultivated,  the  rest  are 
regarded  as  unproductive. 

6.  Phleum  pratense:  Timothy  Grass;  Herds  Grass;  Cat's  tail  Grass,  &c. — This  is  a  most 
valuable  perennial  grass,  requiring  moist  ground. 

7.  Alopecurus  pratensis:  Foxtail  Grass. — Sometimes  mistaken  for  timothy  grass,  which  it 
much  resembles.     A  large  portion  of  the  hay-grass  of  the  Middle  States  is  of  this  species, 
which,  although  having  smaller  heads  than  the  timothy,  is  nearly  of  equal  value. 

8.  Poa  pratensis :    Smooth-stalked  Meadow  Grass. — In  Kentucky,  it  is  called  Kentucky 
blue  grass.     It  is  a  valuable  grass,  and  succeeds  far  better  in  Kentucky,  the  valleys  in  the 
Virginian  mountains,  and  in  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  than  it  does  in  any  part  of  Europe, 
where  it  is  a  native. 

9.  Poa  compressa:  Compressed-stalked  Meadow  Grass;  Blue  Grass  of  England. — It  is  far 
inferior  to  the  other,  the  Poa  pratensis. 

10.  Dactijlis  glomerata:  Orchard  Grass  of  America;    Cocksfoot  of  England. — This  is  a 
valuable  grass,  and  produces  an  abundant  yield.     Its  habit  of  growth  is  tufty,  and  it  spreads 
very  little  in  the  ground.     It  is  better  adapted  to  the  Middle  States  than  to  our  Southern 
country.     It  is  a  native  of  Europe. 

11.  Holcus  lanatus :  Meadow  Soft  Grass ;  Woolly  Soft  Grass ;  Yorkshire  Fog.— This  is  the 
species  that  has  on  several  occasions  been  sent  from  the  West,  and  cultivated  at  the  South, 
under  the  name  of  muskeet  grass.     This  and  a  kindred  species,  Holcus  mollis,  are  both 
natives  of  Europe.     The  latter  species  is  possessed  of  no  property  to  recommend  it  for  cul- 
tivation.    The  former  species  yields  more  abundantly,  but  on  account  of  its  woolly,  soft,  and 
spongy  nature,  is  not  much  relished  by  cattle,  and  is  not  generally  made  into  hay. 

12.  Agrostis  vulgaris. — Red  Top. 

13.  Agrostis  stotonifera:  White  Top  Bonnet  Grass. 

These  two  species  afford  to  the  agriculturist  in  Europe  and  the  Northern  States  of  America 
some  of  the  most  important  objects  of  cultivation,  both  for  pasturage  and  meadows. 

14.  Digitaria  sanauinalis ;  Crab  Grass. 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  273 

15.  Eleusine  Indiea:  Crowfoot  Grass. 

The  seeds  of  these  two  species  of  annual  grasses  were  originally  imported  from  India,  but 
have  become  naturalized,  and  succeed  very  well  in  our  climate.  The  former  comes  earlier 
than  the  crowfoot.  The  latter  is  more  succulent,  and  requires  a  rich  and  moist  soil.  Both 
are  good  grasses,  and  make  excellent  hay.  The  ground,  however,  requires  to  be  annually 
plowed  and  manured. 

16.  Elymus  Virginicus:  Lime  Grass;  Wild  Rye. — This,  as  well  as  two  other  native  species, 
is  perennial,  and  is  a  winter  grass,  but  does  not  make  a  permanent  pasture. 

17.  Pennisetum  typhoideum:  Egyptian  Millet. — This  is  one  of  the  most  productive  of  all 
our  grasses,  and  can  be  cut  three  or  four  times  in  the  season,  if  proper  care  be  used  to  cut 
it  above  the  joints.     In  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  it  is  extensively  cultivated  as 
green  fodder. 

18.  Sorghum  halapense:  Panicled  Millet;    Means  Grass. — A  native  of  Nubia,  Syria,  and 
Greece.     It  possesses  many  properties  of  a  good  grass,  is  deep-rooted,  grows  rapidly,  is 
relished  by  cattle  in  its  green  state,  and  can  be  made  into  good  hay. 

19.  Lolium  perenne:  Rye  Grass;  Lolium  Italicum:  Italian  Rye  Grass. — These  two  species 
are  cultivated  in  Europe,  the  latter  in  the  South  of  France  and  Italy  with  great  success. 
It  is  perennial,  and  especially  adapted  to  a  dry,  sandy  soil.     It  is  sown  in  the  autumn,  at  the 
rate  of  16  Ibs.  to  the  acre,  the  seed  harrowed  in. 

20.  Leersia  oryzoides:  Rice  Grass. — This  is  a  most  productive  grass,  and  is  found  in  all 
the  swampy  places  where  there  are  running  streams  in  our  Southern  country.     It  can  be  cut 
several  times  during  the  summer,  and  its  hay  is  equal  to  timothy.     It  will,  however,  only 
flourish  in  swampy  places,  partly  inundated. 

21.  Spartina  alabra:  Salt  Marsh  Grass. — The  salt  marsh  is  cut  in  its  green  state  as  food 
for  horses  and  neat-cattle,  and  may  be  converted  into  hay.     Its  saline  properties  render  it  a 
favorite  food  for  horses.     It  grows  only  in  muddy  places  overflowed  by  salt  water. 

22.  Holciu  polygamum :  Guinea  Grass. — This  produces  an  abundant  crop  of  green  food. 
It  is  extensively  used  in  Cuba,  Jamaica,  and  other  West  India  Islands.     It  produces  seeds 
in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  but  the  roots  are  usually  killed  in  winter. 

23.  Ceratochloa  breviaristata:  Horn  Grass;  Fescue  Grass. — I  have  not  seen  this  grass  cul- 
tivated.    It  is  a  native  of  a  soil  and  climate  somewhat  similar  to  our  own,  and  merits  our 
attention  from  the  high  encomiums  bestowed  upon  it. 

24.  Stipa  spata :  Lewis  Grass ;  Musquit  Grass. — The  term  musquit  or  muskeet  is  applied 
both  to   trees  and   grasses  in  Texas.      Several    shrubby,  dwarfish  species  of  Acacia  and 
Mimosa  are  called  muskeet-trees.     Their  tufts  of  rich  grasses  are  called  muskeet  grass.     A 
friend  sent  to  me  the  seeds  of  what  he  supposed  muskeet  grass,  gathered  in  several  localities, 
which,  when  planted,  proved  to  be  three  distinct  species  of  grass,  one  of  which  was  Holcus 
lanatus.     At  the  recent  meeting  at  Columbia  of  agriculturists  of  the  South,  I  was  favored, 
through  the  secretary,  with  specimens  of  what  he  supposed  to  be  the  productive  Western 
grass  called  muskeet.     I  can  scarcely  doubt  but  the  true  species  has  at  last  been  discovered. 
It  has  been  cultivated  in  Florida  and  Mississippi  with  the  most  favorable  results.     It  proves 
to  be  a  Stipa,  and  differing  widely  from  any  of  the  seeds  originally  sent  as  those  of  the 
muskeet  grass. 

Specimens  of  this  grass  were  found  in  the  herbarium  of  the  celebrated  traveller  Lewis, 
who,  in  the  expedition  with  Clark,  obtained  them  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  and  were 
described  by  Pursh  under  the  name  of  Stipa  juncea.  It  was  subsequently  found  and  de- 
scribed by  Nuttall,  who  obtained  it  on  the  prairies  of  the  West.  Both  botanists  had  mistaken 
it  for  the  Stipa  juncea  of  Europe.  The  latter,  moreover,  adds,  "Not  a  single  species  of  this 
genus  is  useful  in  agriculture."  I  have  a  sanguine  hope  that  the  very  species  he  was 
describing  may  yet  prove  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  agriculture  of  the  South.  The 
species  being  different  from  that  of  £  juncea,  with  which  I  have  carefully  compared  it, 
required  a  specific  name,  and  I  had  given  it  the  name  of  S.  Lewissii,  when  I  was  informed 
by  the  eminent  botanist,  Mr.  Gray,  that  it  had  been  named  by  Trinius  as  Stipa  spata,  which 
it  must  retain.  As  we  have  so  often  been  perplexed  by  the  name  muskeet,  I  propose,  as  its 
English  name,  that  of  Lewis's  Grass. 

II 


274  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

25.  Tripsacum  dactyloides :  Gama  Grass. — This  is  a  very  productive,  but  a  rather  coarse 
grass.     It  requires  to  be  cut  when  its  leaves  are  young  and  tender. 

26.  Digitaria  dactylon:  Bermuda  Grass. — This  species  produces,  short  grass,  not  fit  for 
mowing,  but  it  affords  good  pasturage  for  cattle  and  sheep,  and  is  a  somewhat  inferior  sub- 
stitute for  the  blue  grass. 

27.  The  Minnesota  Rice:  Zizania  aquatica. — This  species  has  no  affinity  with  the  true 
rice,  which  belongs  to  a  genus  widely  removed,  notwithstanding  its  common 'iiame.     It  is 
more  nearly  allied  to  the  oat,  although  it  differs  even  widely  from  that.     It  is  not  only  found 
in  Minnesota,  but  abounds  on  all  the  shores  of  the  Northern  and  Western  lakes  and  rivers, 
and  also  grows  in  all  the  Atlantic  States.     It  ripens  irregularly,  and  drops  its  seed  at  the 
slightest  touch.     The  grain  is  small,  and  the  hull  very  adhesive.     It  is  doubtful  whether  it 
can  ever  be  brought  into  successful  cultivation. — Southern  Agriculturalist. 

Grasses  for  Lawns. 

THE  extreme  beauty,  evenness,  and  velvety  softness  of  English  lawns  have  been  the  theme 
of  admiration  of  all  travellers  through  the  United  Kingdom.  In  our  landscape  gardening 
these  lawns  are  the  models  we  strive  to  equal,  no  arrangement  of  trees  and  shrubbery,  and 
otherwise  picturesque  location  of  buildings,  producing  the  proper  effect  without  a  well-set, 
compact,  and  even  sod  of  green  grass.  It  is  but  seldom,  in  this  country,  a  lawn  or  grass- 
plot,  either  large  or  small,  is  to  be  seen  what  it  ought  to  be  and  what  it  may  be.  The  differ- 
ence in  this  particular  between  here  and  England  is  partially  owing  to  her  more  moist  and 
humid  climate ;  but  more  to  other  causes  we  shall  now  advert  to,  and  first  and  most  especially 
the  determination  in  this  country  to  do  every  thing  fast.  We  do  not  take  the  time,  and  will 
not  incur  the  expense,  in  our  agricultural  and  horticultural  operations,  as  well  as  in  other 
branches  of  business,  to  do  things  well,  but  only  wish  to  do  them  soon.  In  England,  the  for- 
mation of  a  good  lawn,  intended  to  be  permanently  laid  down  to  grass,  is  considered  an 
expensive  operation,  and  one  requiring  the  greatest  skill.  The  subsoil  is  first,  if  it  requires 
it,  thoroughly  drained,  and  the  surface  made  entirely  level.  Subsoil,  or  trench-plowing,  is 
of  course  adopted,  to  guard  against  the  effect  of  drought,  and  the  greatest  care  taken  during 
the  process  of  levelling  and  preparing  to  give  it  a  uniform  foundation  at  a  uniform  depth ; 
particularly  to  make  the  upper  six  inches  everywhere  the  same,  and  of  a  uniform  structure 
of  good  garden  soil.  In  this  way  they  avoid  the  uneven  spots,  hills,  and  hollows  which  so 
disfigure  our  own  lawns,  and  make  a  variety  of  tints  in  different  parts. 

A  mistake  is  often  made  here,  in  having  the  soil  too  poor  to  produce  a  constant  and  luxu- 
riant growth  of  grass,  levelling  being  often  done  with  the  earth  out  of  the  cellar  of  the  build- 
ing just  erected.  We  would  recommend,  after  plowing  to  the  depth  of  ten  to  twelve  inches, 
if  the  soil  is  thin,  it  should  be  covered  with  a  plentiful  coat  of  good  barn-yard  manure,  to  be 
plowed  down  to  the  depth  of  five  inches,  and  the  surface  afterwards  covered  with  good 
surface  soil  at  least  a  couple  of  inches,  to  serve  as  a  recipient  seed-bed  for  the  young  grass- 
seeds. 

Much  of  the  outlay  may  be  reduced,  where  circumstances  admit  of  taking  off,  previously  to 
laying  down  the  lawn,  a  crop  of  potatoes  or  other  roots,  which  have  the  effect  of  making  the 
soil  mellow  and  friable.  Previous  to  seeding,  all  stones  must  of  course  be  picked  off,  and 
the  harrow  passed  over  repeatedly,  to  pulverize  all  lumps  and  reduce  all  inequalities. 

The  fall  of  the  year  is  decidedly  preferable  for  forming  a  lawn,  and  it  is  a  great  advantage 
to  sow,  at  the  same  time  with  the  grass-seed,  a  small  quantity  of  rye,  wheat,  or  oats,  for  pro- 
tection during  the  winter  and  succeeding  spring,  but  which  must  be  mowed  off  when  six  or 
eight  inches  high,  to  avoid  any  interference  with  the  growth  of  the  grasses. 

The  quantity  of  grass-seed  used  to  the  acre  for  lawn  purposes  is  much  greater  in  England 
than  many  persons  seem  willing  to  incur  the  expense  of  here.  Out  of  six  different  mixtures 
of  lawn  grass-seed  recommended  for  an  acre  by  some  English  authorities,  we  find  not  one  to 
contain  less  than  forty  pounds.  As  there  is  no  use  in  more  than  enough,  we  would  say  if  the 
ground  is  properly  prepared,  and  the  above  precautions  attended  to,  twenty  to  twenty-five 
Ibs.  of  seed  are  sufficient  for  an  acre. 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  275 

The  kind  of  grass-seed  for  an  American  lawn  or  park  we  have  a  very  decided  opinion  about, 
and  can  speak  from  some  experience.  We  would  discard  entirely  all  the  crested  "dogstail 
avenas  and  fescue  grasses"  of  England,  as  entirely  unnecessary  and  useless  here.  The 
very  best  quality  of  compact  sod  can  be  obtained  by  sowing  equal  parts  by  weight  of  Poa 
pratensis,  (green  or  blue  grass,)  Trifolium  repens,  (white  clover,)  and  Lolium  perenne,  (rye 
grass.)  We  prefer  this  to  any  mixture  of  other  grasses.  After  being  once  well  set,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  a  lawn  can  only  be  kept  beautiful  by  repeated  mowing,  and  occa- 
sional top-dressing,  and  cleaning  with  an  English  lawn  rake,  which  are  made  expressly  for 
this  purpose.  In  England  they  are  also  regularly  swept  with  a  broom  at  stated  periods. 

For  good  mowing,  an  English  riveted-back  lawn  scythe  is  also  indispensable. — Penn.  Farm 
Journal. 

Preparation  of  Grass  Lands. 

FROM  a  report  on  " grass  crops,"  submitted  to  the  Farmers'  Club  of  Concord,  Mass.,  we 
make  the  following  extract  respecting  the  reclamation  of  lands  intended  for  grass:  We 
would  also  say  that  it  has  been  our  experience  in  reclaiming  meadows  and  swamps,  that  to 
produce  a  large  crop  of  good  grass  it  is  necessary  that  the  land  be  well  and  thoroughly 
drained,  and  have  a  good  dressing  of  sand  or  gravel,  or  a  large  portion  of  the  same  in  the 
compost  manure  applied  before  and  after  seeding.  Otherwise,  however  well-manured,  there 
will  be  a  weakness  of  the  straw,  which  will  cause  it  to  fall  and  rot  before  it  has  time  to  grow 
to  be  a  full  crop. 

We  have  also  examined  the  crops  of  grass  grown  on  meadows  reclaimed  in  various  ways, 
and  in  our  opinion  the  too-common  practice  of  burning  the  entire  top  soil  is  a  bad  one. 
Although  the  first  crop  will  probably  be  good,  the  land  and  after-crop  will  be  much  larger 
and  better  without  the  burning  than  with  it:  burning  leaving  a  tendency  to  moss  and  wild 
grass. 

There  are  acres  of  this  burnt  land  in  our  own  town,  that,  after  one  or  two  seasons,  have 
run  back  to  wild  grass,  and  which  it  will  require  nearly  twice  as  much  manure  to  keep  in 
good  condition  than  it  would  if  it  had  been  reclaimed  in  a  different  manner. 

On  the  Cultivation  of  Clovers  and  Grasses  at  the  South. 

WE  copy  the  following  memoranda  relative  to  the  cultivation  of  the  clovers  and  grasses  at 
the  South,  from  the  address  of  Col.  Isaac  Croom,  of  Alabama,  before  the  Agricultural  Asso- 
ciation of  the  slaveholding  States :  The  opinion  which  has  long  and  extensively  prevailed, 
that  clovers  and  the  artificial  grasses  are  incompatible  with  a  Southern  climate,  exerts  a 
blighting  influence  on  the  industrial  hopes  of  the  South  ;  and  no  labor  can  be  more  usefully 
bestowed  than  in  showing  its  fallacy — none  more  grateful  to  the  aspirations  of  the  Southern 
planter.  The  important  question  to  be  decided,  then,  is,  Whether  the  cultivation  of  clovers 
and  the  artificial  grasses  is  practicable  in  a  Southern  climate?  If  this  question  shall  be  affirm- 
atively established,  observation  and  experience  will  indicate  the  most  suitable  varieties; 
and  besides,  it  will  assure  a  basis  for  future  improvement  and  prosperity  without  limit  or  end. 
From  the  result  of  numerous  and  varied  experiments  made  in  different  sections,  we  have  no 
doubt  that  red  clover  will  flourish  at  the  South  as  well  as  at  the  North,  by  the  use  of  car- 
bonate and  sulphate  of  lime,  and  other  proper  means,  in  a  soil  naturally  or  artificially  good ; 
that  this  plant  is  not  so  much  dependent,  in  fact,  upon  climate  as  upon  a  suitable  soil  and 
proper  food. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  the  same  erroneous  opinion  we  are  combatting  farther  South  pre- 
vailed in  Virginia,  that  clover  would  not  grow  in  the  light,  sandy,  acid  soils  of  the  tide-water 
districts  of  that  State.  This  error  has  long  since  been  exploded,  and  by  the  use  of  marl  and 
gypsum  red  clover  is  now  extensively  and  profitably  grown  there.  The  consequence  has  been 
an  entire  revolution  in  their  agriculture.  Coming  farther  South,  it  has,  during  the  same 
period,  been  found  both  practicable  and  profitable,  where  the  proper  means  have  been  used, 
to  grow  clover  on  the  alluvial  soils  of  North  Carolina  similar  in  their  texture  and  composition 
to  those  of  Virginia,  just  described. 


276  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

It  is  known  to  have  been  the  opinion  of  the  late  Mr.  Poinsett,  that  if  the  rice-lands  of  South 
Carolina  were  sufficiently  drained  and  protected  from  the  influence  of  salt  water,  many  of  the 
artificial  grasses  would  grow  well  on  them,  and  enable  the  rice-planter  not  only  to  secure  an 
abundant  supply  of  the  best  hay,  but  to  adopt  a  rotation  of  crops,  as  in  Italy,  by  which  his 
lands  would  be  ameliorated  and  his  crops  of  rice  increased:  In  South  Carolina,  Mr.  Calhoun, 
of  Pendleton,  Mr.  Saxon,  of  the  Abbeville  district,  and  Mr.  Sumner,  of  the  Newberry  district, 
have  all  grown  clover  with  great  and  uniform  success.  Going  farther  Soutn,  Mr.  Groom 
states  that  he  has  for  the  last  ten  years  cultivated  clover  in  the  canebrake  or  lime  land  of 
Marengo  county,  Alabama,  a  few  minutes  north  of  32  degrees,  with  every  success  which  could 
be  reasonably  desired. 

Col.  C.  further  states,  that  it  has  afforded  an  abundant  supply  of  grazing  for  stock  of  every 
kind,  fattening  hogs,  sheep,  mares  and  colts,  horses  not  at  work,  beef-cattle,  calves,  and  goats, 
from  March  to  November,  and  a  good  deal  of  grazing  during  the  other  months.  Hay  could 
be  made  if  desired.  It  is  grazed  regularly  from  February  to  November,  and  irregularly  at 
other  times.  During  the  period  of  regular  grazing,  stock  of  every  kind  will  keep  fat  without 
any  other  food,  and  nothing  is  given  to  them  except  a  little  corn  to  the  hogs,  to  keep  them 
gentle  and  obedient  to  tl^e  call  of  the  herdsman.  The  land  as  yet  has  shown  no  disposition 
to  clover-sickness,  nor  was  the  crop  ever  much  finer  than  during  the  past  summer,  although 
there  was  no  rain  on  it  from  the  1st  April  to  the  1st  July,  except,  perhaps,  one  or  two  very 
slight  showers.  Although  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  moist  summers  are  most  favorable  to  its 
perfect  development,  yet  when  it  has  become  well  rooted  in  a  deep,  rich  subsoil,  it  is  less 
affected  by  the  influence  of  sun  and  air  than  many  other  of  our  most  valuable  plants.  It  has 
often  attained  to  the  height  of  four  feet. 

We  have  often  expressed  the  opinion,  and  still  maintain  it,  that  when  clover  is  successfully 
grown,  it  is  a  far  more  valuable  crop  at  the  South  than  at  the  North.  The  reasons  are,  that 
being  a  biennial  plant,  it  requires  renewing  every  third  year.  This  renewing  is  often,  if  not 
always,  necessary  in  a  Northern  climate,  but  never  at  the  South,  so  far  as  our  experience 
goes.  The  volunteer  plants  preserve  a  good  stand.  Again:  during  some  six  months  of  the 
year  the  Northern  soils  are  frozen  up  or  covered  with  snow,  while  at  the  South,  during  much 
the  largest  portion  of  this  time,  clover  grows  finely.  We  know  of  other  planters  in  the  same 
county  who  have  engaged  in  the  clover  culture,  and  who  are  pleased  with  their  success  and 
prospects. 

More  might  be  said  in  its  behalf,  and  more  proof  adduced,  but  we  believe  that  sufficient 
proof  has  been  presented  to  show  not  only  the  inappreciable  value  of  clover  to  Southern  hus- 
bandry, but,  besides,  its  adaption  to  a  Southern  climate ;  and  that  its  growth,  in  truth,  is  not 
so  much  dependent  on  climate  as  on  the  mechanical  and  chemical  characters  of  the  soil. 

In  the  Southern  States  there  is  a  large  quantity  of  sandy,  acid  lands,  resting  upon  deep 
subsoils  of  the  same  character.  These  cannot  be  recommended  for  the  cultivation  of  clover. 
We  do  not  wish,  however,  to  disparage  these  lands,  for  they  are  easily  cultivated,  and  well 
adapted  to  some  of  our  most  valuable  crops,  and  may  be  rapidly  improved  by  the  field-pea, 
which  has  aptly  been  called  "Southern  clover."  The  grasses  are  not  deep-rooted  like  the 
clovers,  and  cannot,  therefore,  bear  so  well  the  influence  of  a  hot  sun ;  but  when  sown  on 
good  soils,  with  the  necessary  shade,  they  flourish  in  the  central  districts  of  the  cotton-grow- 
ing region,  and  will  probably  do  so  in  the  southern  portion  of  it.  Blue,  orchard,  herds,  and 
timothy  grasses,  are  cultivated  extensively  in  the  more  elevated  belts  of  the  Southern  States, 
and  to  some  extent  in  the  middle  districts.  In  the  more  southern  and  eastern  portions,  also, 
experiments  sufficient  to  test  the  practicability  of  their  successful  growth  have  already  been 
made. 

The  South,  however,  possesses  treasures  in  her  native  grasses  which  she  has  not  yet  learned 
to  appreciate.  If  proper  attention  were  bestowed  on  these,  the  value  realized  would  astonish 
us.  As  an  illustration,  a  gentleman  of  Autauga  county,  Ala.,  told  us,  a  few  weeks  ago,  that 
from  20  acres  of  creek-bottom  land  he  had  the  present  year  saved  10  tons  of  sound,  sweet 
crab-grass  hay,  which  would  serve  his  purposes  as  well  as  the  Northern  hay,  for  which  last 
he  had  to  pay  $35  to  $40  per  ton  by  the  time  it  reached  his  stable  door. 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  277 

I  have  in  some  instances  used  this  grass  for  hay ;  but  my  principal  objection  to  it  is  the 
difficulty  with  which  it  is  cured  for  mowing  away  or  stacking,  as  the  case  may  be. 

It  should  be  added,  that  the  soil  best  adapted  for  this  grass  is  a  rich  clayey  loam  resting 
on  limestone.  On  thin  soils,  especially  on  hard-pan  clays,  it  will  not  thrive. — Eds.  Ohio  Cult. 

Italian  Rye  Grass. — At  a  late  meeting  of  the  London  or  Central  Farmers'  Club,  the  subject 
of  discussion  was  "  The  Cultivation  of  Italian  Rye  Grass."  From  the  report  of  the  remarks 
made  on  this  subject  we  select  the  following  items  of  information,  as  those  most  likely  to 
prove  of  some  value  or  interest  to  American  farmers : — 

Italian  rye  grass  has  been  known  to  British  agriculture  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
the  first  importation  of  seed  having  taken  place  in  1831,  or  twenty-four  years  ago.  In  that 
year,  one  hundred  and  seventy  bushels  of  it  were  shipped  from  Hamburg,  and  sold  in  Eng- 
land at  two  guineas  ($10)  per  bushel.  The  imports  have  increased  year  by  year,  reaching 
to  about  thirty-five  thousand  bushels  in  1854,  by  one  firm,  and  the  price  is  now  about  $1.50 
per  bushel.  Other  traders  have  also  imported  largely,  and  thus  it  appears  certain  that 
the  cultivation  of  this  grass  is  increasing,  very  rapidly.  .  A  seedsman,  who  sold  only 
twenty-five  bushels  in  1840,  sold  this  la*t  yenr  seven  hundred  bushels.  The  use  of  the 
seed  is  not  now  confined  to  a  few  of  the  more  enterprising  cultivators:  "it  is  general, 
and  everybody  sows  it."  The  plant  has  fully  established  its  claims  in  the  opinion  of  all 
who  have  tried  it. 

Italian  rye  grass  prefers  the  adhesive  class  of  soils — loams  and  clays ;  but  it  does  well 
even  on  sandy  soils.  When  sown  by  itself,  from  three  to  four  bushels  of  seed  are  used  to  an 
acre ;  when  sown  with  a  mixture  of  permanent  grass,  eight  or  ten  pounds  per  acre  is  an 
ample  share.  Italian  rye  grass  and  Alsike  clover  make  together  a  very  heavy  crop.  The 
seed  imported  from  Lombardy  is  better  than  that  of  British  growth.  Any  one  proposing  to 
try  it,  should  use  every  precaution  to  secure  the  best  seed.  Those  who  water  this  plant  in- 
dustriously, usually  get  three  good  cuttings  in  a  year.  It  gives  early  spring  feed,  and  lasts 
till  quite  lute  in  autumn.  As  watering  seems  so  essential  to  the  growth  of  this  variety  of 
grass,  it  might  be  tried  in  this  country  with  rnodt  hope  of  success  on  meadows  or  lands 
which  could  be  flooded,  by  damming  up  the  ditches  or  otherwise  after  each  cutting. 
Taking  the  testimony  of  those  who  have  not  used  liquid  manures,  it  seems  indisputable 
that  this  description  of  grass  is  admirably  adapted  for  dairy  purposes  and  for  growing 
stock  of  every  kind.  For  hay,  it  is  not  unusual  to  sow  it  with  red  clover. — New  York 
Country  Gentleman. 

The  above  is  one  authority  respecting  the  value  of  this  grass.  Other  agricultural  journals 
express  very  different  opinions ;  and  by  some  the  Italian  rye  grass  is  described  as  exceed- 
ingly injurious  to  grass-lands. 

The  late  Judge  Buel,  in  treating  of  the  several  varieties  of  this  kind  of  grass,  thus  writes — 
"  The  Italian  variety  gives  the  largest  produce,  and  were  it  hardy  enough  to  withstand  the 
cold  of  our  winters,  would  no  doubt  become  a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  husbandry." 

It  is,  we  believe,  generally  agreed  that  thus  far  in  the  United  States  the  attempt  to  culti- 
vate this  species  of  grass  ha-s  been  attended  with  indifferent  success.  Much  of  this  may  per- 
haps be  attributed  to  errors  in  treatment.  Its  reputation  in  England  is  extensive  and  well- 
established,  and  the  best  seed  may  be  imported  into  this  country  for  less  than  $2  per 
bushel. — Editor  of  Year-Book.  . 

"The  only  person,"  says  the  "American  Agriculturalist,"  "we  are  acquainted  with  who 
has  grown  the  rye  grass  in  the  United  States,  and  has  expressed  his  approbation  of  it,  is  Mr. 
Alsop,  of  Middletown,  Connecticut.  From  all  we  can  hear  of  it,  however,  it  is  little  supe- 
rior, for  early  spring  pasture,  to  the  common  rye  of  America,  or  beardless  wheat. 

"  Ray  grass  is  entirely  distinct  from  rye  grass.  The  former  is  a  perennial,  comes  forward 
early  in  the  spring,  grows  rapidly  till  July,  and  yields  an  abundant  aftermath.  It  requires 
a  rich  soil  and  deep  tilth.  North  of  forty  degrees  of  latitude,  it  should  be  sown  in  the  spring, 
and  like  any  other  grass-seed.  It  may  occupy  the  ground  entirely  alone,  or  be  sown  with 
.other  grass-seeds  or  clover.  If  sown  alone,  it  requires  two  bushels  of  seed  per  acre ;  but 
to  get  a  first-rate  stand  and  thickly  cover  the  ground,  three  bushels  would  be  better.  The 
cost  in  New  York  is  $3  per  bushel  for  pure,  well  cleaned  imported  seed. 


278  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Trifolium  incarnatum,  or  Crimson  Clover. 

A  KECENT  number  of  the  "  Transactions  of  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland'' 
contains  a  prize  essay  (for  which  a  gold  medal  was  awarded)  by  James  Fulton,  respecting 
this  new  clover.  From  his  several  trials  with  it  during  three  or  four  years,  it  seems  to  pos- 
sess some  extraordinary  properties,  which  will  make  it  exceedingly  valuable.  His  series  of 
experiments  commenced  in  1852,  and  were  nine  in  number,  extending  downl:to  quite  a  re- 
cent period.  From  them  he  establishes  the  fact  that  the  crimson  clover  flowers  over  a  long 
period  of  its  growth ;  that  its  rapid  and  luxuriant  vegetation  is  hardly  equalled  by  any  other 
plant,  coming  forward  to  the  scythe  in  ten  or  twelve  weeks  after  being  sown ;  that  its  pro- 
duct to  the  acre  is  very  large,  and  it  answers  capitally  to  precede  a  crop  of  wheat,  both  by 
its  mechanical  effect  on  the  soil,  and  from  its  alleged  power  of  collecting  nitrogen.  In  one 
of  the  experiments,  the  wheat  after  the  crimson  clover  was  one-third  heavier  than  after  tur- 
nips, other  circumstances  being  similar ;  and  it  is  thought  it  will  be  quite  possible  to  grow 
it  in  England  as  an  intermediate  or  stolen  crop  between  a  wheat  and  turnip  crop,  provided 
it  can  be  got  into  the  ground  by  the  middle  or  before  the  end  of  August.  In  the  first  ex- 
periment, the  seed  was  sown  on  the  12th  of  May ;  and  on  the  17th,  the  blade  began  to  appear 
above  ground ;  and  on  the  23d,  the  leaves  were  fully  developed.  On  the  21st  of  August, 
(same  season,)  one  square  was  cut  from  three  separate  parts  of  the  field,  the  average  weight 
of  which  (green  from  the  scythe)  gave  eighteen  and  a  half  tons  to  the  imperial  acre — some 
of  the  plants  measuring  four  feet  three  and  a  half  inches  in  height.  The  flowering  com- 
menced by  the  end  of  June,  when  the  height  of  the  plants  was  from  eleven  to  thirteen 
inches,  and  it  matured  seeds  by  the  1st  of  September.  When  in  full  bloom,  the  field  was  an 
object  of  striking  beauty,  presenting  to  the  eye  an  unbroken  sheet  of  scarlet.  It  appeared 
to  be  an  especial  favorite  with  bees ;  on  looking  at  it  on  a  fine  day  in  July,  it  was  difficult 
to  fix  on  a  single  plant  that  had  no't  many  of  them  upon  it. 

In  the  third  experiment,  the  crimson  clover  was  sown  on  the  17th  of  July,  after  a  crop  of 
potatoes  had  been  taken  off.  It  came  up  on  the  third  day,  and  grew  so  rapidly  as  to  cover 
the  ground  in  an  incredibly  short  time.  The  weight  of  the  crop  was  taken  on  the  17th  of 
October,  three  months  after  the  date  of  sowing,  and  was  found  to  weigh  twenty-one  and  a 
half  tons  to  the  imperial  acre. 

Among  other  phenomena  in  the  third  experiment  was  noticed  its  extraordinary  power  of 
resisting  frost,  free  radiation,  and  a  remarkable  succulent  condition,  which  may  account  for 
the  surprising  weight  of  the  crop.  Its  radiating  powers,  to  which  its  immunity  from  the 
effects  of  the  frost  were  probably  due,  were  very  conspicuous  in  dewy  and  frosty  mornings. 
In  the  former,  the  clover  was  bent  down  by  the  deposit  of  dew,  which  was  much  heavier 
than  on  other  plants,  and  in  the  latter  it  was  so  densely  covered  with  hoar  as  to  appear  like 
a  fall  of  snow. 

Grasses  and  Grass  Cultivation, 

Value  of  Orchard  Grass  at  the  West. — A  correspondent  of  the  "Ohio  Cultivator"  gives  the 
following  memoranda  respecting  the  value  of  the  "  orchard  grass."  He  says — In  1820,  I  pur- 
chased a  peck  of  this  grass-seed  in  New  York,  and  carried  it  from  thence  to  Wheeling  in  my 
saddlebags.  In  the  following  spring,  I  sowed  it  in  various  places  on  my  farm,  but  mostly  on 
steep  banks  and  woodlands,  where  the  underbrush  had  been  taken  out.  In  every  place 
where  it  was  sown  at  that  time  it  still  retains  its  primitive  luxuriance.  It  starts  to  grow 
very  early  in  the  spring,  and  grows  faster  than  any  other  grass,  and  sustains  itself  better  in 
drought  than  any,  with  the  exception  of  clover ;  and  I  can  farther  add  to  these  excellencies 
the  fact  that  it  bears  the  action  of  the  frost  better  than  all  other  grasses,  with  the  exception 
of  the  English  spear  grass.  My  woodland  pastures  are  turfed  over  equal  to  a  timothy  mea- 
dow, and  at  the  same  time  it  is  shaded  to  an  extent  that  would  preclude  all  other  grasses 
from  making  the  attempt  to  grow.  There  are  bordering  on  the  Ohio  River  thousands  and 
even  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  of  land  so  steep  that  ordinary  grasses  will  not  grow, 
and  if  sown  will  not  sustain  themselves ;  whereas  the  orchard  grass-seed  would  thrive  luxu- 
riantly, and  sustain  its  hold  an  indefinite  time. 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  279 

"  Ray  grass  makes  a  superior  lawn ;  but  it  must  be  cut  often,  otherwise  it  grows  up  too 
coarse.  Frequently  cut,  it  becomes  fine,  and  makes  a  softer,  thicker,  and  more  velvety  turf 
than  any  other  grass  we  have  yet  seen  cultivated  in  the  United  States." 

For  hay,  neither  ray  nor  rye  grass  is  equal  to  timothy  or  red-top ;  they  grow  too  coarse, 
and  become  too  dry  and  woody. 

Beach  Grasses, 

Two  varieties  of  grasses,  adapted  to  prevent  encroachment  of  the  sea  upon  the  coasts, 
have  been  distributed,  during  the  past  year,  by  the  Patent  Office — the  sea-reed,  (Aruntfo 
arenaria,)  which  affords  a  large  amount  of  saccharine  matter,  compared  with  the  produce  of 
other  grasses;  and  the  upright  sealyme  grass,  (Elymus  arenarius,)  named  from  its  upright, 
close  spike,  also  affording  a  remarkable  quantity  of  saccharine  matter,  averaging  one-third 
of  its  weight.  The  latter  has  hence  acquired  the  name  of  the  "British  sugar-cane,"  and 
must  render  hay  very  nutritious,  particularly  when  cut  into  chaff  and  mixed  with  grain  and 
common  hay.  Experiments  have,  however,  proved  that  the  sea-reed  is  unworthy  of  cultiva- 
tion as  food  for  cattle  out  of  the  influence  of  the  salt  spray ;  and  the  same  remark  is  about 
equally  true  in  respect  to  the  upright  sealyme  grass.  But  where  the  two  grasses  are  sown 
together  in  their  natural  place  of  growth,  they  prove  of  great  utility,  raising  a  barrier 
against  the  encroachments  of  the  ocean  the  most  effectual  and  durable.  The  arundo  are- 
naria  is  applied  likewise  to  several  economical  purposes,  such  as  the  making  of  hats,  mats, 
ropes,  &c. 

These  grasses  should  be  planted  on  such  parts  of  our  coasts  as  may  be  threatened  or  be 
suffering  from  encroachments  of  the  sea,  and  upon  sandbanks  liable  to  changes  and  abrasion. 

On  the  Production  of  Gutta  Percha. 

MR.  JAMES  MOTLEY,  who  is  now  travelling  in  Sumatra  and  the  adjacent  islands,  communi- 
cates to  Hooker's  Journal  of  Botany  the  following  information  respecting  the  production  of 
Gutta  percha.  He  says :  Of  the  original  article  very  small  quantities  are  now  brought  to 
Singapore;  it  has  become  a  manufactured  substance.  Avast  variety  of  gum,  at  various 
prices,  from  three  to  thirty  dollars  a  picul,  is  brought  in  by  the  natives.  Some  of  these  are 
deep  red,  some  quite  white,  and  many  of  them  are  hardly  coherent,  breaking  and  crumbling 
between  the  fingers.  These  are  cut  and  broken  up,  and  cleared  from  scraps  of  bark  and  wood 
which  are  generally  found  among  them ;  they  are  then  boiled  in  an  iron  pan  with  cocoanut-oil, 
and  stirred  until  thoroughly  amalgamated ;  this  mixture  is  allowed  to  cool  again,  when  it  is 
broken  up  and  reboiled  with  more  oil,  sometimes  as  often  as  four  times,  or  until  the  mass 
acquires  a  certain  tenacity.  The  good  Gutta  percha,  sliced  into  thin  shavings,  is  then  added 
in  greater  or  less  proportion,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  basis,  and  the  whole  well  mixed. 
The  Chinese  who  do  this  are  very  skilful,  and  manage  to  produce  from  a  great  variety  of  gums 
a  very  uniform  article, — wonderfully  so,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  gum  is  bought  by  the 
merchants  in  very  small  quantities  at  a  time,  as  the  natives  bring  it  in. 

There  seems  to  be  a  great  mystery  about  the  Gutta  percha  trees ;  I  was  in  the  heart  of 
their  country,  and  yet  could  get  nobody  to  show  me  a  single  tree.  I  think  the  fact  is,  that 
they  have  all  been  long  ago  cut  down  within  any  reasonable  distance  of  the  settlements.  I 
saw  large  quantities  of  the  gum,  though  none  of  the  best  Duality  on  the  Indragiri.  I  think  I 
can  distinguish  at  least  five  sorts,  which  are  probably  the  produce  of  different  trees,  or  rather 
five  classes  of  gums,  for  perhaps  the  species  are  many  more,  and  yet,  though  I  offered  great 
inducements,  I  could  not  get  even  a  leaf. 

Gum  Benjamin. — The  Gum  Benjamin,  another  great  staple  here,  I  saw  collected ;  the  trees 
are  about  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  with  small,  low  buttresses  to  the  roots  ;  these  are  notched 
with  a  chopper,  and  produce  the  ordinary  quality  of  the  drug ;  the  best,  of  a  light  buff-color 
and  dense  substance,  is  procured  from  wounds  in  the  uncovered  large  roots,  and  the  common 
«or  Foot  Benjamin,  is  procured  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree :  the  oil  of  the  seeds  is  valued  as  an 
application  to  boils ;  it  is  probably  of  little  use. 

Twenty-two  different  plants  are  now  registered  as  yielding  Gutta  percha.     These  are  under 


280  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

examination.  All  the  fig  tribe  yield  a  kind  of  Gutta  percha.  Euphorbia  cattamudus  and 
another  species — common  in  India — give  a  gum  like  it.  The  sap  of  the  Muddar-tree  is  firm 
and  white,  and  equal  in  all  things  to  Gutta  percha.  The  inspissated  sap  or  juice  of  the  cul- 
tivated Artocarpus  (bread-fruit)  and  the  Lola-tree  of  Ceylon,  give  substitutes  for  Caoutchouc 
or  Gutta  percha.  The  Gutta  thoor  can  be  made  to  rival  Gutta  percha.  Asclepia  gigantea  of 
the  West  Indies  gives  a  sort  of  Gutta  percha,  and  the  tree  abounds  there. 


On  the  Germination  of  Seeds. 

THE  following  practical  observations  on  the  germination  of  seeds  is  communicated  to  the 
Horticulturalist,  by  Thomas  Meehan,  of  Philadelphia: — 

There  are  probably  few  branches  of  horticulture  so  ill  understood  as  the  management  of 
seeds.  A  package  of  seeds  may  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  two  men,  divided  between  each, 
and  sown  by  each  in  his  peculiar  way ;  and  while  one  succeeds  in  raising  plants,  the  other 
fails.  Sometimes  the  individual  who  succeeds  in  raising  some  particular  seed  one  season,  will 
himself  fail  in  another,  though  to  all  appearances  the  seed  was  gathered,  preserved,  and  treated 
exactly  in  the  same  manner.  There  is  one  class  of  seeds  which  preserve  their  vitality  to  irre- 
gular periods  without  any  extraordinary  intervention.  The  seeds  of  the  cucumber  and  melon 
will  keep  fresh  so  long,  that  gardeners  say  the  longer  they  are  kept,  the  better  they  are ; 
which,  if  true,  would  render  them  of  remarkable  value  by  "  the  end  of  the  world."  Never- 
theless, they  certainly  will  keep  fresh  a  great  many  years.  The  turnip,  the  balsam,  or  lady- 
slipper,  and  the  parsley  are  instances  of  easy  vitality,  though  of  a  few  years  less  than  the 
gourd  tribe ;  while  the  onion,  spinach,  or  lettuce  will  seldom  germinate  over  one  year.  In 
all  these  cases,  their  preservation  is  owing  to  their  not  being  in  a  position  to  admit  of  the  me- 
chanical action  of  heat  and  moisture  in  preparing  their  integuments,  or  outer  coverings,  for 
the  chemical  action  of  the  elements  conducive  to  germination. 

It  will  be  sufficient  here  to  remark  that  the  vitality  of  seeds  is  entirely  dependent  on  his 
relative  position  of  heat  and  moisture.  Some  seeds  require  more  moisture  than  others  to 
tempt  them  to  germinate ;  others  must  be  indulged  with  more  heat  than  water,  in  comparison: 
but  every  kind  of  seed  requires  its  own  due  proportion  of  each.  Seeds  of  many  plants,  as 
the  water-lilies,  will  only  grow  in  water ;  and  of  these,  some,  as  the  Victoria,  must  have  an 
accompanying  degree  of  heat  of  over  70°,  while  our  yellow  pond-lily  will  germinate  at  55°. 
Other  plants,  as  the  balsam,  thunbergia,  globe  amaranthus,  &c.,  will  readily  grow  in  compara- 
tively dry  soil. 

An  examination  of  the  principles  concerned  in  germination  teaches  us  that  in  preserving  the 
vitality  of  seeds,  or  in  accelerating  their  germination,  a  great  part  of  our  attention  has  to  be 
directed  to  their  outer  coverings.  Seeds  can  not  lose  their  vitality  while  these  remain  perfect, 
while  they  will  be  in  a  condition  to  vegetate  whenever  this  covering  is  prepared  to  admit 
moisture.  The  different  results  in  the  experience  of  different  parties  in  the  time  required  by 
certain  seeds  to  grow,  is  entirely  dependent  on  this.  If  A.  preserve  his  seed  during  the  winter 
so  that  the  husk  becomes  hard  and  bony,  while  B.  guards  his  from  such  a  contingency,  the 
latter  will  arrive  at  much  more  speedy  results  than  the  former.  Let  us  take  an  example  :  the 
sugar-maple  will  do.  A.  gathers  his  at  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  preserves  it  in  a  dry  seed-room, 
sows  it  in  the  spring,  and  it  does  not  come  up  till  twelve  months  afterwards.  But  B.  gathers 
it  at  the  same  time,  puts  it  in  the  ground  at  once,  and  gets  fine  plants  the  next  season  ;  or,  he 
gathers  his  seeds  by  the  end  of  August,  saves  them  in  a  cool  room  till  spring,  sows  them,  and 
then  gets  plants  also  "  right  away,"  in  either  case  getting  ahead  of  his  neighbor.  "  But  where 
is  the  difference  ?"  Simply,  that  B.  never  allows  his  seeds  to  get  hard.  He  places  them  in  the 
ground  to  keep  their  shells  soft ;  or,  to  the  same  end,  he  gathers  them,  not  before  their  em- 
bryos are  fully  formed,  but  before  their  coats  have  become  indurated,  and  adds  to  his  precau- 
tion by  keeping  them  cool  till  sown.  This  is  a  simple  experiment,  which  any  one  may  test  for 
himself. 

In  successfully  raising  seed,  there  is  more  in  this  gathering  of  them  before  they  are  what 
is  popularly  called  quite  ripe,  than  one  is  at  first  disposed  to  admit.  I  was  many  years  ago 
struck  by  this,  through  accident.  On  a  visit  to  a  friend,  he  pointed  out  what  he  then  consi- 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  281 

dered  extremely  rare,  a  most  beautiful  double  orange  African  marigold.  My  friend  wished 
to  keep  it  to  himself, — he  would  give  no  seed,  but  he  presented  me  with  a  flower.  When  this 
flower  had  faded,  and  was  cast  aside,  seeing  the  seed  looked  black  and  good,  I  saved  them, 
and  at  the  next  spring's  sowing  I  sowed  them  at  the  same  time  with  the  yellow,  which  we  had. 
They  appeared  several  days  before  the  others.  Simple  as  this  was",  it  led  me  to  ponder  on 
what  we  gardeners  had  always  held  inexplicable — namely,  that  on  sowing  hawthorn-seeds 
some  should  come  up  in  one  year,  while,  of  the  same  sowing,  some  should  not  appear  till  the 
second  or  third  year ;  and  I  have  since  been  led  to  the  conclusion,  by  many  similar  observa- 
tions and  experiments,  that  those  which  came  up  first  were  "  greener"  when  gathered  than 
those  which  took  a  longer  period. 

So  much  for  saving  seed  which  we  wish  to  germinate  readily.  But  let  it  not  be  forgotten 
that,  if  we  wish  to  preserve  seed  safe  and  sound  to  a  remote  period,  the  reverse  of  this  must 
be  aimed  at ;  that  is,  the  riper  the  seed  can  be  obtained,  the  better.  Now,  supposing  the  seed 
come  to  hand  dry  and  hard,  perhaps  from  some  foreign  country, — perhaps  old,  or  perhaps  from 
having  been  preserved  only  for  a  few  months  in  an  old  coat-pocket,  seed-chest,  or  some  other 
dry,  warm  place, — how  are  we  to  proceed  ?  Still  look  to  the  softening  of  its  shell.  Suppose, 
for  instance,  we  have  a  barrel  of  peach-stones  to  sow  at  once  some  spring,  which,  perchance, 
have  been  stowed  away  during  the  whole  winter  in  the  dry  store  of  some  dealer.  What  shall 
we  do ;  crack  them  ?  Yes,  that  may  do,  but  it  is  a  tedious  operation ;  can't  afford  so  much 
time ;  can  do  for  them  in  a  better  way  than  that.  Lay  them  anywhere  aside  thinly.  To-day, 
with  a  water-pot,  pour  boiling  water  on  them ;  to-morrow,  let  them  dry  ;  the  next  day,  again 
pour  boiling  water  on  them,  as  before.  Several  successive  days  of  this  treatment  will  do. 
Another  way  is,  to  expose  them  anywhere  to  a  heat  of  100°,  or  thereabout,  for  a  few  hours ; 
afterwards  pour  cold  water  on  them  ;  then  dry  thi-iu  again.  Repeat  the  operation  a  few  times, 
and  you  may  easily  have  peach-trees  the  same  year  from  stones  sown  in  the  spring.  This 
mode  of  softening  shells  is  adapted  to  any  kind  of  hard,  bony  seed.  The  heat  expands  the 
pores,  the  moisture  enters,  and  the  work  of  a  whole  winter's  freezing  is  effected  in  a  few  days. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  seeds  which  have  not  exactly  "shells"  for  protection,  but  which 
nevertheless  get  pretty  hard  coverings,  if  once  allowed  to  get  dry.  Many  of  the  sterculiaceous 
and  leguminous  plants  are  of  this  description.  I  have  seen,  of  the  former  tribe,  seeds  of  tho 
hand-plant  ( Cheirostemon  platanoidet)  remain  three  years  perfectly  sound  in  a  pot,  resisting 
every  attempt  of  change  of  heat  and  moisture  to  get  them  to  germinate ;  when  a  simple  soak- 
ing in  boiling  water  for  a  few  hours,  on  their  arrival  from  Mexico,  and  for  a  few  hours  before 
sowing,  would  probably  have  caused  them  to  spring  up  in  as  many  days.  Boiling  water  is 
very  efficacious  poured  over  such  seeds,  and  left  thereon  a  few  hours ;  or  where  there  is  any 
objection  to  the  use  of  such  hot  assistants,  though  I  have  never  found  it  to  hurt  any  thing,  the 
seeds  may  be  steeped  for  two  or  three  days  in  cold  water.  I  have  raised  Virgilea  luteas  from 
hard  and  dry  seed  in  this  manner  in  a  few  days,  after  being  gathered  ten  months.  Alkalies, 
acids,  and  various  preparations  have  also  been  used  with  various  success  in  softening  the  in- 
teguments of  seeds.  I  do  not  myself  value  any  of  these  means  much,  believing,  as  I  do,  that 
a  proper  and  judicious  employment  of  heat  and  moisture  is  abundantly  sufficient  for  every 
purpose. 

Agriculture  in  Liberia. 

FROM  the  recent  report  made  to  the  Liberian  Government,  respecting  the  condition  of  the 
model  farm  and  plantation  in  that  colony,  we  obtain  the  following  information  : — 

There  are  now  about  five  thousand  coffee-plants  in  the  plantation,  the  oldest  of  which—- 
namely, those  planted  out  in  1850-51 — are  some  of  them  seven  feet  high,  and  the  average 
height  of  that  lot  of  plants  five  feet. 

The  young  plants  now  growing  from  the  seed  sown  towards  the  end  of  the  year  are  so  nu- 
merous and  so  promising,  that  they  will  probably,  at  the  very  lowest  estimate,  furnish  five 
thousand  additional  healthy  plants,  and  it  is,  therefore,  fairly  presumed,  that  at  the  end  of 
this  year  the  plantation  will  contain  ten  thousand  flourishing  young  coffee-trees. 

The  vines  are  now  increased  to  twelve  hundred  plants.  Thirty  of  the  most  forward  plants, 
three  years  old,  bore  a  crop  in  January  and  February  of  several  hundred  bunches.  These 


282  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

plants  were  pruned  at  the  latter  end  of  March,  and  in  the  following  July  they  were  again 
loaded  with  about  six  hundred  bunches  of  grapes,  many  of  which  were  fine  and  large.  The 
cinnamon-tree  also  promises  well,  and  may  become  valuable  here  as  an  article  of  commerce. 
From  one  small  plant,  introduced  in  1850-51,  we  have  now  some  healthy  young  plants  raised, 
and  many  more  in  process  of  propagation.  The  mango  «,lso  promises  well.  In  1850-51,  a 
young  plant  was  introduced,  about  one  foot  in  height.  It  is  now  a  splendid  tree,  upwards  of 
twelve  feet  in  height.  The  olives  also  grow  most  luxuriantly.  They  were  about  a  foot  high 
in  1851 ;  and  the  largest  of  them  are  now  upwards  of  ten  feet  in  height.  At  present,  how- 
ever, they  have  not  produced  any  blossoms  and  fruit. 


New  Mode  of  Transplanting  Trees, 

A  MACHINE  recently  invented  in  England  by  Mr.  Barrow,  and  which  is  highly  commended 
by  English  authoiities,  resembles  the  common  tumbrels  for  the  conveyance  of  large  pieces  of 
timber,  with  the  exception  that  the  load  is  carried  in  a  perpendicular  position,  and  while  in 
motion  oscillates  in  the  same  manner  as  the  suspended  candlesticks  in  the  cabin  of  a  ship, 
instead  of  hanging  horizontally  between  the  wheels.  Four  wheels  of  large  diameter  support 
an  oblong  stage  formed  of  beams  of  timber  strongly  knitted  together.  Two  sets  of  these 
beams  run  lengthwise,  parallel  with  each  other,  there  being  an  interval  of  about  two  feet  six 
inches  in  width  between  each  set.  These  are  firmly  bound  together  at  each  extremity  by 
another  system  of  beams  resting  on  the  axletree  of  each  pair  of  wheels,  so  that  an  opening 
of  a  rectangular  parallelogram  shape  is  formed  in  the  centre  of  the  stage.  When  it  is  pro- 
posed to  remove  a  tree,  this  framework  is  wheeled  up  to  it,  and  the  transverse  bars  in  front 
having  been  temporarily  detached,  the  trunk  of  the  tree  is  placed  within  the  parallelogram. 
A  square  trench,  or  rather,  four  trenches  of  equal  length,  and  at  right  angles  to  each  other, 
are  then  dug,  beyond  the  limit  of  the  roots,  and  of  a  depth  corresponding  to  their  width. 
When  this  is  accomplished,  the  tree  is  by  degrees  undermined,  and  strong  planks  of  deal  are, 
during  the  progress  of  that  operation,  driven  from  trench  to  trench,  underneath  the  mass  of 
clay  which  they  enclose.  The  heads  of  these  planks  have  chains  attached  to  them,  and 
these  again  are  connected  with  powerful  jacks — screws  acting  on  the  same  principle  of  com- 
bination as  the  common  patent  corkscrew — placed  on  the  stage  of  the  framework,  and  by  the 
agency  of  these  the  whole  mass  is  raised  above  the  level  of  the  earth's  surface,  when  the  void 
occasioned  by  its  removal  is  filled  up,  and  a  way  made  firm  for  the  passage  of  the  hinder 
wheels  across  the  chasm.  A  team  of  horses  is  next  yoked  to  the  machine,  and  these  trans- 
port the  tree  to  the  site  prepared  for  its  reception,  into  which  it  is  slowly  lowered,  and  thus 
the  operation  is  completed. 

Experiments  on  the   Effect  of  Different   Methods  of  Sowing  on  the  Pro- 
duction of  Wheat, 

THE  following  experimental  researches  on  the  effect  of  different  methods  of  sowing  on  the 
production  of  wheat  has  been  communicated  to  the  American  Farmer  by  Tilghman  Golds- 
borough,  Esq~.,  of  Ellenboro',  Maryland.  Four  different  methods  of  sowing  wheat  were 
adopted: — 1.  in  drills  on  a  level  surface;  2.  in  drills  on  a  ridged  surface,  lengthwise  the 
ridges ;  3.  broadcast  on  a  level  surface ;  4.  broadcast  in  narrow  ridges.  The  field  selected 
for  the  experiments  was  of  about  sixty  acres,  which  in  the  five-field  rotation  was  that  year 
in  clover  of  one  year's  growth,  succeeding  corn.  Sixteen  breadths,  of  sixty  feet  each,  and 
varying  in  length  from  six  hundred  and  forty-three  to  six  hundred  and  eighty-two  feet,  con- 
taining an  average  of  about  nine-tenths  of  an  acre,  were  sown  with  wheat  in  each  of  the 
above  modes  alternately.  There  were,  therefore,  four  examples  of  each  method,  thus  avoid- 
ing as  far  as  possible  any  errors  arising  from  unequal  fertility  in  the  soil.  There  was  no 
application  of  manure  or  any  fertilizing  matter,  for  fear  of  irregularity  in  the  qitality  or 
rate  of  such  application.  All  the  land  in  former  years  had  been  dressed  with  shell-marl, 
and  might  be  considered  good  land,  but  not  highly  fertile.  The  wheat  was  of  the  variety 
known  as  the  golden-straw  or  golden-flint,  and  was  sown  in  drilling  at  the  rate  of  one  and 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  283 

seven-tenths  bushels  per  acre,  and  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  to  the  acre,  broadcast.  Some 
time  previous  to  sowing,  the  ground  was  harrowed  and  rolled. 

For  plot  No.  1  there  was  no  additional  cultivation  previous  to  the  drilling.  For  No.  2 
the  ground  was  ploughed  into  oval-shaped  ridges  by  a  three  furrow-plow,  one-half  being 
made  into  ridges,  five  feet  three  inches  wide,  (the  width  of  the  drill, )  and  drilled  with  all  the 
seven  tines  or  tubes  of  the  drill,  and  the  other  half  was  made  into  four-feet  ridges  by  the 
same  plow  and  drilled  with  five  tines,  the  two  outer  tines  being  hooked  up  and  closed. 
The  drills  were  nine  inches  apart.  No.  3  was  sowed  by  hand,  very  regularly,  upon  the 
ground  as  left  by  the  last-named  harrowing  and  rolling,  and  was  ploughed  in  flat  by  a  three- 
furrow  plough,  in  lands  sixty  feet  wide.  For  No.  4  the  ground,  as  left  by  the  last-named 
harrowing  and  rolling,  was  marked  or  laid  off"  into  four-feet  lands  by  a  small  single  plow, 
after  which  the  wheat  was  sowed  by  hand  and  plowed  in  by  throwing  the  land  into  four-feet 
ridges  with  a  three-furrow  plow,  in  which  operation  the  hinder  plow  was  run  in  the  furrows 
made  by  the  above-mentioned  single  plow,  and  therefore  the  wheat  grew  well  into  the  fur- 
rows subdividing  the  ridges. 

The  ground  being  in  fine  tilth,  the  broadcast  wheat  was  not  harrowed  or  rolled  after  being 
plowed  in.  The  drilled  wheat  came  up  first  by  some  days,  and  was  greatly  superior  to  the 
broadcast  throughout  the  whole  period  of  growth;  so  much  so,  that  until  the  broadcast  wheat 
became  high  enough  to  hide  the  ground,  it  disfigured  the  appearance  of  the  field,  even  when 
viewed  from  a  considerable  distance. 

Throughout  the  winter  and  spring  that  drilled  upon  a  level  surface  was  superior  to  that 

drilled  upon  the  ridges ;  and  that  drilled  on  five-feet  ridges  was  superior  to  that  on  four-feet 

ridges;  and  during  the  winter  and  early  spring,  the  drills  that  were  near  the  tops  of  the 

-  were  red,  and  quite  inferior  to  those  on  the  sides  and  near  the  bottoms  of  the  ridges. 

In  the  narrow  belt  above  mentioned,  the  broadcast  wheat  was  entirely  thrown  out  ami 
destroyed  by  frost,  but  the  drilled  wheat  in  the  same  survived  the  winter. 

In  iM-.lcr  t<>  seeuro  complete  accuracy  in  keeping  the  different  lots  separate  and  distinct, 
both  in  the  li.-n -vesting  and  threshing,  they  were  not  harvested  until  all  the  other  wheat  in 
the  field  was  cut  and  shocked;  and  after  the  threshing  of  each  lot,  the  ground  around  the 
machine  was  swept  clean,  and  the  whole  yield  of  each  lot  was  put  in  a  separate  pile  in  the 
barn,  where  it  remained  undisturbed  until  it  was  fanned,  measured,  and  weighed. 


No.  1 
No.  2 
No.  3 
No.  4 

Acres. 

Bushels. 

Weight 

Rate  per  acre 
by  measure. 

By  weight, 
60  Ibs. 

3  54-100 
3  60-100 
3  57-100 
3  63-100 

70* 
50 
39 
28 

64    Ibs. 
64*  « 
62     " 
59J  « 

19  92-100 
13  90-100 
10  92-100 
7  72-100 

21  22-100 
14  92-100 
11  29-100 
7  65-100 

The  difference  in  product  between  the  drilled  and  broadcast  would  probably  have  been 
less,  if  the  winter  weather  had  not  have  been  so  unusually  severe,  and  if  a  hardier  variety  of 
wheat  than  the  Gale  had  been  used,  and  also  if  there  had  been  no  land  inclined  to  heave  out 
embraced  in  the  ground  selected.  But  the  experiments  show  clearly  that  drilling  as  in  No. 
1  is  vastly  the  most  safe  and  reliable  mode ;  and  it  is  fairly  to  be  inferred  from  them  that  in 
any  season  and  in  land  of  average  quality  and  description,  a  valuable  excess  of  product  may 
be  expected  from  drilled  wheat  over  broadcast,  of  which  indeed  I  had  been  entirely  con- 
vinced by  the  experience  of  the  previous  six  years,  in  which  the  white  blue-stem  wheat  was 
principally  observed. 

As  the  publication  of  these  experiments  may  induce  some  farmers  to  purchase  wheat  drills, 
I  deem  it  proper  to  remark  that  in  rather  extensive  observations  I  have  not  seen  so  great  a 
superiority  of  drilled  wheat  over  broadcast  where  the  drills  were  made  closer  than  nine 
inches.  The  slopes  of  such  drill  furrows  are  too  steep,  at  least  for  this  latitude,  and  there- 
fore they  fill  up  so  rapidly  by  the  action  of  rain  and  frost  as  to  partially  smother  the  wheat ; 
and  as  they  become  level,  or  nearly  so,  by  the  end  of  winter,  the  wheat  loses  the  benefit  of 
being  in  a  furrow  or  trench,  a  position  which  appears  to  be  of  all  others  the  most  genial  to 
its  growth. 


284  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Seeding  Thick  or  Thin. — The  following  observations  on  seeding  "thick  or  thin"  are  com- 
municated to  one  of  the  English  Agricultural  Journals,  by  Messrs.  Hardy  &  Son,  seed- 
growers,  Maiden,  England: — 

"Repeated  experiments  have  proved  that  the  capabilities  of  grains  of  corn,  whether  wheat, 
barley,  or  oats,  are  only  to  be  known  by  planting  early,  thinly,  and  singly,  and  in  order  for 
the  full  development  of  each  grain,  whether  on  poor  or  rich  soils,  it  requires  to  be  planted 
at  least  three  feet  apart,  square.  Although  the  notion  of  planting  at  this  extreme  distance 
may  be  ridiculed  and  pronounced  illogical  by  thick  seeders,  yet  we  contend  that  by  judicious 
management  on  good  and  well-prepared  soils,  and  by  planting  early  in  September,  each 
plant  of  wheat  thus  treated  will  invariably  not  fail  to  produce  four  thousand-fold ;  and  half  a 
pint  of  selected  seed  is  thus  sufficient  to  plant  one  acre,  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  it  is 
of  course  quite  possible  to  obtain  a  produce  of  four  thousand  half-pints — equal  to  thirty-one 
bushels  and  one  peck  per  acre — quite  equal  to  the  average  yield  of  the  United  Kingdom,  from 
the  opposite  extreme  and  ordinary  practice  of  sowing  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  half-pints, 
or  two  bushels  of  seed,  and  sometimes  more,  to  the  acre.  Anomalous  as  this  may  appear, 
yet  it  is  certain,  and  defies  irrefragable  evidence  to  prove  the  contrary,  that  while  four 
thousand-fold  is  thus  obtainable  from  a  half-pint  of  seed,  not  thirty-fold  is  nor  can  possibly 
be  obtained  from  a  full  crop  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  times  the  quantity,  by  reason  of 
its  extreme  thickness ;  for,  were  it  so,  thirty  times  two  bushels  would  be  the  average  yield, 
viz.,  sixty  bushels  per  acre.  If  our  agricultural  friends  will  take  the  trouble  to  plant  or 
thin  small  plots  of  their  wheat  to  about  six  inches  by  twelve  apart,  or  about  eighteen  plants 
to  the  square  yard,  (the  distance  we  believe  proper  for  obtaining  the  fullest  crops,)  their 
expectations  will  be  fully  realized.  As  the  season  is  now  too  far  advanced  to  prove  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  statement  on  wheat  crops,  we  do  trust  that  some  unprejudiced  farmers  will 
take  the  trouble  to  plant,  transplant,  or  thin  singly  about  a  rod  at  least  of  their  barley  or 
oat  crops,  in  the  middle  of  their  fields,  when  it  has  been  up  about  a  fortnight,  and  after- 
wards keep  it  clean  by  hoeing  it  deeply  with  a  hack  hoe ;  then  all  their  doubt  of  the  reason- 
ableness of  this  expostulation  will  be  removed. — Hardy  $  Son,  Seed-Growers,  Maiden, 
England. 

Cost  of  Raising  Wheat,  Corn,  &c, 

MR.  W.  H.  JOHNSON,  of  Geneva,  New  York,  publishes  in  the  Journal  of  the  New  York 
State  Agricultural  Society  a  detailed  farm  account,  from  which  we  gather  the  following  inte- 
resting items  respecting  the  cost  of  different  crops  the  last  season.  The  farm  of  Mr.  J.  con- 
tains 80  acres  of  tillable  land,  divided  into  nine  lots,  numbered  from  one  upwards,  and  accu- 
rate account  kept  with  each.  The  soil  is  a  dry  loam,  with  a  clay  subsoil,  pretty  uniform 
throughout  the  farm.  Each  crop  is  charged  with  the  interest  on  the  value  of  the  land  pro- 
ducing it,  and  with  all  the  labor  and  material  used  in  its  production.  Of  wheat,  six  acres 
were  sown,  the  whole  expense  was  $122.40 ;  the  product  was  126  bushels,  or  21  bushels  per 
acre ;  this  makes  its  cost  per  bushel  a  trifle  over  97  cents.  But  deducting  the  value  of  the 
straw,  estimated  at  $18,  we  make  the  cost  of  the  wheat  but  83  cents  per  bushel.  It  was  sold 
at  $1.81,  leaving  a  fair  margin  for  profit  at  either  figure.  But  at  the  price  of  wheat  for 
many  years  past,  the  profit  would  have  been  little  or  nothing. 

Eight  acres  of  barley  cost  $102.20,  and  produced  284  bushels,  or  35£  bushels  per  acre.  It 
cost  nearly  37  cents,  and  sold  for  $1.00  per  bushel.  This  produced  a  greater  per  cent,  of 
profit  than  the  wheat,  as  we  believe  it  generally  has  for  a  series  of  years. 

Ten  acres  of  corn  on  clover  sod  cost  $153.26.  The  product  was  410  bushels  of  corn  and 
$60  worth  of  corn-stalks.  Mr.  Johnson  states  the  cost  of  raising  the  corn  at  37£  cents  per 
bushel ;  but  if  we  deduct  the  value  of  the  stalks  from  the  whole  expense,  it  makes  the  cost 
of  the  corn  but  22|  cents  per  bushel. 

Ten  cows  are  kept  upon  the  farm,  yielding  an  average  of  210  pounds  of  butter  each.  Mr. 
J.  estimates  the  produce  of  each  cow  worth  about  $54,  and  the  cost  of  keeping  $26.85.  It 
cost  12£  cents  per  pound  to  make  butter  on  Elm  wood  Farm,  and  we  think  it  cannot  be  sold 
for  less  anywhere  with  much  profit.  His  pork,  killed  at  9J  months  old,  fed  on  milk  and  fat- 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  285 

tened  with  corn,  cost  5  cents  per  pound.     The  balance  over  expenses  on  the  whole  farm  for 
last  year  was  $953.42. 

Mr.  Johnson  practices  the  following  system  of  rotation: — 1.  Corn,  to  which  is  applied  all 
the  unfermented  manure  he  can  get.  The  nexl^  spring  it  is  sown  with  barley,  at  the  rate  of 
2 £  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre ;  then  sown  to  wheat  in  the  fall,  with  a  top  dressing  of  fine 
manure  of  about  6  loads  to  the  acre.  The  following  spring  it  is  sown  with  8  quarts  of  clover- 
seed  and  4  quarts  of  timothy,  with  one  bushel  of  plaster  per  acre,  when  it  is  allowed  to 
remain  3  years  in  grass.  The  usual  product  is  55  bushels  of  corn,  30  of  barley,  and  from  20 
to  30  of  wheat  per  acre.  The  manure  is  all  kept  under  cover,  and  a  regular  system  of  under- 
draining  is  being  carried  out. — Rural  New  Yorker. 

Origin  of  the  Wheat-Plant. 

SOME  curious  botanical  facts  have  been  recently  laid  before  the  French  Academy  relative 
to  the  transformation  of  two  grasses,  JEgilops  ovata  and  the  JEgilops  triaristata.  A  gardener, 
M.  Esprit  Fabre,  of  Adge,  in  France,  has,  without  the  aid  of  books,  and  by  simple  experi- 
ment, brought  forward  a  capital  fact  showing  the  mutability  of  vegetable  forms.  By  experi- 
ments, which  occupied  seven  years'  time,  he  proved  that  the  above  grasses  were  capable  of 
being  the  source  of  all  or  the  greater  part  of  our  species  of  wheat.  He  first  sowed  the  seed 
of  the  ovata  in  the  fall  of  1838.  In  1839,  the  plants  grew  to  a  height  of  two  feet,  and  ripened 
in  the  middle  of  July.  The  ears  here  and  there  had  one  or  two  grains  in  them.  The  crop 
was  five  for  one,  and  the  straw  was  brittle  and  thin.  In  1840,  the  seed  of  1839  produced 
ears  more  numerous,  and  generally  each  contained  a  couple  of  grains  of  an  appearance  more 
like  wheat.  In  1841,  the  ears  were  more  like  wheat,  and  each  had  from  two  to  three  grains. 
The  figure  of  the  plant  was  almost  like  wheat.  In  1842,  the  fourth  year  of  his  experiments, 
the  progress  was  not  so  sensible  as  in  the  previous  year.  Many  of  the  plants  were  attacked 
by  rust.  The  stalks  were  like  JEgilaps.  The  ear  gave  two  or  three  grains  each.  In  1843, 
the  stalks  grew  three  feet  high.  In  each  ear  was  two  or  three  well-grown  grains,  and  the 
straw  was  stronger.  The  figure  of  the  plant  was  like  wheat.  In  1844,  all  of  the  ears  were 
filled.  In  1845,  the  seventh  year,  the  plants  had  reached  the  condition  of  true  wheat.  These 
experiments  were  made  in  an  enclosure  surrounded  by  high  walls.  There  was  no  grass 
inside  of  it,  and  no  grain  raised  near  the  spot.  In  1846,  he  sowed  this  grain  in  a  field  broad- 
cast, and  continued  it  for  four  years.  In  1850,  the  straw  was  full  straight,  over  two  feet 
high,  and  each  ear  contained  two  or  three  dozen  grains  of  perfect  wheat.  Thus,  a  savage 
plant,  subject  to  cultivation,  changed  its  entire  figure  and  aspects,  and  gradually  assumed 
a  new  character. 

New  Method  of  Increasing  the  Produce  of  the  Wheat-Plant. 

AMONG  the  recent  French  inventions  is  one  for  "increasing  the  produce  of  autumn  wheat," 
patented  by  Mr.  D'Urcle.  The  inventor  grounds  his  discovery  upon  the  fact — positively  ascer- 
tained '•  by  study  and  repeated  experiments" — that  autumn  wheat  is  not  an  annual,  but  bien- 
nial, like  the  beet-root  and  carrot  class ;  and  he  therefore  proceeds  to  develop  the  alleged 
biennial  properties  by  a  novel  plan  of  planting  and  treatment  for  the  increase  of  the  produce. 
The  ground  is  to  be  well  manured,  either  before  winter  or  at  the  beginning  of  spring,  to 
receive  the  seed  between  the  20th  of  April  and  the  10th  of  May,  this  time  being  chosen  to 
prevent  the  chance  of  blossoming  during  the  year.  But  the  time  of  sowing  may  be  advanced 
from  year  to  year ;  for  if  it  were  not  for  the  present  degeneracy  of  the  plant,  it  might  occur 
now  in  March.  Each  grain  is  sown  separately,  allowing  it  a  large  area  of  ground  if  the  soil 
is  rich,  but  diminishing  according  to  its  sterility.  It  is  deposited  in  rows  in  holes  at  regular 
distances,  from  9J  to  23J  inches  asunder  in  each  direction,  the  holes  in  one  row  opposite  the 
spaces  in  the  next.  Each  hole  is  to  contain  four  or  five  grains,  2£  inches  asunder.  When 
the  plants  have  attained  a  height  of  four  inches,  all  but  the  finest  one  in  each  group  are  pulled 
up,  and  this  single  one  is  then  left  for  the  harvest  of  the  succeeding  year.  This  curious  pro- 
cess is  stated  to  increase  the  produce  very  greatly. 


286 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Dioscorea  Batatas,  or  the  New  Chinese  Potato. 

THIS  new  potato  was,  several 
years  since,  transmitted,  along 
•  with  other  useful  and  promising 
agricultural  plants,  by  M.  de 
Montigny,  who  te-  consul  for 
France  at  the  port  of  Shanghai, 
in  Northern  China.  The  name 
which  he  bestowed  upon  it  was 
that  of  Dioscorea  japonica;  but 
it  has  been  considered  that  Dios- 
corea batatas  would  not  only  be  a 
more  popular  and  familiar,  but  a 
more  appropriate  name ;  seeing 
that  although  the  plant  may  in 
its  origin  be  Japanese,  of  its  cul- 
tivation in  that  dark  interior  we 
know  literally  nothing  ;  while  its 
culture  in  the  northern  parts  of 
China,  and  in  latitudes  assimi- 
lated to  our  own  in  point  of  cli- 
mate, being  a  fact  quite  accessible 
in  all  its  details,  ought  not  to  be 
submerged  under  the  name  that 
associates  it  with  the  very  exclu- 
sive territory  of  Japan.  The 
plant,  or  rather  tuber,  is  doubt- 
less a  dioscorea  or  yam ;  and 
yams  in  general  are  tropical  pro- 
ductions. The  various  species — 
D.  alata,  sativa,  and  aculcata — 
yield  tubers,  which  in  warm 
countries  are  substituted  for  the 
potato;  and  the  order  is  accused 
of  combining  with  the  farina- 
ceous matter  existing  in  its  tubers 
a  prevalent  acridity,  which  is 
sometimes  even  purgative.  Still 
a  few  genera  are  found  in  tempe- 
rate climates.  Yet  all  this  is 
nothing.  The  Solatium  tuberosum, 
our  cultivated  potato  itself,  is,  it 
is  well  known,  quite  a  poisonous 
plant  in  a  state  of  nature.  Cul- 
ture may  readily  ameliorate  all 
this  acridity ;  and,  if  we  can  cre- 
dit all  that  has  been  said  in  favor 
of  the  new  importation,  has  far 
more  than  done  so.  Certain  it 
is,  that  it  holds  the  same  place 

in  the  north  of  China,  and  is  found  to  comprise  the  same  nutritive  properties,  as  the  potato  in 
this  country.  M.  de  Montigny  has  stated  that  the  Chinese  at  taking  up  the  crop  set  aside  all 
the  smaller  roots  for  seed.  It  is  well  known  that  this  is  a  practice  now  preferred  by  our 
market-gardeners  to  cutting  large  potatoes  into  sets,  simply  because  they  like  a  juicy  set, 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  287 

and  find  the  immature  tuber  most  favorable  for  their  purpose.  This  is  so  far  fortunate  in  the 
case  of  the  new  potato,  admitting,  as  we  shall  presently  learn,  of  its  rapid  and  unlimited  pro- 
pagation ;  for  the  Chinese  place  these  tubers  first  in  pits  or  trenches  for  preservation,  (and 
they  are  said  to  keep  far  better  than  potatoes  all  the  winter,  covered  with  straw  and  a  coat- 
ing of  earth,  never  losing  weight  or  developing  exhaustive  shoots,)  and  in  spring,  being  laid 
out  horizontally  in  beds  of  prepared  mould,  they  speedily  germinate  and  send  forth  long, 
trailing  stems,  like  those  of  the  kidney  bean.  In  six  weeks'  time  the  stems  attain  six  feet  in 
length,  and  are  planted  out  afresh  and  layered — that  is,  the  plant  is  laid  lengthwise  along  a 
slight  furrow  on  the  top  of  a  ridge,  and  all  except  its  leaves  covered  over  with  earth.  Imme- 
diately after  rain  it  begins  to  take  root,  or  in  dry  weather  is  watered  until  it  grows ;  and  in 
fifteen  or  twenty  days  it  produces  tubers,  throwing  out  at  the  same  time  long,  trailing  stems, 
which  are,  however,  carefully  prevented  from  taking  root  and  producing  a  second  set  of 
tubers  to  the  prejudice  of  the  main  crop.  Sometimes  the  shoots  are  simply  pegged  down, 
without  removal  of  the  plant,  over  the  sides  of  the  ridge  on  which  it  grows,  at  intervals  of  six 
or  eight  inches,  and  there  striking  root,  throw  out  tubers.  By  this  means  it  is  stated  that  im- 
mense quantities  of  roots,  of  the  size  of  our  early  kidney  potatoes  of  the  garden  frame,  are  raised 
on  comparatively  small  pieces  of  land.  To  obtain  large-sized  tubers,  small  ones,  or  portions 
of  large,  are  planted  in  ridges  at  from  ten  to  twelve  inches  apart ;  and  the  plants  being  allowed 
to  grow  freely  in  autumn,  the  tubers  thus  attain  an  average  weight  of  one  pound  and 
upwards.  This  is  the  plan  which  has  been  pursued  at  the  Museum  of  France,  the  only  place 
in  Europe  where  the  new  plant  has  hitherto  been  cultivated. — Mark  Lane  Express. 

This  plant,  says  the  writer  of  a  paper  sent  to  the  French  Central  Agricultural  Society,  may, 
by  its  size,  weight,  and  hardy  character,  become  exceedingly  valuable  in  France,  as  it  will 
serve  as  a  substitute  for  the  potato.  Its  tuhercli-s,  like  those  of  the  Jerusalem  artichoke, 
resist  in  the  open  air  the  severest  winter  without  sustaining  any  injury.  Several  specimens 
of  these  roots  of  very  large  size  were  presented  in  1852  to  the  Society,  one  of  which,  of  a 
cylindrical  form,  was  three  feet  in  length;  another  tubercle,  presented  in  1853,  weighed  three 
pounds,  tin-  ft  inner  having  been  in  the  earth  twenty  months,  and  the  latter  sixteen.  During 
the  past  season,  the  French  Imperial  Society  for  Acclimation  has  distributed  a  large  number 
of  these  tubercles,  with  directions  for  their  cultivation,  among  the  various  departments  of 
France,  as  well  as  Algeria,  England,  Germany,  Piedmont,  Sicily,  Sardinia,  &c. 

Experimental  Researches  on  the  Culture  of  the  Potato. 

IN  consequence  of  the  premiums  offered  by  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  Mr. 
II.  II.  Eastman,  of  Marshall,  Oneida  county,  New  York,  has  made  some  interesting  experi- 
ments in  potato  culture,  the  full  details  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Society  for  1852,  page  342,  and  in  the  volume  for  1853,  recently  issued,  page  297. 

In  the  first  year's  experiments,  1852,  some  of  the  most  noteworthy  results  were  as  follows : 
Ashes,  lime,  sulphur,  and  saltpetre,  (nit rate  of  potash,)  diminished  rather  than  increased  the 
yield.  A  tablespoonful  of  gypsum,  applied  when  the  potatoes  were  up,  increased  the  crop 
from  one  hundred  and  thirty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  bushels  per  acre.  Hog-manure, 
half  a  shovelful  in  each  hill,  gave  the  largest  crop — two  hundred  and  seventy-one  bushels  per 
acre.  Fowl-manure,  a  large  handful  in  each  hill,  gave  the  next  best  yield — two  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  bushels  per  acre.  The  plot  without  any  manure  at  all  gave  one  hundred  and 
sixty-six  bushels  per  acre. 

The  soil  was  a  gravelly  loam,  greensward,  plowed  nine  inches  deep  early  in  the  spring ; 
potatoes  planted  18th  May,  and  hoed  twice  ;  variety,  red  "  Irish  hankers." 

To  test  the  question  of  early,  medium,  and  late  planting,  one  plot  was  planted  the  18th  of 
May,  and  gave  one  hundred  and  forty-two  bushels  per  acre ;  another,  planted  the  23d  of 
May,  gave  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  bushels ;  and  another,  under  similar  conditions, 
planted  June  8,  gave  only  one  hundred  bushels  per  acre. 

The  experiments  in  1853  were  with  three  different  varieties  :  the  Mercer  or  Philadelphia, 
th6  red  Irish  lunker,  and  the  Carter.  The  ground  was  a  greensward,  plowed  early  in  the 
spring,  eight  inches  deep.  Soil  mucky ;  planted  May  7 ;  the  hills  were  three  feet  apart  each 


288 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


•way ;  seed  planted  whole.  Hoed  twice ;  last  time  slightly  hilled.  We  have  made  selections 
from  the  principal  results,  and  embodied  them  in  the  following  table,  which  shows  the  pro- 
duce of  the  three  varieties  without  any  manure,  and  the  effect  of  the  various  fertilizers  applied 
in  the  hill  at  the  time  of  planting. 


Description  of  the  manures,  and  the  quantity 
applied  in  each  hill. 

Total  number  of 
bushels  per  acre. 

Increase  per  acre 
from  manure,  in 
bushels. 

Quantity  of  un- 
sound potatoes  per 
am-,  in  bushels. 

I 

l| 

**  o 

s 

6 

3 

'4 

1 

1 

il 

3 

72} 
I30f 

104§ 
89* 
87 
96S 

"aii 

96* 
75§ 
85 

117 
255 
154* 
183* 
172 
169* 
106* 
163 
148* 
140* 
143* 

im 

134| 

282 
179§ 
152* 
134§ 
138§ 

14  6  § 
150§ 

13 
15| 
8i 

4§ 
1* 
4§ 

'"si 

5* 
5* 

1 

26* 
20 
17* 
6 
3 
3* 
9* 

2 
21§ 
45* 
83$ 
31* 
13f 

"38f 
3* 

2.  —  *  shovelful  hog-manure  

58 
32 
17 
14* 
24 

"if 

24 
3 
12* 

138 
37* 
66* 
55 
52* 
10* 
46 
31* 
23* 
26* 

i 

147* 
45 
18 
00 
4 

"12" 
16 

3.  —  i        "        long,  unfermented  manure.... 

5.  —  Tablespoonful  of  guano  

6.  —          "         "         superphosphate  of  lime 
7.  —          "         "         gypsum  or  plaster  
8.  —  *  handful  of  poudrette  

11.  —  *  handful  of  ashes  

12.—          "            lime  

There  is  a  striking  difference  in  the  yield  of  the  three  varieties — the  Mercer,  in  every  case, 
producing  less  than  the  Irish  lunkers  and  the  Carters.  They  have,  however,  as  a  general 
thing,  fewer  unsound  potatoes.  The  Carters  appear  to  be  exceedingly  liable  to  disease.  In 
one  instance,  No.  4,  with  compost,  more  than  half,  or  eighty-three  and  a  half  bushels  out  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty-two  and  a  half,  were  unsound. 

The  hog-manure  in  the  second,  as  in  the  first  experiments,  gives  the  greatest  increase  with 
each  variety.  The  Carters,  with  this  manure,  gave  two  hundred  and  eighty-two  bushels  in 
the  aggregate,  or  two  hundred  and  sixty  bushels  of  sound  potatoes,  per  acre.  In  these  days 
of  potato  degeneracy,  this  is  a  good  crop.  Long,  unfermented  manure  gives  a  compara- 
tively poor  crop  with  all  the  varieties.  Poudrette,  wheat-bran,  hen-manure,  and  ashes  have 
but  a  slight  beneficial  effect.  Lime  gave  no  increase,  and  gypsum  would  seem  to  have  done 
more  harm  than  good,  since,  with  the  Irish  lunkers,  the  plot  receiving  a  tablespoonful  of 
plaster  in  the  hill  actually  yields  ten  and  a  half  bushels  per  acre  less  than  that  with  no  ma- 
nure. This  confirms  the  common  opinion  that  plaster  has  little  or  no  effect  on  low,  moist  soil ; 
while  on  dry  upland  it  usually  proves  beneficial.  In  the  first  year's  experiments,  on 
"  gravelly  loam,"  plaster  applied  when  the  potatoes  were  up  gave  an  increase  of  twenty-six 
bushels  per  acre,  and,  applied  in  the  hill  at  the  time  of  planting,  an  increase  of  thirty-two 
bushels  per  acre. 

The  comparative  value  of  superphosphate  of  lime  and  guano  for  potatoes  is  a  matter  of 
discussion  just  now,  and  we  were  in  hopes  that  these  experiments  would  have  thrown  some 
light  on  the  subject.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  guano  was  applied  in  the  hill  with  the 
potato,  and,  of  course,  the  "  seed  was  injured"  and  the  crop  lessened.  Under  these  circum- 
stances, it  is  hardly  surprising  that  the  guano,  except  in  one  instance,  gives  a  less  in- 
crease than  the  superphosphate.  Our  own  experiments  and  observations  on  this  point  lead 
us  to  the  conclusion  that  good  Peruvian  guano  is  a  far  superior  manure  for  potatoes  than 
superphosphate  of  lime.  And,  indeed,  Mr.  E.  found,  in  another  experiment  with  Irish 
lunkers,  that  guano,  applied  on  the  top  of  the  hill  at  the  time  of  planting,  produces  a  better 
crop  than  superphosphate  of  lime  similarly  applied.  Thus  the  unmanured  plot  gave  per 
acre  seventy-eight  and  a  half  bushels ;  the  superphosphate,  one  hundred  and  ten  and  two- 
thirds  bushels ;  and  the  guano,  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  bushels.  It  is  said,  too,  that  in  this 
case  also  the  seed  was  injured,  though  doubtless  less  so  than  where  the  guano  was  in  actual 
contact  with  the  tubers.  It  is  seen  that  the  guano  doubles  the  crop,  and  gives  forty-five 
bushels  per  acre  more  than  the  superphosphate  of  lime.  A  tablespoonful  of  saltpetre  (ni- 
trate of  potash)  applied  in  the  hill  gave  seventy-five  and  two-thirds  bushels  per  acre,  or  three 
bushels  less  than  where  nothing  was  applied.  This  is  in  accordance  with  the  previous  year's 


AGRICULTURAL  BOTANY.  289 

experiments,  where  saltpetre  lessened  the  crop  four  bushels  per  acre.  A  teaspoonful  of  sul- 
phur gave  an  increase  of  six  bushels ;  of  gypsum,  an  increase  of  eight  bushels ;  and  a  handful 
of  charcoal,  an  increase  of  twenty-six  bushels  per  acre.  The  experiment  of  early,  medium, 
and  late  planting  was  again  tried  in  1853,  and  resulted,  as  before,  in  favor  of  early  planting. 
Variety,  Irish  lunkers ;  whole  tubers,  planted  in  hills  three  feet  apart.  Those  planted  May 
9th  gave  one  hundred  and  four  bushels;  May  30th,  seventy  bushels;  and  June  18th,  only 
forty-five  bushels,  per  acre. — Country  Gentleman. 

On  the  manures  best  suited  for  the  potato. — Repeated  experiments  have  confirmed  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  common  opinion  that  nothing  equals  hog-manure  for  potatoes.  The  cold  na- 
ture of  this  manure  has,  perhaps,  something  to  do  with  this ;  but  we  apprehend  that  it  is  due 
principally  to  the  fact  that,  hogs  eating  much  grain,  the  manure  is  especially  rich  in  ammonia. 
At  all  events,  it  is  pretty  well  ascertained  that  ammonia  is  largely  required  by  the  potato 
crop.  Hence,  for  the  production  of  a  large  crop,  rich  nitrogenous  manures  and  Peruvian 
guano  are  the  best. 

Potatoes  generally  command  a  higher  relative  price  than  most  other  crops.  Peruvian  guano 
is  an  admirable  manure  for  wheat ;  but  at  ordinary  prices,  say  $1  per  bushel,  it  is  ques- 
tionable whether  its  application  pays.  On  potatoes,  at  average  prices,  Peruvian  guano  is  a 
highly  profitable  fertilizer.  In  1853,  II.  C.  Ives,  Esq.,  of  Rochester,  planted  four  acres  of 
potatoes:  two  without  manure,  and  two  dressed  broadcast  with  six  hundred  pounds  of  Peru- 
vian guano.  The  former  produced  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  bushels ;  the  latter,  four 
hundred  and  ten  bushels ;  that  is  to  say,  for  three  hundred  pounds  of  guano  an  increase  of 
eighty-six  bushels  per  acre  was  obtained. 

The  experiments  on  potatoes  on  the  State  Farm  of  Massachusetts  last  year  resulted  as 
follows: 

Barn-yard  manure 86$  bushels  per  acre. 

Mapes's  superphospate 84J       "  " 

De  Burg's        "          77i      "  " 

Guano 92$      "  " 

Twelve  dollars'  worth  of  manure  was  used  in  each  case.  It  is  to  \)e  regretted  that  the 
yield  of  the  land  without  manure  was  not  ascertained.  The  crop,  owing  to  the  drought,  was 
small.  The  guanoed  acre  yields  the  best,  though  it  is  well  known  that  dry  weather  is  more 
hurtful  to  the  action  of  guano  than  to  that  of  superphosphate.  In  another  case  on  this 
farm,  on  land  that  had  not  been  manured  for  four  years,  having  been  mown  three  years,  and 
the  lust  year  cultivated  with  corn  cut  for  fodder,  "  four  hundred  pounds  of  guano  gave  one 
hundred  and  eighty-nine  and  a  half  bushels  of  superior  potatoes  per  acre." 

From  what  we  have  seen  of  the  effects  of  good  Peruvian  guano  on  potatoes,  we  feel  great 
confidence  in  recommending  it  as  a  profitable  fertilizer  for  this  crop.  We  would  sow  from 
three  hundred  to  four  hundred  pounds  per  acre  broadcast,  and  thoroughly  incorporate  it 
with  the  soil  before  planting  the  potatoes.  A  somewhat  better  effect  would  be  obtained  by 
applying  the  guano  in  the  hill,  covering  it  with  two  inches  or  so  of  soil,  and  planting  the 
potato  on  the  top  of  it.  Unless  great  care  is  used,  however,  there  is  danger  of  the  plant 
being  injured  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  guano.  It  should  be  scattered  over  at  least  a 
square  foot. — Albany  Cultivator. 

Potato-Seed. 

A  CURIOUS  fact,  not  generally  known,  connected  with  the  production  of  potatoes  from  seed- 
balls,  is,  that  no  two  stems  will  possess  precisely  the  same  qualities,  yet  many  of  the  tubers 
will  appear  so  much  alike  that,  when  mixed  together,  they  cannot  be  distinguished  by  the 
eye,  though  it  may  happen  that  one  variety  will  be  four  times  as  prolific  as  the  other,  or  may 
be  much  better  in  other  respects.  The  tubers  raised  from  the  seeds  of  the  same  ball  are 
also  prodigiously  diversified  in  regard  to  color,  being  pink,  black,  red,  white,  green,  yellow, 
&c.;  and,  as  to  shape,  are  round,  nobbed,  and  varied  in  all  proportions;  as  to  size,  some  of 
them  being  no  larger  the  first  year  than  peas,  while  others  exceed  the  size  of  a  pullet's  egg; 
as  to  "earliness,"  some  of  them  completing  their  growth  in  July,  while  others  will  not  put 
forth  their  blossoms  until  October;  as  to  productiveness,  some  yield  more  than  two  hundred 

19 


290  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

to  one,  "while  others  will  give  only  three  or  four-fold ;  as  to  spreading  under  the  ground, 
some  running  out  to  a  great  distance,  others  growing  quite  near  to  the  stem — some  descend- 
ing deep  into  the  earth,  while  others  will  rise  to  the  surface;  as  to  quality,  some  will  be 
tough  and  watery,  some  dry  and  mealy,  some  very  pleasing  to  the  taste,  while  others  will 
not  be  palatable ;  as  to  the  stems,  some  will  carry  a  single  rod,  others  an  immense  profusion 
of  them,  some  being  very  luxurious,  while  others  will  be  dwarfish.  In  short,  as  is  very 
remarkable,  no  sort  of  connection  will  be  found  to  exist  between  any  of  the  peculiarities  of 
the  two  specimens. 

Charles  Sears,  of  the  Phalanx  Farm,  in  New  Jersey,  has  communicated  to  the  Working 
Farmer  a  detailed  statement  of  the  result  of  sundry  experiments  he  has  tried  in  planting 
potatoes,  with  a  view  of  determining  whether  it  is  most  profitable  to  plant  whole  seed  or 
small  cuttings.  The  general  conclusions  are  thus  stated; — It  will  be  perceived  that  the  ratio 
of  product  to  seed  is  greatest  from  the  smallest-cut  seed,  as  might  be  inferred  would  be  the 
case;  but  deducting  the  quantity  of  seed  in  each  case,  the  net  produce  per  acre  is  uni- 
formly in  favor  of  planting  whole  seed,  and  also  as  clearly  in  favor  of  planting  large-sized 
whole  seed,  when  the  cost  of  seed  does  not  exceed  a  dollar  a  bushel,  and  the  crop  sells  for 
fifty  cents  or  more ;  the  ratio  of  product  per  acre  of  marketable  potatoes  from  whole  seed 
being  relatively  as  100,  90,  73,  and  from  smallest-cut  seed  as  62,  44,  34.  Taking  only  the 
first  or  largest-sized  potatoes,  the  ratio  of  product  per  acre  from  whole  seed  is  as  100,  73, 
67.  I  have  also  estimated  a  money  valuation  of  the  crop,  and  the  extreme  difference  at  the 
prices  named  between  the  product  of  the  large-sized  whole  seed  and  that  of  the  smallest-cut 
seed  is  as  $86,  $76,  and  $40,  the  latter  figure  being  46  per  cent,  of  the  former. 

In  the  foregoing  estimation  of  net  results  I  have  not  taken  account  of  the  cost  of  culture 
and  marketing,  so  as  to  show  the  actual  profit  of  the  crop,  because  the  cost  and  product 
differ  so  greatly  in  different  sections  of  the  country. 

Mr.  E.  C.  Roberts,  in  the  New  York  Country  Gentleman,  gives  the  following  directions, 
based  on  his  experience,  for  cultivating  the  potato.  He  says — 

"  To  get  seed-roots,,  select  one-fourth  acre  of  arable  land,  (on  which  water  will  not  stand,) 
on  an  eastern  slope,  (new  land  is  the  best  for  this  use,)  fit  early  in  the  spring,  furrow  four 
or  five  inches  deep,  and  two  feet  apart.  Select  seed-roots  that  are  about  the  size  of  a  hen's 
egg,  that  have  touched  the  ground  during  the  previous  winter.  Do  not  cut  them ;  drop  one 
every  six  or  eight  inches  apart  in  the  furrows,  cover  them  by  filling  the  furrows,  and  then 
put  a  top  dressing  of  two  inches  of  straw  or  forest-leaves  on  each  row.  When  the  tops  are 
two  inches  high,  pass  between  the  rows  with  a  shovel-plow ;  follow  with  a  hoe  destroying 
the  weeds,  and  levelling  the  ground;  do  not  hill.  You  have  nothing  more  to  do  until  fall, 
when  the  ground  begins  to  freeze ;  then  cover  with  half-rotten  straw,  chaff,  or  forest-leaves, 
three  or  four  inches  deep.  Your  potatoes  will  now  have  a  chance  to  ripen  and  rest  during 
the  winter. 

"  I  shall  now  direct  you  in  planting  for  culinary  use  next  season.  The  spring  following, 
before  your  potatoes  sprout,  you  will  plant  another  seed-patch,  as  above  directed.  You  will 
now  take  the  residue,  and  plant  a  field  crop  for  culinary  use.  Plant  in  drills,  four  or  five 
inches  deep,  and  three  feet  apart ;  drop  a  potato  every  eight  or  ten  inches,  cover  by  filling 
the  furrows ;  cultivate  or  hoe  twice.  In  this  way  you  will  get  the  greatest  yield  and  best 
quality.  Continue  a  similar  practice  from  year  to  year,  and,  from  my  own  experience,  I 
believe  you  will  find  your  potatoes  yearly  increasing  in  yield  and  quality. 

"The  third  year  you  may  increase  your  field  crop  by  plowing  in  fine  manure.  All  who 
follow  my  directions  will,  the  second  year,  see  many  seed-balls  on  the  vines  in  their  seed- 
patch.  These  may  be  planted  in  the  fall  as  I  have  done,  and  cultivated  carefully,  and  good 
will  undoubtedly  result  from  it,  if  pursued  in  nature's  own  way.  The  potato  will  grow  wild 
in  our  forests,  if  planted  in  them,  and  thus  save  those  the  trouble  (who  wish  to  get  the  wild 
root)  of  resorting  to  their  native  forests  in  South  America.  Finally,  we  may  apply  nature's 
laws  profitably  to  most  other  products.  Seed  of  every  variety  should  be  fully  matured,  i.e. 
not  harvested  until  fully  ripe.  That  which  approaches  the  nearest  to  perfection  should  be 
selected  for  seed,  and  all  roots  for  seed  purposes  should  remain  in  the  ground  where  they 
grew  until  they  bear  seed." 


Ancient  Gardening-. 

OSSIP  on  Ancient  Gardening"  is  the  title  of  a  German  work 
recently  translated  and  published  in  England  by  Herr  Wiis- 
temann.  The  three  principal  topics  discussed  are — the 
practice  of  grafting  among  the  ancients,  the  cultivation  of 
the  papyrus,  and  the  cultivation  and  use  of  the  rose.  In 
aiMition,  the  book  contains  much  additional  information, 
in  the  form  of  notes,  respecting  the  agricultural,  horticul- 
tural, and  botanical  notions  of  the  ancients,  the  subject- 
matter  having  been  originally  prepared  in  the  form  of 
lectures  for  the  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Horticulture,  at 
Gotha,  Germany. 

In  respect  to  the  cultivation  and  appreciation  of  the  rose 
among  the  ancients,  M.  Wiistemann  gives  us  the  following  information : — 

The  love  of  the  ancients  for  roses  was  something  fanatical.  We  do  not  so  much  refer  to 
the  poets,  for  probably  the  modern  and  the  antique  bards  may  vie  with  each  other  in  the 
use  of  the  rose  as  a  commonplace  of  poetical  illustration;  but  we  allude  to  a  strong  passion 
for  the  visible,  tangible,  scent-giving  rose,  as  something  to  be  enjoyed  by  all  the  five  senses, 
scarcely  excluding  that  of  hearing,  for  a  rustle  of  many  roses  must  have  attended  some  of 
the  more  extraordinary  manifestations  of  the  idolatry.  A  time  without  roses  was  a  contin- 
gency to  be  avoided  at  any  cost;  and  the  Romans,  though  the  mildness  of  their  climate 
allowed  the  adored  flower  to  grow  at  an  unusually  late  season,  could  not  submit  to  the  pri- 
vations of  a  winter.  Not  only  were  whole  ship-loads  of  roses  brought  from  Alexandria  in 
the  inclement  season,  but  various  means  were  devised  for  p  ^serving  the  gathered  flowers 
throughout  the  year  with  as  much  freshness  as  was  attainable.  The  wreath  of  roses  of 
which  one  reads  and  writes  about  so  often,  without  any  other  image  than  of  a  curved  twig 
with  a  tolerably  rich  supply  of  floral  ornaments,  was  capable  of  a  high  degree  of  elabora- 
tion, for  the  Roman  florists  looked  upon  an  enlacement  of  whole  flowers  as  an  exceedingly 
meagre  affair.  For  a  grand  work  of  art,  they  took  the  rose-leaves  separately,  laid  them 
over  each  other  like  scales,  and  thus  produced  a  sort  of  fragrant  sausage. 

This  refinement  in  the  construction  of  wreaths  is  sufficient  to  show  that  the  luxurious 
ancients  not  only  insisted  on  the  constant  presence  of  roses,  but  were  determined  to  have 
them  in  as  huge  a  quantity  as  possible.  The  anecdotes  that  illustrate  this  Torm  of  the  floral 
passion  could  scarcely  be  surpassed  in  wonder  by  the  wildest  imagination. 

To  enjoy  the  scent  of  roses  at  meals,  (says  Herr  Wiistemann,)  an  abundance  of  rose-leaves 
was  shaken  out  upon  the  table,  so  that  the  dishes  were  completely  surrounded.  By  an  arti- 
ficial contrivance,  roses,  during  meals,  descended  on  the  guests  from  above.  Heliogabalus 
in  his  folly  caused  violets  and  roses  to  be  showered  down  upon  his  guests  in  such  quantities 
that  a  number  of  them,  being  unable  to  .extricate  themselves,  were  suffocated  in  flowers. 
During  meal-times  they  reclined  upon  cushions  stuffed  with  rose-leaves,  or  made  a  couch  of 
the  leaves  themselves.  The  floor,  too,  was  strewed  with  roses,  and  in  this  custom  great 
luxury  was  displayed.  Cleopatra,  at  an  enormous  expense,  procured  roses  for  a  feast  which 

291 


292  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

she  gave  to  Antony,  had  them  laid  two  cubits  thick  on  the  floor  of  the  banquet-room,  and 
then  caused  nets  to  be  spread  over  the  flowers  in  order  to  render  the  footing  elastic.  Helio- 
gabalus  caused  not  only  the  banquet-rooms,  but  also  the  colonnades  that  led  to  them,  to  be 
covered  with  roses,  interspersed  with  lilies,  violets,  hyacinths,  and  narcissi,  and  walked 
about  upon  this  flowery  platform. 

As  a  source  of  artificial  perfumes,  the  rose  was  employed  by  the  ancients  in  other  ways 
than  in  those  oils  and  waters  that  are  familiar  to  modern,  life.  When  the  leaves  had  been 
pressed  out  for  higher  uses,  they  were  dried  and  reduced  into  a  powder,  called  "  diapasma,-' 
which  was  laid  on  the  skin  after  a  bath,  and  then  washed  off  with  cold  water.  The  object 
of  this  process  was  to  impart  a  fragrance  to  the  skin.  As  a  medicine,  quinces  preserved  in 
honey  were  introduced  into  a  decoction  of  rose-leaves,  and  the  preparation  was  deemed  good 
for  complaints  of  the  stomach.  In  the  culinary  art,  roses  had  likewise  their  place  of  honor, 
and  were  put  into  many  dishes  for  the  sake  of  their  pleasant  flavor.  For  this  end  they  were 
sometimes  preserved — a  delicate  process,  as  they  were  very  apt  to  become  mouldy. 

But  the  connection  between  the  rose  and  the  kitchen  takes  its  most  imposing  form  in  the 
rose-pudding,  for  which  we  give  Herr  Wiistemann's  receipt,  based  upon  the  authority  of 
Apicius : 

Take  cleaned  rose-leaves,  carefully  cut  oif  the  white  part  at%  the  lower  extremity,  put 
them  into  a  mortar,  and  pound  them,  continually  sprinkling  them  meanwhile  with  a  "sauce 
piquante"  Afterwards,  add  about  a  glass  and  a  half  of  the  same  sauce,  and  pass  the 
whole  through  a  sieve.  Next,  take  the  brains  from  five  calves'  heads,  remove  the  skin,  and 
sprinkle  over  them  a  drachm  of  fine  pepper.  Beat  all  this  in  a  mortar,  still  pouring  in  the 
sauce  as  before.  Then  take  the  yolks  of  eight  eggs,  stir  them  up  with  a  glass  and  a  half  of 
wine  and  a  glass  of  sack,  and  add  a  little  oil.  Lastly,  anoint  the  form,  into  which  the 
whole  is  put,  with  oil,  and  so  bake  it  that  it  may  be  equally  heated  at  the  top  and  at  the 
bottom.  The  pudding  is  then  served  up  hot. 


Influence  of  Poetry  on  the  Cultivation  and  Appreciation  of  Flowers. 

"  EVERY  one,"  says  Ruskin,  "who  is  about  to  lay  out  a  limited  extent  of  garden,  in  which 
he  wishes  to  introduce  many  flowers,  should  read  and  attentively  study,  first  Shelley,  and 
next  Shakspeare.  The  latter,  indeed,  induces  the  most  beautiful  connections  between  thought 
and  flower  that  can  be  found  in  the  whole  range  of  European  literature ;  but  he  very  often 
uses  the  symbolical  effect  of  the  flower,  which  it  can  only  have  in  the  educated  mind,  instead 
of  the  natural  and  true  effect  of  the  flower,  which  it  must  have  more  or  less  upon  every 
mind.  Thus,  when  Ophelia,  presenting  her  wild  flowers,  says,  '  There's  rosemary,  that's  for 
remembrance,  pray  you,  love,  remember ;  and  there's  pansies,  that's  for  thoughts' — the  infi- 
nite beauty  of  the  passage  depends  upon  the  arbitrary  meaning  attached  to  the  flowers.  But 

when  Shelley  speaks  of 

<  The  lily  of  the  vale, 

Whom  youth  makes  so  fair,  and  passion  so  pale, 
That  the  light  of  her  tremulous  bells  is  seen 
Through  their  pavilions  of  tender  green' — 

he  is  etherealizing  an  impression  which  the  mind  naturally  receives  from  the  flower.  Conse- 
quently, as  it  is  only  by  their  natural  influence  that  flowers  can  address  the  mind  through 
the  eye,  we  must  read  Shelley  to  learn  how  to  use  flowers,  and  Shakspeare  to  love  them.  In 
both  writers  we  find  the  wild  flower  possessing  soul  as  well  as  life,  and  mingling  its  influence 
most  intimately,  like  an  untaught  melody,  with  the  deepest  and  most  secret  streams  of  human 
emotion." 

New  Roses. 

MR.  C.  G.  WILKINSON,  of  Ealing,  England,  furnishes  to  the  Horticulturalist  the  following 
memoranda  of  the  recent  new  varieties  introduced  into  England : — 

For  the  last  season  or  two  there  has  been  no  paucity  of  novelties  among  roses,  many  of 
which  may  fairly  claim,  not  only  distinctness  of  color,  but  decided  improvement  in  form.  Of 


HORTICULTURE.  293 

those  which  have  been  introduced,  and  naturalized  sufficiently  to  enable  them  to  be  spoken 
of  with  something  like  confidence  as  to  their  various  habits,  &c.,  those  here  particularized 
may  safely  be  added  to  collections  without  fear  of  disappointment.  Starting  with  the  gems 
of  the  season,  (1853-4,)  "Prince  Leon"  and  "Paul  Dupuy"  fairly  claim  that  title— the  first 
a  clear  cherry-crimson,  not  very  double,  but  with  petals  of  a  substance  which  give  its  autum- 
nal bloom  quite  a  non-fading  character,  retaining  its  form  and  color  four  days  in  perfection, 
besides  which,  it  is  a  model  of  the  cup-shape,  with  a  robust  habit ;  the  other,  a  rich  shaded 
crimson,  with  a  full  centre,  its  guard-petals  giving  it  the  cup-shape  also,  but  shallower ;  they 
are  both  sweetly  though  differently  scented.  Of  clear  pink  varieties  there  are  several  good 
ones.  "  Baron  de  Heckheren"  and  "  Louis  Peronny"  are  our  choice ;  both  are  nicely  formed — 
the  habit  of  the  latter  is,  however,  the  stoutest.  "  Baron  de  Kermont"  is  also  a  good  variety 
in  the  same  style,  but  rather  vase  than  cup-shaped.  Of  "rose  colors,"  deep,  bright,  rich, 
&c.  &c.,  we  have  received  a  host;  the  cream  of  them,  however,  may  be  considered  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  following: — "Joseph  Descaine,"  "James  Veitch,"  "Comte  de  Bourmont," 
"Inermis,"  "Dr.  Julliard,"  and  "Eugene  Sue," — all  being  of  the  old-fashioned  color,  with 
nicely-formed  flowers;  the  last  is  a  fine  rose,  but  rather  a  "hard  opener."  "Duchesse 
d'Orleans"  must  not  be  forgotten  in  the  rose  colors,  being  of  a  shade  tinged  with  lilac,  and  is 
a  fine,  bold,  and  perfectly-formed  flower. 

The  various  shades  of  carmine  are  so  generally  admired,  that  good  varieties  of  that  color 
are  sure  to  be  acceptable.  "  Alexandrine  Bachmetiff"  and  "  Souvenir  de  Levison  Gower"  are 
both  nicely  formed  and  richly  colored.  "General  Castellaine"  is,  however,  rather  darker, 
and  of  model  form,  but  not  of  over  robust  habit,  and  "  Charles  Boissiere,"  of  a  reddish  tinge, 
is  large,  and  very  double,  and  an  excellent  pot-rose. 

In  crimsons  we  have  certainly  a  <rl<iri<ms  tlower  in  "  Le  General  Jacqueminot,"  a  rich  vel- 
vety petal,  not  quite  so  bright  as  "Ge"ant  des  Batailles,"  nor  quite  so  double,  but  larger, 
with  very  mm-h  better  form.  "Souvenir  de  Reine  des  Beiges"  is  a  nice  flower,  in  the  way 
of  "Prince  Albert"  H.  P.,  but  brighter,  and  somewhat  like  "Rivers."  "L'Enfaut  du  Mont 
Carmel,"  a  light  crimson,  is  desirable  where  large,  robust-growing  varieties  are  essential. 
Of  really  dark  Hybrid  Perpetuals  there  has  been  long  a  want,  and  in  "  Triomphe  de  Paris"  we 
have  a  variety  many  shades  darker  than  any  of  its  predecessors,  its  color  being  as  near  an 
approach  to  the  crimson  Boursault  as  possible  ;  it  has  also  the  shallow  cup-form  to  perfection. 

The  new  white  Damask  Perpetual,  "Celina  Dubos,"  with  very  pale  blush  centre,  though 
believed  to  be  a  sport  from  "Rose  du  Roi,"  is  very  constant,  and  is  the  nearest  approach  to 
pure  white  among  the  perpetuals ;  the  raising  a  Hybrid  Perpetual  of  that  color  (?)  having 
yet  to  be  accomplished.  The  two  brightest  H.  P.'s  that  may  be  depended  on  are  "Mrs. 
Rivers,"  a  beautifully-shaped  and  scented  rose — a  counterpart  in  color  and  shape  to  Alba 
"Le  Seduisant;"  the  other,  "Rosine  Margottin,"  is  also  well  formed,  but  the  petals  are  not 
so  deep  as  the  former,  and  may  be  described  as  "  Duchesse  de  Montpensier"  much  improved. 

To  the  Bourbons  we  have  several  additions,  the  best  of  which  is  undoubtedly  "  Vorace,"  a 
rich,  beautifully-formed  crimson,  shaded  with  purple.  "Prince  Albert,"  (Paul's,)  a  bright 
deep-cherry  color,  is  good;  as  is  "Souvenir  de  1'Arquebuse;"  and  the  peculiar  crimson, 
shaded  with  purple,  of  "Reveil"  is  novel,  besides  which,  "Louis  Odier,"  a  bright  rose  color, 
of  strong  habit  and  good  shape,  is  a  useful  variety. 

In  Tea  Roses  the  greatest  recent  novelty  is  "  Gloire  de  Dijon,"  and  certainly  the  color,  an 
ochreous  yellow,  the  size,  as  large  as  "  Jaune  Desprez,"  and  the  tea-scent,  make  it  a  great 
acquisition.  "Madame  Willermouz,"  in  the  way  of,  but  hardly  so  stout  as,  " Devoniensis," 
has  a  nankeen  centre,  is  a  nice  rose ;  and  "  Canary,"  the  name  of  which  well  conveys  the 
color,  is  very  pure,  but  it  is  rather  delicate,  and  not  very  double. 

In  this  list  I  have  purposely  confined  myself  to  those  which  have  earned  the  characters 
here  given  of  them  in  an  exposed  situation  and  a  cold,  stiff  soil.  There  are,  I  am  aware, 
several  which  I  might,  perhaps,  have  included  with  safety,  but  I  would  much  rather  delay 
those  here  omitted,  that  I  may  include  them  with  equal  confidence  in  a  list  that  I  trust  I 
shall  be  spared  to  prepare. 


294 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Plants  for  Hanging  Vases. 

As  a  means  of  floral  ornament  about  our  houses,  we  are  not  confined  to  climbing  vines  and 
flowers  trained  to  the  posts,  pillars,  or  connecting  lattice-work,  but  over  our  heads  and  around 
us  the  most  interesting  effects  may  be  produced  by  growing  flowers  in  suspended  vases  or 
baskets.  Nature  has  kindly  provided  us  with  the  means  of  enjoyment,  under  even  appa- 
rently the  most  unpropitious  circumstances,  and  here  she  affords  us  a  large  list  of  plants, 
which  not  only  grow  well  in  the  shade,  but  from  their  drooping  or  pendulous  habit  seem  to 
have  been  as  expressly  designed  by  her  for  this  very  mode  of  culture,  as  a  watch  from  its 
works  seems  designed  to  measure  time.  As  she  has  provided  the  plants,  we  cannot  do  less 
than  supply  the  baskets ;  and  accompanying  this  article,  we  give  sketches  of  very  pretty  pat- 


terns made  of  pottery -ware,  which,  or  similar,  may  be  had  of  the  principal  horticultural  stores 
in  the  large  cities.  Some  very  handsome  articles  may  also  be  made  for  the  same  purposes 
out  of  branches  of  trees — oak,  cedar,  or  of  some  durable  wood.  Common  boards  may  even 
be  nailed  together,  and  taste  and  ingenuity  exercised  in  covering  it  with  bark  or  the  scales 
of  pine-cones. 
In  these  vases,  and  in  the  partial  shade  afforded,  the  following  plants  will  thrive  well,  re- 


HORTICULTURE.  295 

quiring  but  little  water  or  other  attention ;  and  at  the  approach  of  winter  may  be  taken  down, 
and  hung  in  the  parlor,  hall,  or  entry,  to  add  an  additional  charm  to  domestic  pleasures  for 
the  rest  of  the  year. 

1.  Linaria  cymbalaria :  Ivy -leaved  Snapdragon. — Well  known  to  European  travellers  from 
its  frequency  on  the  walls  of  shaded  ruins.     It  is  a  delicate  and  graceful  grower,  bearing  a 
profusion  of  small  purple  flowers  the  whole  season. 

2.  Lysimachia  numularia :  Yellow  Creeping  Loosestrife — Has  a  very  pretty  habit  of  growth 
in  its  slender  stems  and  small  opposite  leaves,  bearing  as  it  grows  in  their  axils  yellow  flowers 
about  the  size  of  gold  dollars. 

C.  Saxifraga  sarmentosa :  Creeping  Saxifrage. — Its  foliage  is  very  prettily  veined  and  mar- 
bled, and  the  spikes  of  white  flowers  it  throws  up  are  curious  as  well  as  handsome. 

4.  Fragraria  Indica :  Mock  Strawberry. — Its  fruit,  though  as  insipid  and  tasteless  as  the 
food  of  ghosts  might  be  supposed  to  be,  is  so  very  pretty,  and  it  does  so  well  in  the  shade, 
that  there  are  few  things  I  would  sooner  recommend  for  our  purpose. 

5.  Vinca  major:   Large  Periwinkle.— An  evergreen  with  leaves  one  and  a  half  to  two 
inches  long  by  one  broad,  and  large  blue  flowers  opening  only  in  the  spring ;  best  adapted 
for  large  baskets. 

6.  V.  minor:  Lesser  Periwinkle. — Smaller  every  way  than  the  last;  yet  very  distinct  and 
handsome. 

7.  V.  perenne :  Creeping  Periwinkle. — A  very  distinct  species,  with  long,  slender  creeping 
stems,  small  leaves,  and  small,  very  early  blue  flowers. 

8.  Cereus  flagelliformi* :  Catstail  or  Creeping  Cereus — Grows  well  in  the  shade  in  summer, 
and  when  removed  to  the  parlor  in  winter,  flowers  well  near  the  light  of  a  window. 

9.  Seditm  Sicboldii:  Siebold's  Stone  Crop — With  pale  purple  flowers  and  glaucous  leaves; 
requires  little  water  or  pot-room,  and  is  well  adapted  for  a  small  vase. 

10.  Sedum  acre:  Yellow  Stone  Crop,  or  "Love  Entangle" — Doing  well  in  either  sunshine 
or  shade,  and  a  most  abundant  bloomer. 

11.  Viola  odorata  arborea:  Tree  Violet — Which,  with  strong  central  stalks,  sends  out  nume- 
rous slender  bnuichlets,  hanging  over  the  sides  of  the  pot  or  basket,  and  bearing  a  profu- 
sion of  very  sweet  double  blue  flowers. 

\'l.  Calystegia pubescent :  Double  Convolvulus.  A  pretty  flowering  plant,  and  not  likely  to 
be  so  much  objected  to  on  account  of  its  creeping  roots  here,  as  in  the  open  ground. 

13.  Epigea  repent :    Ground  Laurel. — A  hardy  evergreen  with  deliciously-scented  waxy 
white  flowers,  very  pretty. 

14.  Mitchella  repens:  Partridge-berry. — Another  evergreen  with  sweet-scented  white  flow- 
ers, succeeded  by  numerous  holly-like  berries. 

15.  Polemonium  replant:  Creeping  Valerian. — Erect  spikes  of  blue  flowers,  from  branchlets 
which  hang  over  the  sides  of  the  basket. 

I  have  confined  myself  to  hardy  or  very  nearly  hardy  plants,  and  which  will  thrive  and  do  well 
in  the  shade ;  any  of  the  above  may  be  depended  on. — Thomas  Meehan :  Phila.  Horticulturist. 
To  the  above  list  the  editor  of  the  Horticulturist  adds  the  following  additional  plants : — 
Coboea  scandens  as  a  basket-suspending  plant  does  well,  but  requires  a  largish  pot  and 
plenty  of  space  to  droop  in.  The  Lophospermums. — Every  species  of  this  genus  will  answer 
well.  Maurandia. — All  the  species  and  varieties.  Nierembergia. — All  will  do  well  in  baskets. 
Roses  trained  downward,  particularly  the  Viscomtesse  des  Cases,  will  grow  and  flower  well  in 
baskets  in  green-houses.  The  Ivy-leaved  Geranium  in  suspended  pots  quite  covers  and  con- 
ceals them.  The  Verbena,  and  even  the  grateful  Strawberry,  might  be  cultivated  in  this 
way,  under  glass,  and  would  yield  to  few  other  plants  for  beauty  in  bloom  and  fruit,  besides 
yielding  a  dish  now  and  then  of  one  of  the  most  health-giving  fruits  we  possess. 

Green-house  Plants  for  Winter  Bouquets. 

MR.  THOMAS  MEEHAN,  in  the  Horticulturist,  communicates  the  following  article  on  the 
selection  and  character  of  a  stock  of  winter-blooming  green-house  plants,  suitable  for  form- 
ing baskets  and  bouquets.  I  will  suppose,  says  Mr.  M.,  that  we  have  nothing  to  commence 


296 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


with,  and  have  to  order  a  stock  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  permanent  collection, 
select  the  following: — 


I  should 


YELLOW. 


Name. 

Acacia  armata, 
"      verticillata, 
"      linearis, 
"      pubescens, 
"      pulchella, 
Coronilla  glauca, 
Jasminum  revolutum, 
"         nudiflorum, 
Mahernia  odorata, 
Cytisus  racemosus, 


Time  of  flowering. 
Feb.  and  March. 


Dec.  to  March. 

Feb.  and  March. 
Dec.  to  January. 


ORANGE-COLORED. 


*Abutilon  striatum, 
Cheiranthus  Marshall!!, 
Chorizenia  varium, 
"  cordata, 

*Cestrum  aurantiacum, 
•*Mannettia  bicolor, 
*Lantana  cracea, 
Tropaeolum  Lobbianum, 


Oct.  to  April. 
Dec.  to  Feb. 
Nov.  to  March. 
Jan.  to  March. 
Oct.  to  February. 
Oct.  to  March. 


Alaysia  citriadora,  Nov.  to  February. 

Cyclamen  Persicum,  Nov.  to  March. 

Daphne  indica  album,  Feb.  and  March. 

Epacris  paludasa,  Feb.  and  March. 

"       nivalis,  Jan.  and  Feb. 

Eupatorium  canescens,  Nov.  to  January. 

Fabiana  imbricata,  Feb.  and  March. 

Jasminum  grandiflorum,  Sept.  to  Dec. 

*  Jasminum  azoricum,  "  " 
Primula  sinensis,  double  white,  Sept.  to  March. 
Solanum  jasminoides,                     "  " 
Stevia  serrata,  Oct.  to  January. 
Viburnum  tinus,  Oct.  to  March. 
Gardenia  florida,  "              " 

*  Gardenia  radicans,  " 
Spiraea  prunifolia, 


Deutzia  gracilis, 
"       scabra, 
Eupatorium  elegans, 
Sparmannia  Africana, 


Feb.  and  March. 


De.c.  and  Jan. 
Dec.  to  Feb. 


PINK   AND   PURPLISH. 


Name.  Time  of  flowering. 

*Begonia  incarnata,  Dec.  to  March. 

Ribes  sanguinea,  Feb.  and  March. 

Weigela  rosea,  "  4..             " 

Fuchsia  serratifolia,  Jan."  to  March. 

Correa  speciosissima,  "                 " 

Cyclamen  Europeum,  Sept.  to  Dec. 

"         coum,  Dec.  to  February. 

Epacris  impressa,  "                " 

*Habrothamnus  elegans,  Oct.  to  March. 

*Plumbago  rosea,  Feb.  and  March. 

Polygala  oppositifolia,  Jan.  to  March. 

"        myrtifolia,  "               " 
Primula  sinensis,  double  purple,  Sept  to  Dec. 

BLUE   AND  LILAC. 

*Heliotropium  Voltairaneum,   Sept.  to  April. 


Salvia  patens, 
Viola  arborea, 

"     Neapolitana, 
*Pentas  carnea, 
Ageratum  coelestinum, 
Ceanothus  rigidus, 
Neirembergia  gracilis, 
Plumbago  capensis, 
Tropaeolum  azureum, 
Veronica  Andersonii, 


Sept.  to  Dec. 
Oct.  to  February. 
Dec.  to  February. 
Sept.  to  April. 
Oct.  to  February. 
March  and  April. 
Jan.  to  April. 
Sept.  to  April. 
Nov.  to  Feb. 
Sept.  to  Dec. 


SCARLET   AND   RED. 


*Euphorbia  jacquinaeflora, 
*Poinsetta  pulcherrima, 
Cuphea  platycentra, 
Bouvardia  triphylla, 
"          leiantha, 
*Epacris  grandiflora, 
Hoitzia  coccinea, 
*Ruellia  formosa, 
Salvia  splendens, 
#Aphelandra  Ghiesbrechtii, 
*Geissomeria  elegans, 
*Hibiscus  rosa  siensis, 
Russelia  juncea, 
Tropaeolum  tricolorum, 


Nov.  to  March. 
«  t( 

Sept.  to  March. 
Sept.  to  Nov. 
Sept.  to  April. 
March  and  April. 
Feb.  to  April. 
Nov.  to  April. 
Oct.  to  Feb. 
Dec.  and  Feb. 
ii  (t 

Sept.  to  Feb. 
Sept.  to  Nov. 
Jan.  to  April. 


All  of  these  will  do  perfectly  well  in  a  green-house.  Those  marked  *  do  best  kept  a  little 
warmer  than  the  others.  They  are  all  of  the  easiest  possible  culture,  and  come  into  flower 
between  the  periods  named — different  modes  and  circumstances  making  a  slight  difference. 
Having  procured  these  plants  early  in  the  spring,  we  next  proceed  to  their  culture  for  our 
proposed  object.  The  tuberous-rooted  section,  comprising  Tropceolums  and  Cyclamens,  will 
be  nearly  or  quite  out  of  flower ;  they  will  require  but  an  occasional  supply  of  water,  say 
once  or  twice  a  week,  till  the  leaves  are  decayed,  when  the  pots  containing  the  plants  should 
be  set  on  a  shelf,  where  they  can  be  kept  nearly  dry  till  the  end  of  August,  when  they  may 
be  taken  out  and  replaced  with  fresh  sandy  loam  in  the  same  pots  as  before,  watered  sparingly 
until  they  have  an  abundance  of  foliage,  then  to  receive  an  abundant  supply.  Another  class, 
comprising  Acacia,  Cytisus,  Chorzemia,  Daphne,  Correa,  and  Polygala, — if  the  pots  are  full  of 
roots,  as  they  often  are  on  being  received  from  a  nursery, — should  be  shifted  into  pots  a  size 
larger,  in  a  soil  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  turfy  loam,  with  a  small  quantity  of  turfy 
peat  or  half-rotten  sticks  added  to  it.  They  will,  of  course,  receive  regular  watering  through 
the  summer,  and  during  the  hot  season  be  placed  where,  for  six  hours  or  so,  during  midday, 
they  can  be  protected  from  the  sun. 

The  whole  of  the  other  plants  may  be  turned  out  into  a  half-shaded  border,  which  has 
previously  been  deep  dug  and  lightly  manured,  till  the  end  of  August,  when  all  but  Spiraea, 
Deutzia,  Weigela,  Ribes,  and,  in  short,  all  but  deciduous  shrubs,  should  be  prepared  for  lifting 


HORTICULTURE.  297 

into  pots.  This  preparation  consists  in  giving  them  a  thorough  soaking  -with  water  a  few 
hours  previous  to  taking  them  up,  without  which  they  will  suffer  materially  under  the  opera- 
tion. Put  them  in  as  small  pots  as  possible,  place  them  in  a  situation  where  they  will  get 
only  the  morning  sun  for  some  days,  and  during  that  time  sprinkle  them  every  few  hours 
with  water  through  a  fine-rosed  waterpot  or  syringe,  and  place  them  gradually  in  the  full 
light  as  they  seem  able  to  bear  it.  They  will  "  miss  the  change"  but  very  slightly,  and,  besides 
the  requisite  labor  attending  plants  kept  in  pots  the  whole  season,  will  be  much  better  plants. 
The  exceptions  to  the  above  (deciduous  shrubs)  are  best  left  in  the  ground  till  their  leaves 
are  ready  to  fall,  say  about  the  end  of  September,  as,  if  they  are  lifted  before  the  wood  is 
ripe,  they  seldom  flower  freely.  The  plants  should  be  all  housed  before  the  weather  becomes 
even  "white  frosty,"  and  at  the  return  of  spring,  or,  in  this  latitude,  early  in  May,  set  out 
of  doors  a  few  days,  then  cut  down  as  is  usual  with  geraniums,  and  afterwards  planted  out  to 
grow,  as  in  the  previous  season.  When  the  plants  turned  out  of  doors  have  begun  to  grow, 
a  few  yonng  shoots  of  each  kind  should  be  taken  off  and  struck.  Young  plants  thus  raised 
will  come  into  flower  a  few  weeks  after  the  old  ones  are  gone  out,  and  will,  besides,  come  in 
useful  to  retain  wherever  the  old  ones  grow  too  large.  Besides  the  plants  I  have  above  noted 
as  permanent  green-house  plants,  there  are  many  special  things  that  cannot  be  dispensed 
with.  The  Camellias  Double  White,  Candidissima  myrtifolia,  and  Lady  Hum  it  JUush  are  es- 
sential in  a  collection  of  bouquet  flowers ;  nor  can  Azaleas  Indica  alba,  Phoenicia;,  and  Smithii 
be  omitted.  These  can  be  grown  with  the  other  plants,  by  giving  them  an  open,  turfy  soil, 
well  drained,  and  an  abundance  of  water  while  growing ;  little  when  comparatively  at  rest 
&nd  part  tally  shaded  in  summer-time.  The  Horse-shoe  or  Scarlet  Geraniums,  Geranium  Compto- 
nianum,  the  Oak-leaved,  and  Rose-scented  are  essential  ingredients  in  my  ideas  of  a  winter 
bouquet ;  and  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  the  lighter-colored  Cinerarias  and  white  and  scarlet 
Verbenas.  Cuttings  of  all  these  should  be  put  in  expressly  for  this  purpose  early  in  the 
summer,  and  grown  for  a  few  months  in  the  fall.  Mignonette  and  Phlox  Drummondii  should 
also  be  sown  in  pots  with  these,  for  the  same  object. 

The  Rose  must  not  be  forgotten.  For  a  small  green-house,  I  would  select  the  following 
kinds  as  blooming  very  freely  under  very  common  treatment :  Cels,  white ;  Devoniensis,  pale 
lemon;  Madame  Bosanquet,  creamy  white;  Souvenir  de  Malmaison,  rosy  white;  Caroline, 
salmon  white ;  Lyonnais,  salmon ;  Common  Daily  or  Monthly  China,  pink ;  Hermosa,  rose ; 
Carmin  Sean,  purplish  rose ;  Agrippini  and  Louis  Philippe,  crimson.  Roses  for  blooming  early 
in  winter  should,  in  all  cases,  be  turned  out  of  their  pots,  and  lifted  in  August,  in  the  same 
manner  as  already  described  for  a  class  of  plants.  When  they  are  repotted,  a  good  propor- 
tion— say  one-third — of  coarse  stable-manure,  with  the  turfy  loam  employed,  will  be  of 
great  service. 

There  are  many  other  plants,  and  tribes  of  plants,  which  are  indispensable  to  make  a 
green-house  gay  in  the  fall,  winter,  and  spring,  as  Chrysanthemums,  Cactuses,  Hyacinths,  Leche- 
naultia,  Pimelia,  &c.  But  I  have  thought  it  best  to  confine  myself  to  plants  which  will  serve 
at  once  to  adorn  the  green-house  and  to  cut  for  the  centre-table. 

Directions  for  Making  Bouquets. 

THE  following  directions  for  making  bouquets  are  derived  from  a  communication  published 
in  the  Horticulturist : — 

Hand-bouquets  should  not  exceed  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  if  for  an  ordinary  occasion, 
the  flowers  may  be  gathered  without  regard  to  color;  but  for  a  bridal  bouquet  white  flowers 
should  predominate,  although  violets,  mignonette,  and  heliotropes  may  be  added  for  perfume. 
For  an  ordinary  bouquet,  six  or  more  large  flowers  are  requisite,  giving  the  preference  to 
camellias  and  roses.  The  camellias  should  be  cut  off  close  to  the  calyx  of  the  flower,  and 
an  artificial  stem  provided  for  it,  either  by  a  wire  bent,  as  shown  in  jig.  1,  which  is  thrust 
down  through  the  centre  of  the  flower,  between  the  petals,  so  as  to  be  entirely  concealed,  or 
else  by  passing  the  wire  laterally  through  the  upper  part  of  the  calyx  and  the  lower  part  of 
the  petals,  as  in  fig.  2.  In  the  latter  case,  the  two  ends  of  the  wire  should  be  bent  down  and 
twined  together.  The  camellia  is  also  sometimes  cut  off  with  a  small  portion  of  the  stem,  and 


298 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


tied  to  a  small  stick  or  twig.     Be  very  careful  in  handling  the  camellias,  as  the  slightest  bruise 
will  impair  their  beauty.     The  roses  can  either  be  cut  with  long  stems,  or  tied  to  supports. 
Fig.  1.  The  smaller  flowers  should  be  ar-  Fig".  2. 

ranged  in  very  small  bunches,  or 
singly,  and  also  tied  to  twigs  oT 
whisk.  If  the  bouquet  is  of  the  py- 
ramidal form,  it  should  be  made 
on  a  strong  stick,  as  in  fig.  4,  com- 
mencing at  the  top  witu  the  smaller 
flowers,  and  gradually  widening  at 
the  base  with  the  larger,  taking 
care  to  assort  the  colors  so  as  to 
make  as  much  contrast  as  possible, 
and  also  to  fill  in  the  interstices 
between  the  larger  flowers  with 
the  smaller. 

If  the  bouquet  is  flat,  as  shown 
in  fig.  3,  it  is  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  have  a  strong  stick- in  the 

centre,  but  I  would  recommend  it  on  account  of  its  advan- 
tages in  preserving  a  symmetrical  form.     Begin  with  a  ca- 

Fig.  3.  Fig.  4. 

V 


mellia  or  rose  for  the  centre ;  then  a  circle  of  small  flowers ; 
then  say  four  or  more  roses  or  camellias  disposed  around  the  centre,  and  then  another  circle 
of  small  flowers ;  and  then,  if  the  bouquet  is  not  large  enough,  another  row  of  camellias  or 
roses,  and  a  few  more  small  flowers,  finishing  with  a  circle  of  rose  or  oak -leaf  geranium- 
leaves  tied  singly  to  whisk  straws,  and  some  arbor-vitse,  cedar,  or  other  evergreen,  below  all. 
To  preserve  a  flat  or  oval  surface  to  a  bouquet,  be  careful  not  to  tie  the  stems  or  twigs  too 
high  up  on  the  centre  stick,  for  in  that  case  the  flowers  would  face  outwards,  as  in  a  pyramidal 
bouquet,  instead  of  upwards.  If  you  wish  a  bouquet  to  be  kept  for  a  long  time,  the  interstices 
between  the  twigs  or  stems  should  be  filled  with  moss,  evergreen,  or  any  thing  that  will  retain 
moisture.  It  will  add  much  to  the  grace  and  beauty  of  the  bouquet  to  introduce  skilfully 
some  handsome  green  foliage  to  break  the  monotonous  effect ;  and  some  of  the  smallest  and 
choicest  flowers  should  be  allowed  to  project  beyond  the  surface  of  the  bouquet. 


HORTICULTURE. 


299 


Large  bouquets,  or  pyramids,  for  table  ornaments,  are  generally  made  on  a  framework  of 
evergreen.     For  this  purpose,  take  a  number  of  branches  of  cedar,  hemlock,  or  other  ever- 

green,  and  bind  them  in  a  kind  of  sheaf,  with  strong 
twine,  commencing  at  the  top.  After  it  is  properly 
secured,  trim  off  the  stems  at  the  base  with  a  knife, 
so  as  to  be  perfectly  even,  and  with  a  pair  of  scissors 
or  shears  clip  the  top  so  as  to  form  a  perfect  cone. 
The  flowers  are  to  be  inserted  into  this. 

Fig.  6  represents  a  very  complete  apparatus  for  pre- 
serving flowers  in  water,  Fig.  6. 
and  at  the  same  time  ar- 
ranging them  into  the 
proper  form  for  a  table 
ornament.  It  is  composed 
of  a  number  of  circular 
tin  vessels,  one  over  ano- 
ther, and  diminishing  in 
size  from  the  base  up, 
forming  a  cone.  These 
vessels  are  filled  with  wa- 
ter, and  the  stems  of  the 
flowers  inserted  into  them. 
Fig.  7  is  a  graceful  de- 
sign for  a  wire  ba 
be  lined  with  moss.  It  ia 
of  the  shape  callinl  by 
im«l  the 

effect  of  it  when  filled  with  flowers  is  far  more  grace- 
ful than  those  of  a  more  formal  and  rigid  pattern. 
A  wire  basket  for  moss  should  have  a  wooden  base, 
and  after  the  sides  are  lined  with  moss,  the  basket 
should  be  filled  with  wet  or  damp  sand,  which  should 
be  covered  neatly  with  moss,  taking  care  that  the  sur- 
face is  oval,  so  as  to  display  the  flowers  to  advantage. 
The  stems  of  the  flowers  should  be  inserted  in  holes 
made  with  a  sharp  stick  in  the  sand.  The  choicest 
and  smallest  flowers  should  be  used  to  cover  the  handle. 
Fig.  6  represents  a  table  ornament  of  simple  con- 
.struction,  but  of  graceful  design.  Take  a  large-sized 
flower-pot,  of  say  from  fourteen  to  eighteen  inches  dia- 
meter, and  cover  its  sides  with  sheets  of  moss,  secured  by  Fig.  7. 
passing  strong  black  linen  thread  around  it.  This  should 
be  mounted  on  a  wooden  base,  formed  of  two  square 
blocks  of  wood,  one  smaller  than  the  other,  surmounted 
by  a  circular  or  cylindrical  piece  of  wood.  In  the  upper 
end  of  the  latter  should  be  a  wooden  or  iron  peg  or  bolt, 
which  should  pass  up  through  the  circular  hole  in  the 
bottom  of  the  flower-pot,  to  keep  it  in  its  proper  place.  | 
On  the  upper  edge  of  the  flower-pot  place  a  rim  formed 
of  a  band  of  hay  two  or  three  inches  in  diameter,  either 
twisted  or  tied  around  with  twine.  This  and  the  wooden 
base  should  also  be  covered  with  moss.  The  pyramid  of  flowers  may  be  made  on  a  frame- 
work of  evergreen,  as  just  directed,  or  the  apparatus  fig.  6  may  be  used.  Festoons  on  the 
sides  would  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  this  design,  and  should  be  formed  on  pieces  of  hoop 
or  wire.  They  should  be  large  in  the  middle,  and  gradually  diminish  at  both  ends. 


300 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


I  have  thus  endeavored,  hurriedly,  and  briefly  as  possible,  to  describe,  for  the  benefit  of 
my  amateur  friends,  the  process  of  making  bouquets  and  floral  designs,  and  hope  that  I  have 
succeeded  at  least  in  affording  them  some  assistance. 

The  California  Nutmeg— Torreya  myristica. 

THE  annexed  engraving  represents  the 
tree  which  has  of  late  years  been  often 
alluded  to  as  the  California  nutmeg.  It 
is  a  beautiful  evergreen,  growing  to  the 
height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet,  and  inha- 
biting the  elevated  regions  of  the  Sierra 
Madre.  The  fruit  and  kernel  strongly  re- 
semble the  common  nutmeg.  The  slight- 
est glance,  however,  at  the  internal  struc- 
ture of  the  fruit,  at  once  identifies  this 
tree  with  the  Torreya  of  the  Southern 
United  States,  found  only  in  the  Ashalaga 
and  Apalachicola  country  of  Middle  Flo- 
rida. The  foliage  has  the  form  and  deep 
rich  green  of  the  Florida  species,  or  T. 
tazifolia,  as  well  as  of  the  yew ;  but  the 
leaves  are  much  larger,  being  from  one 
and  a  half  to  two  and  a  quarter  inches 
long.  They  spread  out  on  two  sides,  and 
are  tipped  with  a  sharp,  rigid  point.  The 
fruit,  as  it  may  be  popularly  called,  is 
about  the  size  and  form  of  a  greengage 
plum,  and  in  the  dried  state  has  a  pale- 
olive  color ;  but  this  may  not  be  its  natu- 
ral tint.  The  outer  covering  is  a  thick, 
fleshy,  nearly-closed  urceole,  or  dish,  which 
completely  invests  the  seed,  and  closely  adheres  to  it,  except  near  the  summit.  It  is  smooth 
and  even,  and  soft  to  the  touch.  The  seed  is  usually  oblong,  and  greatly  resembles  a 
large  pecan-nut,  but  frequently  it  is  more  ovate.  The  shell  is  smooth,  thin,  and  fragile. 
The  kernel  is  conformed  to  the  shell,  and  has  the  external  and  internal  appearance  of  the 
nutmeg.  When  cut  transversely,  the  resemblance  is  perfect.  The  seed,  however,  is  wholly 
destitute  of  the  delicate  aromatic  odor  of  the  Oriental  spice,  for  it  has  the  strong  terebinthine 
Character  of  the  coniferae.  Neither  is  the  fleshy  covering  of  any  known  use.  It  is  more 
probable  that,  like  the  fleshy  cup-a-berry  of  the  yew,  it  is  of  a  poisonous  nature.  Still,  the 
discovery  of  this  tree  is  interesting  to  the  botanist  and  to  the  horticulturist.  But  two  other 
species  are  known  besides.  One  of  them  (T.  nucifera  Sieb.  and  Zuce)  is  a  native  of  Japan, 
and  the  other  has  only  been  found  hitherto  in  Middle  Florida,  in  very  confined  stations.  As 
an  ornamental  tree,  the  California  nutmeg  deserves  to  be  extensively  cultivated.  It  must  be 
hardy,  as  it  grows  on  the  mountains,  where  the  winter  is  very  severe.  The  enterprising 
Messrs.  Parsons  &  Co.,  of  Flushing,  sent  out  a  person  to  California  for  the  express  purpose 
of  collecting  the  ornamental  and  useful  plants  of  that  country ;  and  among  other  varieties, 
he  obtained,  last  year,  some  ripe  and  fresh  seeds  of  the  California  nutmeg.  These  have  since 
germinated  freely. 

New  Plants. 

Rheum  nobile. — The  annexed  figure  represents  one  of  the  most  striking  of  the  new  plants 
brought  by  Dr.  Hooker  from  the  Himalayas.  This  plant,  which  is  a  true  rhubarb,  and  has 
received  the  name  Rheum  nobile,  is  about  three  feet  in  height,  and  forms  conical  towers  of 
the  most  delicate  straw-colored,  shining,  semi-transparent,  concave,  imbricating  bracts,  the 


HORTICULTURE. 


301 


Rheum  nobile. 


upper  of  which  have  pink 
edges,  the  large,  bright,  glossy, 
shining,  green  radical  leaves, 
with  red  petioles  and  nerves, 
forming  a  broad  base  for  the 
whole.  On  turning  up  the 
bracts,  the  beautiful,  membra- 
neous, fragile,  pink  stipules 
are  seen  like  red  silver  paper, 
ami  within  these  again  the 
short,  branched  panicles  of  in- 
significant green  flowers.  The 
root  is  very  long — often  many 
feet — and  winds  amongst  the 
rocks;  it  is  as  thick  as  the 
arm,  and  bright  yellow  in- 
side. After  flowering,  the  stem 
lengthens,  the  bracts  separate 
from  one  another,  become 
coarse  red-brown,  withered, 
a"hd  torn  ;  finally,  as  the  fruit 
ripens  they  fall  away,  leaving 
a  rugged-looking  stem,  covered 
with  panicles  of  deep-brown 
pendulous  fruit.  In  winter 
these  naked  black  stems,  pro- 
froni  the  beetling  cliffs 
at  an  elevation  of  14,000  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  or  tower- 
ing above  the  snow,  are  in  dis- 
mal keeping  with  the  surround- 
ing desolation  of  the  season. 

Such   is   Dr.   Hooker's   ac- 
count of  this  curious  plant.     Some  of  the  seeds  sent  to  Kew  Gardens  grew,  and  the  seedlings 
live  I  two  years;  but  we  regret  to  learn  that  they  have  now  been  lost. 

Saxe-Gothcua  conspicua. — This  remarkable  plant,  which  will  probably  rank  among  the 
most  highly  valued  of  our  hardy  evergreen  trees,  is  a  native  of  the  mountains  of  Patagonia, 
where  it  was  found  by  Mr.  Lobb,  forming  a  beautiful  tree  30  feet  high.  In  the  nursery  of 
Messrs.  Veitch,  of  Exeter,  England,  it  has  lived  in  the  open  air  four  years  without  shelter, 
and  has  all  the  appearance  of  being  well  adapted  to  the  climate  of  England.  The  country  in 
which  it  grows  is,  indeed,  more  stormy  and  cold  than  any  part  of  Great  Britain.  Its  native 
habitat  is  described  as  the  most  desolate  and  sterile  of  any  part  of  the  western  coast  of  Pata- 
gonia. One  variety  grows  to  an  enormous  size,  particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  snow-line. 
Trees  have  been  seen  by  Mr.  Lobb  upwards  of  100  feet  in  height,  and-  more  than  eight  feet  in 
diameter.  Saxe-Gothaea  may  be  described  as  a  genus  with  the  male  flowers  of  a  podocarp, 
the  females  of  a  dammar,  the  fruit  of  a  juniper,  the  seed  of  a  dacrydium,  and  the  habit  of  a 
yew.  The  leaves  of  this  plant  have  altogether  the  size  and  general  appearance  of  the  English 
yew,  (Taxus  baccata;)  but  they  are  glaucous  underneath,  except  the  midrib  and  two  narrow 
stripes  within  the  edges,  which  are  a  pale  green.  The  male  flowers  consist  of  spikes  appear- 
ing at  the  ends  of  the  branches,  in  a  raceme  more  or  less  elongated.  The  female  flowers 
form  a  small,  roundish,  pedunculated,  terminal,  scaly,  imbricated  cone. 

Mysore  hezacentre,  (Hexacentris  Mysorensis.} — This  charming  stone-climber,  from  India,  is 
well  worthy  the  attention  of  amateur  or  professional  growers  of  new  and  rare  plants.  It  was 
shown  first  in  England,  in  May,  1852,  before  the  London  Horticultural  Society,  and  was  pro- 
nounced the  most  attractive  among  all  the  new  and  fine  plants  exhibited.  This  is  saying  a 


302 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


Crisp-leaved  Buddleia. 


great  deal.  We  copy  the  follo\ving  descrip- 
tion from  "  Paxton's  Flower  Garden:" — 
"  Among  all  the  plants  exhibited  in  the 
garden  of  the  Horticultural  Society  last 
May,  'none  excited  such  universal  in- 
terest as  that  now  represented.  It 
formed  a  small  umbrella-like  creeper 
trained  over  trellis,  the  whole  circum- 
ference of  which  was  loaded  with  pen- 
dulous racemes  of  most  beautiful  large 
yellow  and  crimson  flowers.  The  plant 
was  sent  to  Messrs.  Veitch,  of  Exeter, 
from  the  Mysore  country,  which  it  in- 
habits, as  its  name  indicates.  No  doubt 
it  is  the  best  hot-house  climber  that  has 
been  introduced  for  many  years.  It  is 
added,  that  before  the  plant  is  out  of 
bloom,  the  pendulous  flower-stalks  are 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  feet  long. 

Spirea  grandiflora — Large-flowered  Spi- 
rea.     Nat.  order  Rosacece.     (See  Figure.) 
— This  remarkable  plant  was  sent  by  Mr. 
Fortune,  under  the  name  of  Amelanchier 
racemosa,  from  the  north  of  China ;   and 
it  is  certain  that  its  conspicuous,  large 
flowers  cannot  fail  to  recommend  it  as  a 
very  desirable,  ornamental,   and  shrub- 
bery plant.      The   habit  and   foliage  are 
that   of  an  Amelancheir;    but   the  struc- 
ture  of  the   flowers    point  to    the   genus 
Spiraea.      The    calyx-tube    is    remarkable 
in    form,    much    contracted    below,   then 
suddenly   at   the   narrow    faux    expanded 
and   recurved,   and  the  whole   lined  with 
a  fleshy  disc,   at  the   end   of  which   the 
fifteen    stamens    are    inserted    in    threes. 
The   species    is   extremely   different   from 
any     hitherto     described.  —  Curtis 's     Bo- 
tanical Magazine. 

Buddleia  crisp  a,  "  Crisp-leaved  Buddleia," 
from  Western  Himalaya,  at  an  elevation 
of  from  five  thousand  five  hundred  to  seven 
thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  and  a  very  desirable  shrub  for 
"English"  gardens,  where  it  requires  the 
protection  of  a  wall — flowering  from  the 
beginning  of  February  until  May,  and 
scenting  the  air  around  with  its  fragi-ance. 
DESCRIPTION.— A  shrub  from  twelve  to 
fourteen  feet  high ;  branches  opposite  ob- 
tusely tetragonal,  the  younger  ones  densely 
covered  with  tawny  or  ferruginous  down. 
Leaves  on  woolly  petioles,  one  quarter  of 
an  inch  long,  ovate  or  oblong,  the  lower 
ones  cordate  at  the  base,  upper  ones 


HORTICULTURE.  303 

cuneate,  thick,  tomentose,  densely  so  beneath,  with  ferruginous  or  cinerous  tormentum, 
the  margin  toothed  and  crisped,  rarely  entire,  except  in  the  upper  leaves.  Flowers  arranged 
in  capitula,  constituting  spikes  or  racemes,  and  these,  from  the  many  short  flowering  branches, 
forming  panicles.  Stamens,  four ;  filaments,  short ;  anthers,  short,  oblong ;  pistil,  quite  in- 
cluded ;  ovary,  ovate,  downy  except  at  the  base ;  style,  very  short ;  stigma,  clubbed,  bifid. — 
Phil.  Horticulturist, 

Propagation  and  Winter  Forcing  of  Roses. 

AT  a  conversational  meeting  of  the  New  York  Horticultural  Society,  as  reported  by  the 
"American  Agriculturist,"  Mr.  A.  Bridgeman  read  the  following  remarks  on  roses: — 

"My  practice  does  not,  I  presume,  differ  much  from  that  pursued  by  other  growers.  For 
compost,  I  prefer  a  proportion  of  two  bushels  of  vegetable  mould  or  rotted  leaves,  two  bushels 
of  chopped  sod  passed  through  a  coarse  sieve  wide  enough  to  allow  moderate-sized  lumps  to 
pass  through,  one  bushel  of  hotbed  manure,  and  one  of  sand.  The  sod  I  use  is  clayey.  In 
propagating  by  cuttings,  I  find  that  wood  of  one  month  old  will  strike  in  many  cases  very 
readily,  and  when  put  in  during  the  latter  part  of  February,  will  be  rooted  in  March.  I  use 
cutting-pans  about  three  inches  deep,  and  a  compost  of  two-thirds  of  sand  to  one  of  loam,  and 
apply  bottom  heat.  I  have  a  bed  heated  by  a  flue  passing  through  it,  which  I  find  very  use- 
ful for  this  purpose.  When  well  rooted,  I  pot  them  off  into  small-sized  pots,  and  plant  them 
out  in  May.  In  the  fall,  I  repot  them  in  the  compost  already  mentioned,  and  keep  them  in 
a  cool  house,  without  fire-heat,  till  January,  unless  the  frost  is  too  great,  when  I  protect 
them  slightly,  but  use  no  fire-heat  till  the  last  of  January  or  February.  These  plants  flower 
well.  The  tea,  Bourbon,  and  China  are  treated  in  this  way;  the  hybrid  perpetuals  or  moss 
are  not  included,  as  neither  these  nor  the  noisettes  are  adapted  tor  \vintt-r  flown  -in--. 
I  do  not  prune  very  closely  in  the  fall ;  but  in  May,  prune  thoroughly  and  sink  the  pots  in 
the  soil,  and  lift  them  in  September  for  winter  flowering,  repotting  them  if  necessary,  and 
pruning  out  all  dead  wood.  At  this  season  care  must  be  taken  not  to  break  the  ball  nuu-li. 
The  temperature  should  be  kept  moderate.  A  dry  atmosphere  is  very  injurious,  and  is  the 
chief  cause  of  failure  in  keeping  plants  in  rooms.  The  water  should  always  be  applied  at 
the  top ;  where  saucers  are  used,  it  is  only  for  cleanliness.  Planting  out  secures  strong 
plants,  but  is  not  admissible  for  winter  blooming.  I  have  found  hybrid  perpetuals  to  succeed 
best  on  their  own  roots.  Teas  and  Bourbons  will  do  well  from  layers.  In  England  and  the 
north  of  France  budding  is  generally  practised,  and  succeeds  well ;  but  here  it  is  quite  dif- 
ferent. I  have  known  many  failures  in  budding,  and  in  some  cases  not  more  than  twenty- 
five  out  of  a  thousand  have  succeeded ;  two  out  of  a  dozen  is  often  the  proportion  in  our 
climate.*  Budded  plants  are  liable  to  produce  suckers,  which  have  been  sometimes  mis- 
taken for  young,  vigorous  shoots.  Tea  roses  require  lighter  soil,  and  flower  more  freely 
than  Bengal  or  Bourbons ;  they  will  also  bear  more  heat,  and  should  be  placed  in  the 
warmest  part  of  the  house.  Roses  for  forcing  should  have  as  much  sun  and  air  as  possible, 
with  a  moist  atmosphere.  I  have  found  roses  in  green-houses,  planted  in  the  border,  with 
bottom  heat,  produce  more  flowers  with  50°  of  heat  than  in  other  cases  with  70°,  and  have 
had  better  flowers  when  the  temperature  did  not  exceed  50°  than  at  65° ;  55°  is  a  good  tem- 
perature for  forcing.  In  reply  to  the  question,  '  Is  manure- water  good  ?'  I  say,  «  Yes,  if  ap- 
plied judiciously  in  small  portions  in  March.'  " 

Roses  Propagated  by  Cuttings  of  the  Roots. 

A  WRITER  in  the  "Horticultural  Cabinet"  says:  Having  been  advised  to  try  the  experi- 
ment of  raising  rose-trees  by  taking  cuttings  of  the  roots,  I  did  so,  and  found  it  to  succeed 
admirably.  The  mode  was  as  follows :  The  first  week  in  March,  I  took  some  of  the  long, 
thick,  fleshy-looking  roots  of  my  English,  French,  moss,  and  perpetual  roses,  and  cut  them 

•.This  is  greatly  at  variance  with  our  experience.  They  may  be  seen  budded  in  the  nurseries  in  Philadelphia, 
as  successfully  as  peach  or  apple-trees,  by  the  thousand ;  and  many  varieties  bloom  more  freely,  and  produce 
larger  flowers,  when  budded,  than  on  ttetir  own  roots. — El.  Horticulturist. 


304  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTTJKE. 

into  pieces  about  three  inches  long.  I  then  smoothed  the  surface  of  a  border  in  front  of  a 
peach  wall ;  upon  this  I  laid  the  roots  flat,  at  about  six  inches  apart ;  when  the  roots  were 
placed,  I  covered  them  with  fine  sifted  earth,  half  an  inch  deep,  gently  beaten  into  the 
cuttings ;  I  then  laid  four  inches  more  of  loamy  soil,  well  enriched,  giving  the  whole  a  good 
watering,  and  when  dry,  smoothed  the  surface  over  with  the  back  of  the  spade.  By  the 
middle  of  May,  every  cutting  had  sent  one,  and  some  two  strong  shoots ;  and  on  examina- 
tion, I  found  the  soil  I  had  covered  the  cuttings  with  to  be  filled  with  a  massif  fine  roots. 
I  have  anxiously  watered  the  bed,  as,  being  in  a  sunning  situation,  I  found  it  got  more  dry, 
more  especially  so  from  the  bed  being  raised  irom  the  old  surface  of  the  border ;  it  would 
have  been  better  to  have  sunk  it,  so  as  finally  to  have  it  even  with  the  surroundings. 


On  the  Cultivation  of  the  Rynchospermum  jasminoides. 

THIS  beautiful  climbing  plant  was  introduced  into  England  from  Shanghai  in  the  year 
1844.  It  is  rarely  to  be  met  with ;  but  no  doubt  when  its  beauty  and  adaptability  for  grow- 
ing in  green-houses  become  known,  it  will  be  more  common.  At  a  little  distance  this  flower 
resembles  the  jasmine,  and  possesses  a  delicious  odor.  The  plant  is  evergreen,  and,  like  the 
ivy,  sends  out  rootlets  up  the  stems  whenever  they  come  in  contact  with  the  soil ;  hence  it  is 
easily  propagated  by  taking  a  shoot  near  the  soil,  or  by  cuttings  of  half-ripened  wood.  The 
branches  of  this  plant  are  moderately  stout,  and  require  but  little  support. 

This  plant  requires  but  little  cultivation  beyond  what  is  required  for  green-house  plants 
of  this  description.  It  usually  commences  flowering  in  April,  and  if  placed  in  the  green- 
house, will  continue  to  bloom  for  six  weeks  or  two  months.  It  thrives  best  in  a  soil  of  one- 
half  turfy  loam,  one-fourth  peat  or  leaf-mould,  and  the  same  of  white  sand,  all  well  incorpo- 
rated together. — The  Florist  and  Horticultural  Journal. 

New  Fact  noticed  respecting  Bulbous  Roots, 

THE  "Magazine  of  Horticulture"  says:  What  is  in  common  language  termed  a  bulbous 
root,  is  by  Linnaeus  termed  the  hybernacle  or  winter  lodge  of  a  young  plant.  The  bulbs  in 
every  respect  resemble  buds,  except  in  being  produced  underground,  and  include  the  leaves 
and  flower  in  miniature,  which  are  to  be  expanded  in  the  ensuing  spring.  By  cautiously 
cutting  (in  the  early  spring)  through  the  concentric  coats  of  a  tulip-root  longitudinally  from 
the  top  to  the  base,  and  taking  them  off  successively,  the  whole  flower  of  the  next  summer's 
tulip  is  beautifully  seen  by  the  naked  eye,  with  its  petals,  pistil,  and  stamen.  The  flower 
exists  in  other  bulbs  in  the  same  manner ;  but  the  individual  flowers  of  others  being  less, 
they  are  not  so  easily  detected,  or  so  conspicuous  to  the  naked  eye.  In  the  buds  of  the 
Daphne  mezereon,  and  in  those  of  the  Hepatica,  and  at  the  base  of  the  Osmunda  lunaria,  a 
perfect  plant  of  the  future  year  may  be  found,  complete  in  all  its  parts. 

Materials  for  a  Cutting  Pot. 

PROVIDE  either  broken  potsherds,  pebbles,  or  chips  of  stones  from  a  mason's  yard,  and 
place  them  in  the  bottom  of  the  pot.  Over  these  put  rough,  fibrous  peat  or  turf:  this  will  act 
as  drainage,  which  is  most  essential ;  then  prepare  peat,  loam,  and  silver  sand  in  equal  parts, 
with  the  addition  of  a  little  powdered  charcoal :  let  these  be  well  incorporated  together  and 
passed  through  a  fine  sieve ;  put  this  compost  on  the  top  of  the  above-mentioned  drainage 
and  press  it  well  down.  This  must  be  in  sufficient  quantity  to  reach  within  1£  inch  of  the 
top  of  the  pot.  Finish  with  pure  silver  sand,  and  let  the  whole  be  well  watered,  to  settle  all 
down  before  the  cuttings  are  put  in.  Then,  having  bell-glasses  at  hand,  and  the  pots  ready, 
dibble  the  cuttings  into  the  sand,  which  will  induce  the  emission  of  roots,  and  these  will 
strike  down  into  the  compost,  which,  prepared  as  directed,  will  suit  any  plant.  After  the 
cuttings  are  inserted,  let  them  be  watered  with  a  fine-rosed  pot  to  settle  the  sand  round  them. 
Cover  with  the  bell-glasses,  and  shade  until  they  have  become  rooted.  Cuttings  must  not  be 
put  in  too  closely  together,  otherwise  they  will  damp  off.  Wipe  the  condensed  moisture  from 


HORTICULTURE. 


305 


glasses  once  a  day,  but  keep  them  close  for  the  first  fortnight  or  three  weeks;  afterwards 
admit  air  by  degrees,  by  placing  a  little  wedge  under  the  glasses.  When  the  cuttings  are 
rooted,  remove  the  latter  altogether.  Sprinkle  occasionally  with  water  from  a  fine-rosed 
watering-pot.  By  attending  to  these  minutiae,  success  will  certainly  be  attained.  A  slight 
hot-bed  is  the  best  place  for  cuttings. — Gardener's  Chronicle. 


New  Garden  Pot. 


THE  following  account  of  a  new  kind  of  garden 
pot  appears  in  the  Revue  Horticole: — An  English 
amateur,  Mr.  Keir,  residing  in  Paris,  has  con- 
trived a  method  by  which  the  branches  of  trees 
can  be  more  conveniently  layered  than  heretofore. 
Pots  with  a  slit  on  one  side  have  been  long  in  use ; 
but  difficulty  has  been  found  in  their  use  out  of 
doors,  on  account  of  the  want  of  any  good  means 
of  securing  them  in  a  fixed  position  or  at  any 
desired  height.  Mr.  Keir  proposes  to  make  such 
pots  with  a  tubular  projection  on  one  side  (a  b) 
through  which  a  staff  may  pass,  and,  being  driven 
into  the  ground,  hold  the  pot  perfectly  steady. 

The  adjoining  cut  explains  at  a  glance  the 
nature  of  th.e  invention.  In  forming  such  a  pot, 
it  is  said  that  the  potter  must  take  care  that  the 
slit  c  is  so  small  as  to  just  allow  the  branch  d  to 
pass  in,  without  leaving  room  for  the  earth  to  slip 
out.  But  this  precaution  seems  needless;  for  it 
would  be  easy  to  prevent  the  earth  slipping  by 
means  of  pebbles  or  crocks  applied  to  the  slit  after 
the  branch  is  inserted,  and  as  the  pot  is  being 
filled  with  earth. — Horticulturist. 


Improvement  in  the  Frames  of  Grape- Vines. 

THE  annexed  figures  represent  an  improvement  in  the  frame  of  grape-vines,  recently  in- 
vented and  patented  by  S.  Oscar  Cross,  of  Sandy  Hill,  Washington  county,  New  York: — 

Fig.  1  is  a  perspective  view,  and  fig.  2  is  a  vertical  section,  showing  how  the  frame  can  be 
bent  down  so  as  to  expose  the  grapes  in  a  horizontal  position.  The  nature  of  the  invention 
consists  in  an  adjustable  elevating  and  depressing  grape-frame  for  the  better  cultivation  of 
the  grape.  The  grape-frame  is  constructed  of  wall-strips,  two  by  four  inches,  cut  to  any 
desirable  length,  say  ten  or  twelve  feet ;  and  slats  or  cross-pieces  of  about  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness and  three  in  width,  and  six  or  seven  feet  long,  are  fastened  about  two  feet  apart  to  one 
edge  of  the  wall-strips.  The  vine  is  now  placed  upon  the  frame  and  slats  fastened  to  the 
other  side,  thus  securing  the  vine  within  the  frame,  as  represented  in  figure  1,  A.  The 
frame  can  be  supported  in  any  position  by  the  legs  attached  to  it,  and  can  be  fastened  there 
by  driving  pins  or  stakes  through  holes  in  the  foot-pieces,  or  it  can  be  fastened  in  various 
ways ;  the  vine  itself  will  secure  the  foot  of  the  frame.  The  advantages  of  the  invention  are 
stated  to  be  as  follows — viz.  the  fruit  is  more  easily  gathered,  as  it  can  be  brought  to  a  con- 
venient altitude,  and  the  vine  conveniently  lowered  to  the  ground,  when  it  can  be  covered  with 
straw  or  otherwise  to  protect  it  from  winter-killing.  The  size  of  the  fruit  is  increased  by 
allowing  the  frame  to  lie  on  or  near  the  ground,  which  secures  to  the  vine  a  greater  amount 
of  heat,  as  it  receives  warmth  from  the  earth  as  well  as  from  the  sun,  and  is  not  exposed  to 
cold  winds  as  much  as  those  on  elevated  frames ;  the  quantity  is  also  increased,  as  it  sets 
abundantly  and  grows  larger  on  or  near  the  ground.  The  grape-beetles  and  insects  are  not 
as  destructive  to  buds  and  foliage  on  or  near  the  ground  as  on  elevated  frames.  Care  should 
be  had  not  to  expose  the  fruit  to  too  much  sun  during  the  early  stages  of  ripening,  but  the 

20 


306 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 
Fig.  1. 


process  should  be  completed  by  giving  it  a  full  exposure,  as  frame  B ;  the  fruit  is  readily  pro- 
tected from  light  frosts,  as  it  can  be  lowered  to  the  ground,  where  it  is  less  exposed,  as  in 
fig.  2,  and  if  necessary  can  be  easily  covered ;  or,  if  the  ground  had  been  sown  with  corn  or 
oats  as  soon  as  the  fruit  was  sufficiently  advanced  to  admit  of  elevating  the  frame,  it  would 
form  a  mat  in  which  the  fruit  would  be  imbedded,  so  as  to  protect  it  from  light  frosts,  and 
would  be  of  service  to  protect  the  vine  from  winter-killing.  Thus,  by  this  adjustable  frame 
and  method  of  managing  it,  tender  and  choice  varieties  can  be  raised  and  ripened  in  northern 
latitudes  with  less  trouble  and  a  better  prospect  of  success.  The  invention  is  adapted  to  a 
variety  of  forms,  and  can  be  used  in  several  ways :  a  frame  can  be  so  constructed  as  to  turn 
back  against  buildings,  fences,  etc.,  and  dispense  with  legs  and  foot-pieces  attached,  prop- 
legs  (fig.  2)  being  used  instead ;  or  a  row  of  posts  set  north  and  south  will  support  two  rows 
of  frames,  one  on  each  side,  made  so  as  to  turn  back  like  a  trap-door,  as  \nfig.  1,  being  held 
in  any  position  by  means  of  supporters  attached  to  the  frame  on  the  upper  side,  the  other 
end  being  held  to  the  posts  by  pins  passing  through  both;  the  frame  can  be  elevated  or  de- 
pressed by  a  series  of  holes  in  the  supporters. 

The  claim  is  for  an  Adjustable  Elevating  and  Depressing  Grape-Frame,  with  or  without 
supporters  attached,  and  made  of  any  known  material.  It  therefore  embraces  a  variety  of 
modifications  not  represented  in  the  annexed  figures. 

In  relation  to  the  advantage  experienced  from  the  horizontal  training  of  grape-vines,  the 
London  Gardener's  Chronicle  states  that  it  has  received  ample  evidence  from  a  well-known 
English  horticulturist  in  respect  to  the  benefit  derived  from  this  method.  On  vines  which 
has  been  trained  horizontally,  some  twenty  in  number,  the  mildew  has  never  appeared,  while 
the  produce  has  been  singularly  good.  In  an  adjoining  house,  however,  in  which  the  more 
ordinary  mode  of  training  was  adopted,  the  vines  have  been  severely  attacked,  and  when  the 
first  evil  had  been  subdued,  the  disease  broke  out  a  second  time  with  equal  virulence. 

It  is.  not  difficult  to  explain  the  increased  fruitfulness  arising  from  this  method  of  training, 


HORTICULTURE.  307 

which  delays  the  descent  of  returning  sap,  to  the  presence  of  which,  in  an  unusually  concen- 
trated form,  the  production  of  fruit  is  principally  due,  as  is  proved  by  the  process  of  ringing; 
while  the  liability  of  plums  and  apricots  to  gum,  whose  branches  are  trained  in  a  perfectly 
horizontal  direction,  depends  upon  the  same  abnormal  accumulation  of  sap.  This,  however, 
has  no  necessary  connection  with  the  production  of  the  fungi,  which,  on  the  contrary,  are 
generally  the  more  prevalent  in  exact  proportion  to  the  luxuriant  appearance  of  a  crop.  If, 
for  instance,  the  leaves  of  a  potato  crop  present  a  peculiarly  rich  green  tint,  it  is  almost  sure 
to  suffer  from  mildew,  and  an  attentive  search  will  most  probably  detect  unequivocal  signs 
of  the  evil,  while  a  crop  with  a  yellowish  and  apparently  sickly  appearance  will  entirely 
escape.  It  does  not,  however,  follow  that  the  habits  of  every  parasite  should  be  the  same; 
and  inasmuch  as  it  does  really  appear  that  vines  in  which  the  branches  are  horizontal  do 
not  suffer,  or  at  least  do  not  suffer  so  much  from  mildew,  the  horizontal  method,  though  it 
would  be  unwise  to  expect  any  complete  exemption  from  the  practice,  is  well  worth  the  culti- 
vator's consideration,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that  on  the  continent  the  vines  which 
are  kept  low,  without  any  attempt  at  horizontal  training,  suffer  far  less  than  those  which 
grow  on  trellises. 

Varieties  of  American  Grapes. 

How  many  kinds  of  grapes  are  native  to  the  United  States  it  is  impossible  to  say  ;  Dr.  Ra- 
finesque  catalogues  forty  species  and  one  hundred  varieties  in  a  little  hand-book  of  vines,  pub- 
lished in  1830,  which  he  offers  "  as  the  result  of  his  observations  during  many  years,  and 
many  thousand  miles  of  travel."  Since  this  was  published,  much  new  territory  has  been 
added  to  our  great  Republic,  in  some  portions  of  which  native  grapes  in  great  variety  and 
profusion  are  found.  Travellers  in  Texas  and  California,  especially,  agree  as  to  the  wonder- 
ful profusion  of  vines  noticed  in  both  these  States.  Upon  the  Pacific,  wine  is  already  manu- 
factured, not  in  abundance,  but  still  with  results  so  satisfactory,  that  it  will  be  but  few  years 
before  it  is  an  established  source  of  revenue  to  the  State.  We  hear  of  one  fanner  there 
raising  ninety  thousand  pounds  of  grapes  annually;  of  premiums  given  for  the  best  wines; 
of  bunches  weighing  from  one  to  eleven  pounds  each.  Their  grapes  also  are  represented  to 
be  larger  than  ours — "large  as  plums,"  and  superior  in  color  and  flavor.  The  berries,  too, 
are  very  tender,  and  the  skins  thin.  The  vines  are  pruned  down  to  two  or  two  and  a  half 
feet  from  the  ground,  and  the  large,  indolent  masses  of  fruit  rest  upon  the  lap  of  the  com- 
mon mother. 

The  grapes  of  California  are  called  "Catawba,"  by  some  "Sweetwater."  The  berries  are 
oblong,  egg-shaped,  of  alight  reddish-brown  color;  in  flavor  delicious;  they  are  destitute 
of  pulp,  and  so  tender  as  to  be  difficult  to  handle.  Like  all  the  rest  of  our  native  grapes  of 
any  value,  they  are  claimed  to  be  "of  foreign  origin."  History  is  thus  falsified,  and  our 
vines  robbed  of  their  birthright.  Major  Adlum  discovered  a  fine  grape  in  the  gardens  of 
Mr.  Johnson,  near  Fredericktown,  Maryland,  and  another  in  the  gardens  of  Mrs.  Scholl,  of 
Clarksburg.  He  says,  "A  German  priest,  who  saw  Mrs.  ScholPs  vine  in  full  bearing  and 
when  ripe,  pronounced  it  the  true  Tokay,  and  says  he  saw  the  same  kind  growing  in  Tokay, 
in  Hungary!"  The  Schuylkill  Muscadel  was  christened  "The  Cape  grape,"  as  Mr.  Long- 
worth  says,  "  to  give  it  reputation ;"  and  to  this  day,  many  believe  it  to  be  a  native  of  Africa, 
although  its  wild  brethren  are  found  in  plenty  all  over  Pennsylvania.  The  Isabella,  formerly 
called  the  Laspeyre  grape,  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  grapes  of  California.  There  are  no  vineyards  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  San  Francisco,  but  vines  are  cultivated  in  the  valleys,  especially  to  the  south- 
ward of  the  State ;  and  a  strong  red  wine,  resembling  claret,  is  drank  by  the  country-people 
from  their  own  grapes.  At  Los  Angelos,  they  make  a  very  excellent  white  wine,  something 
like  the  Catawba  in  flavor. 

The  "  Mustang"  and  the  El  Paso  are  the  peculiar  grapes  of  Texas.  The  former,  which  is 
scarcely  accredited  as  a  wine  grape,  is  known  only  at  present  as  a  wild  vine,  indigenous  to 
the  soil  which  produces  it.  The  El  Paso  has,  however,  been  successfully  cultivated.  The 
following,  from  De  Bow's  "Industrial  Resources  of  the  South  and  West,"  gives  us  some 
account  of  the  region  which  is  said  to  produce  the  best  wine  in  the  world: — 


308  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  settlement  of  El  Paso  extends  from  the  Falls  of  the  Rio  Grande  on  the  north  tt»  the 
Presidio  on  the  south,  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles,  and  is  one  continuous  orchard  and 
garden,  embracing  within  its  area  an  industrious  and  peaceable  population  of  at  least  eight 
thousand.  This  spacious  valley  is  about  midway  between  Santa  F6  and  Chihuahua,  and  is 
isolated  from  the  other  Mexican  settlements  by  the  mountains  which  rise  on  the  east  and 
west,  and  close  into  the  river  on  the  north  and  south.  The  breadth  of  the  valley  is  about 
ten  miles.  The  most  important  production  of  this  district  is  grapes,  from  which  are  annu- 
ally manufactured  not  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  gallons  of  perhaps  the  best  and  rich- 
est wine  in  the  world.  This  wine  is  worth  tv,  o  dollars  per  gallon,  and  constitutes  the  princi- 
pal source  of  revenue  to  the  country.  Great  quantities  of  grapes  are  also  dried  in  clusters 
and  preserved  for  use  during  the  winter.  In  this  state  they  are  considered  superior  to  the 
best  raisins  that  are  imported  from  Europe. 

The  great  Mustang  grape  of  Texas  is  also  said  to  be  a  wine  grape  of  superior  quality.  It 
grows  in  the  greatest  profusion,  without  cultivation,  in  every  part  of  Texas,  and  upon  all 
varieties  of  soil.  The  wine  produced  from  it  is  said  to  resemble  port.  Not  alone  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Texas,  but  throughout  the  entire  South,  do  native  grapes  flourish  in  wonderful 
luxuriance.  The  sea-islands  that  fringe  the  coasts  from  Norfolk  to  the  Florida  reefs  are 
embroidered  with  wild  vines,  laden  with  clusters,  as  well  as  the  margins  of  rivers  that  inter- 
sect the  mainland.  Florida  abounds  in  this  delicious  fruit ;  in  Alabama,  grape-culture  is 
already  exciting  much  attention,  and  the  native  grapes  produce  not  only  wines  of  most 
excellent  quality,  but  also  a  very  great  variety  of  wines.  Their  cultivation  is  very  easy,  and 
the  vines  are  abundant  bearers.  A  gentleman,  in  a  letter  to  the  "Alabama  Planter,"  says: 
"A  vineyard  at  maturity,  say  the  fourth  year,  would  be  good  for  from  five  hundred  to  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  gallons ;  the  seventh,  for  one  thousand  gallons ;  the  Scuppernong  much 
more,  to  the  acre.  Among  other  properties  possessed  by  our  native  grape,  the  quantity  of 
vinous  matter  they  possess  is  most  remarkable.  A  bushel  of  bunches,  as  pulled  from  the 
vine,  will  give  three  gallons  of  wine,  and  after  undergoing  a  second  operation,  about  one 
gallon  more  of  a  lighter  but  most  agreeable  wine.  It  would  take  a  third  pressure  to  pro- 
duce the  meagre  drink  with  which,  in  part,  they  feed  the  peasantry  in  France  who  tend  the 
vintage." 

The  woods  of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Arkansas  abound  in  varieties  of  wild  vines  that 
yield  masses  of  fruitage,  renowned  as  raccoon,  bear,  bull,  chicken,  and  fox  grapes.  As  yet, 
we  have  had  no  specimens  of  wines  of  these  celebrated  brands.  One  of  these  wild  vines  has 
been  successfully  cultivated  already,  under  the  name  of  "Eland's  Madeira,"  and  doubtless 
there  are  many  species  which,  by  the  skill  of  the  vine-dresser,  may  be  made  to  yield  an 
agreeable  variety  of  wines;  in  fact,  our  chief  dependence  must  be  upon  our  indigenous 
grapes,  that  are  already  acclimated  by  nature's  unerring  training.  It  is  well  to  observe  that 
a  grape  may  produce  a  superior  wine  in  one  district,  and  yet  be  of  little  value  in  another; 
so  that  although  one  species  may  disappoint  the  cultivator  in  Arkansas,  that  is  no  reason 
why  it  should  be  rejected  by  his  brother  in  Tennessee  or  Louisiana,  or  vice  vers&. 

In  Georgia,  the  luscious  Muscadines  gathered  in  the  wild  state  produce  a  wine  of  con- 
siderable merit ;  as  yet  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  them  a  formal  training,  except 
here  and  there  upon  a  small  scale.  This  is  also  the  case  in  South  Carolina. 

North  Carolina  is  the  natal  soil  of  the  Catawba,  the  Herbemont,  and  the  Scuppernong ; 
the  first  two  of  these  unquestionably  owe  their  reputation  to  the  skill  of  the  cultivators  of 
Ohio  and  New  York,  and  have  only  a  limited  growth  in  their  native  State ;  but  Scuppernong 
vineyards  are  found  from  Currituck,  on  the  extreme  north,  to  the  southern  counties  on  the 
Cape  Fear  River,  and  extend  inland  almost  to  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains ;  while 
so  various  are  the  qualities  of  wine  produced,  that  some  kinds  command  three  or  four  dol- 
lars per  gallon,  and  some  kinds  can  be  purchased  for  five  or  six  dollars  a  barrel !  There  are 
two  species  of  this  grape — the  best  having  a  white,  silvery  skin,  with  a  rich  metallic  lustre, 
while  the  inferior  kind  bears  a  small,  black  berry.  Mr.  Longworth  says,  "  The  black  Scup- 
pernong bears  from  one  to  four  berries  on  a  bunch,  and  would,  in  times  of  war,  if  lead  be 
scarce,  be  as  valuable,  even  when  fully  ripe,  as  the  Fox  grape,  for  bullets.  The  white  Scup- 
pernong, also,  has  a  very  small  bunch,  and  is  a  better  grape  than  the  black.  But  the  skin 


HORTICULTURE.  309 

is  thick,  and  the  pulp  hard ;  it  will  never  be  valuable  as  a  wine  grape,  unless  to  give  to  other 
must  aroma  and  flavor. 

If  for  no  other  purpose  than  this — namely,  to  mix  with  the  must  of  less  flavored  grapes, 
to  give  character  to  the  wine  when  made — this  Scuppernong  will  prove  to  be  most  valuable  to 
this  country.  The  "Traminer"  of  the  Rheingan,  a  small-berried  grape,  abounding  in  sac- 
charum,  and  full  of  aroma  and  strength,  is  so  used  to  mix  with  the  "Riesling,"  the  favorite 
grape  of  the  Rhine,  in  the  production  of  the  first-class  German  wines.  And  that  the  gene- 
rality of  European  wines  owe  their  excellence  to  the  judicious  mixture  of  various  growths 
and  vintages  is  so  well  known  as  scarcely  to  need  repeating  here. 

But  the  value  of  the  Scuppernong  as  a  wine  grape  has  not  yet  become  fairly  tried;  at 
least  not  in  North  Carolina.  Of  all  the  samples  we  have  tasted,  not  one  was  the  pure  and 
original  fermented  juice  of  the  grape,  but,  in  every  case,  more  or  less  sophisticated  with 
sugar  or  honey,  and  not  unfrequently  with  whiskey  or  brandy.  It  is  usual  to  add  three 
pounds  of  sugar  to  one  gallon  of  the  must,  and  then  a  little  distilled  spirits  of  some  kind  is 
poured  into  every  barrel  of  wine  "to  make  it  keep."  Subjected  to  this  treatment,  the  fluid 
degenerates  into  a  sort  of  vinous  grog,  and  its  peculiar  character  as  a  wine  is  almost  entirely 
lost.  Still,  in  spite  of  this,  it  has  an  aroma  which  is  somewhat  grateful. 

That  species  of  the  Muscadine  called  the  Scuppernong  is  a  very  sweet  grape,  but  sweet 
grapes  are  often  wanting  in  saccharine  matter.  For  a  familiar  instance,  take  the  Catawba  and 
Isabella  grapes.  To  the  taste  the  latter  is  by  far  the  sweetest  fruit ;  nevertheless,  in  making 
a  sparkling  wine,  the  Isabella  needs  a  liberal  allowance  of  sugar,  while  the  Catawba  wine 
requires  little  or  none.  McCulloch,  in  his  treatise  on  wine-making,  makes  a  very  accurate 
distinction  between  the  " sweet  principle"  and  that  which  constitutes  the  "sugar"  in  fruit. 
The  latter,  the  saccharine  principle,  is  the  element  which  by  the  process  of  tVniu-ntation  is 
transmuted  into  alcohol  or  spirit  of  AV  in  jMTc.-ntage  of  which  is  necessary  in  all 

vinous  fluids.  This  spirit  of  the  wine  is  drri\vl  directly  from  the  sugar  of  the  grape.  Now, 
the  difference  between  the  sweet  element  and  the  saccharine  element  is  very  clearly  shown 
1>y  McCulloch,  who  illustrates  the  subject  by  comparing  molasses  with  refined  sugar,  the  first 
being  much  the  sweetest  of  the  two  to  the  taste,  and  yet  not  comparable  to  the  latter  in  its 
proportion  of  pure  saccharum.  And  if  we  may  venture  upon  a  theory,  we  should  say  "  that 
the  reason  why  sweet  grapes  makes  a  wine  less  sweet  than  those  not  so  dulcet  to  the  taste, 
lies  in  this:  that  in  the  sweet  grape  the  whole  quantity  of  saccharum  is  absorbed  in  the  pro- 
duction of  alcohol,  while  in  those  more  abounding  in  sugar  a  portion  only  is  transmuted  into 
alcohol ;  the  superflux  of  sugar  remaining  in  undisturbed  solution,  and  sweetening  the  wine, 
less  or  more,  as  may  be." 

Now  the  Scuppernong  grape  produces  a  wine  naturally  hard  and  dry,  with  little  to  recom- 
mend it  but  its  peculiar  aroma  and  flavor;  and,  in  consequence,  the  must  is  artificially 
sweetened  to  make  it  a  marketable  or  salable  commodity.  So  long  as  this  method  of  treat- 
ment is  practised,  neither  it  nor  any  other  American  wine  so  used  can  rank  with  any  wines 
of  Europe,  except  with  the  spurious  productions  of  Cette,  Lisbon,  and  Marseilles.  The  diffi- 
culty lies  in  this:  our  vine-growers  are  afraid  of  a  hard,  dry  wine,  because  popular  taste  so  far 
(especially  in  the  rural  districts)  has  been  corrupted  by  the  sweetened,  sophisticated,  poorest 
class  of  imported  wines,  the  sweet  malagas  and  pure-juice  ports  that  are  current  in  every 
country  town.  Pure,  wholesome  wines  never  are,  and  never  should  be,  sweet;  a  glass  of 
syrup  is  no  refreshment  for  a  laborer,  and,  as  a  daily  beverage  for  anybody,  actually  repul- 
sive :  and  as  we  are  looking  forward  to  the  period  when  our  wine  shall  be  used  as  the  com- 
mon drink  for  all  classes  of  people,  we  should  define  now  and  here  that  by  "WINES"  we 
mean  the  pure,  fermented  juice  of  the  grape,  without  the  admixture  of  any  thing  else 
whatsoever. 

That  the  Scuppernong  is  a  hard,  dry  wine,  when  made  without  sugar,  is  doubtless  true; 
but  the  question  is,  "What  character  will  this  very  wine  assume  when  mellowed  by  age?" 
The  Sercial,  the  king  of  Madeiras,  is  as  harsh,  austere,  and  repulsive,  for  the  first  few  years, 
as  a  blue-nosed  Presbyterian  elder  fresh  from  the  synod,  nor  is  it  drinkable  until  age  has 
corrected  the  acerbity  of  its  temper;  but  what  then?  Then  it  becomes  one  of  the  most  exqui- 
site fluids  in  the  world,  and  commands  a  price  superior,  in  some  instances,  to  any  known 


310  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

wine,  with  the  exception  of  Imperial  Tokay.  The  real  merits  of  the  native  wine  of  North 
Carolina,  then,  still  need  development;  age  and  proper  treatment  must,  in  time,  produce 
something ;  for  the  Scuppernong  is  not  destitute  of  delicate  aroma — an  important  quality, 
indeed.  The  mode  of  culture  is  peculiar :  the  vines  (lawyers,  not  cuttings)  are  planted  one 
hundred  feet  apart ;  the  main  branches  have  space  to  run  fifty  feet  each  way,  at  right  angles 
from  the  centre,  before  meeting.  Each  vine  may  be  represented  thus,  -\-,  the  laterals  inter- 
lacing over  head  and  forming  a  canopy.  The  branches  are  never  pruned,  as  'it  is  said  "the 
vine  would  bleed  to  death."  Like  the  vines  in  Lombardy,  these  are  high-trained,  (haul  tige,) 
the  lowest  branches  being  eight  feet  above,  and  parallel  with,  the  ground.  The  yield  is  most 
abundant,  a  single  vine  often  bearing  thousands  of  bunches ;  the  berries  small,  and  but  few 
to  the  bunch.  Instances  have  been  cited  of  single  vines  yielding  enough  grapes  to  make 
several  barrels  of  wine,  and  covering  two  and  a  half  acres  of  ground. 

We  have  seen  specimens  of  native  vines  of  Virginia  of  excellent  quality.  The  Catawba 
there  is  an  abundant  bearer,  and  the  wine  made  from  it  essentially  different  from  that  of 
Ohio.  The  climate  of  this  State  would  seem  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  for  the  purpose,  and 
the  wild  and  waste  land  might  be  turned  to  profitable  account  in  the  production  of  vines.  To 
Virginia  we  are  indebted  for  many  species  already  popular,  among  which  we  may  instance 
"Norton's  Seedling,"  the  "Woodson,"  and  "Cunningham."  Here,  too,  the  Bland  grape 
grows  abundantly,  under  the  name  of  the  Virginia  Muscadel.  In  Maryland  and  Delaware, 
also,  a  variety  of  native  grapes  are  cultivated,  some  of  extraordinary  productiveness.  One 
vine  raised  by  Mr.  Willis,  (near  Baltimore,)  in  1832,  yielded  twenty-five  thousand  bunches; 
and  in  the  following  year,  Messrs.  C.  M.  Bromwell  and  R.  Monkland  certify  "that  they 
counted  upon  it  fifty-four  thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety  bunches,  omitting  small  and 
young  ones,  which  would  have  added  at  least  three  thousand  more." 

That  part  of  the  United  States  between  the  thirty-eighth  and  forty-fourth  parallels  of 
latitude,  so  far,  is  entitled  to  the  supremacy  in  grape-culture.  Already  the  wines  of  Ohio 
and  Missouri  begin  to  supplant  the  imported  Rhine  and  Champagne  wines  here,  even  at  the 
same  prices.  Terraces  rise  above  terraces  on  the  hillsides  of  the  Ohio  River,  and  the  red 
bluffs  begin  to  disappear  beneath  masses  of  vine  foliage  and  purple  clusters  of  fruit.  In 
Pennsylvania,  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  an  association  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
cultivating  the  grape  for  wine,  and  vineyards  were  established  at  Spring  Mill,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Peter  Legoux.  This  was  a  failure:  foreign  vines  were  tried  and 
abandoned,  and  finally  the  wild  grape  called  Schuylkill  Muscadel  met  with  temporary 
success. 

In  New  Jersey  the  vine  has  been  cultivated  for  many  years,  especially  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Burlington.  The  soil  of  some  parts  of  this  State  is  peculiarly  adapted  for  this  purpose, 
and  we  may  hope  hereafter  for  better  wines  than  those  she  now  furnishes  under  a  variety  of 
foreign  brands.  Still  further  West,  we  find  that  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Michigan  are  improv- 
ing the  hint  given  by  Ohio ;  in  fact,  Indiana  must  be  recognised  as  one  of  the  pioneers ;  for, 
in  the  beginning  of  this  century,  the  most  considerable  quantity  of  native  wine  made  in  the 
United  States  was  from  the  Cape  or  Schuylkill  grape  of  Vevay,  Switzerland  county, 
Indiana. 

Missouri  already  ventures  to  contest  the  palm  with  Ohio.  In  1852,  the  vineyards  at 
Hermann  embraced  some  forty  or  fifty  acres  only,  and  this  year  we  are  informed  that  no  less 
than  five  hundred  are  under  cultivation  there,  besides  many  other  vineyards  in  the  interior 
of  this  thriving  State.  At  the  Crystal  Palace  Exhibition  in  New  York,  six  prizes  were 
awarded  to  vine-growers  of  Missouri  for  samples  of  superior  native  wines,  both  Isabella 
and  Catawba,  still  and  sparkling.  The  last  grape  is  the  favorite  there,  as  it  is  also  in  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee.  In  St.  Louis,  the  native  wines  are  rapidly  supplanting  the  foreign, 
especially  the  sparkling  kinds;  at  the  hotels  there,  the  majority  of  wines  on  the  tables  are 
of  home  production. 

The  two  principal  wine  grapes  of  Ohio  are  the  Catawba  and  the  Isabella ;  the  first,  how- 
ever, in  the  proportion  of  twenty  to  one.  Both  are  natives  of  North  Carolina.  The  first 
was  found  and  noticed  merely  as  a  wild  grape,  in  the  year  1802,  by  Colonel  Murray  and 
others,  in  Buncombe  county,  North  Carolina.  There  it  reposed  for  upwards  of  twenty  years 


HORTICULTURE.  311 

without  attracting  attention,  and  so  would  have  remained  probably  until  now,  had  not  its 
merits  been  discovered  by  Major  John  Adlum,  of  Georgetown,  North  Carolina,  in  or  about 
the  year  1826.  Major  Adlum,  an  officer  of  the  Revolution,  formerly  Surveyor-General  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  a  great  cultivator  of  the  grape,  and  devoted  the  last  years  of  his  life  to 
that  purpose.  In  the  course  of  his  experiments  with  native  vines,  he  found  this  one  in  the 
garden  of  a  German  at  Georgetown,  and,  after  a  fair  trial,  was  so  convinced  of  its  value  as 
a  wine  grape,  that  he  sent  some  of  the  slips  to  Mr.  Longworth,  with  a  letter,  saying,  "  I 
have  done  my  country  a  greater  service  by  introducing  this  grape  to  public  notice  than  I 
would  have  done  if  I  had  paid  the  national  debt."  Adlum  paid  the  debt  of  nature  soon 
after,  but  the  slips  fell  into  good  hands.  For  nearly  thirty  years,  with  patient  perseverance, 
these  grapes  were  nurtured  by  Mr.  Longworth,  until  the  hour  has  arrived  when  the  pro- 
phecy of  Major  Adlum  seems  certain  of  fulfilment.  Thirty  years  of  patient  labor;  thirty 
years  of  unfaltering  faith;  thirty  years  of  man's  h'fe;  what  a  span  it  is!  stretching  from 
hopeful  youth  to  hoary  age ;  a  long  while,  my  good  friend,  to  look  forward  to — a  long  way  to 
look  back.  In  the  thirty  years  to  come  we  may  have  occasion  to  thank  these  pioneers — we 
may  see  greater  results  than  either  of  them  dreamed  of. 

The  Isabella  grape  was  first  introduced  to  notice  by  Mr.  George  Gibbs,  of  Brooklyn,  Long 
Island.  The  slips  were  brought  from  North  Carolina  by  Mrs.  Gibbs,  his  wife,  and  the  vine, 
in  compliment  to  her,  was  named  the  "Isabella."  Originally,  it  was  called  the  "Laspeyre 
grape,"  Mr.  Bernard  Laspeyre,  who  resided  near  Wilmington,  North  Carolina,  having  the 
parent  vine  from  whence  these  slips  were  derived.  By  him  it  was  supposed  to  be  a  foreign 
grape ;  but  all  scientific  writers  on  vines  in  this  country  assert  that  the  species  in  a  wild 
state  is  quite  common,  and  is  unquestionably  an  indigenous  production  of  the  United  States. 
Of  these  two  grapes,  the  best  wines  are  made  in  Ohio.  We  may  also  mention  that  the 
"Herbemont,"  another  variety  of  the  "natives,"  produces  an  extraordinary  fine  wine,  the 
flavor  being  like  the  purest  Amontillado,  and  essentially  different  from  the  other  two. 

In  comparing  the  American  wines  with  those  of  Europe,  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  they 
are  distinct  in  flavor  from  any  or  all  of  them.  Sparkling  Catawba  is  not  Champagne,  nor 
can  Isabella  be  compared  with  any  other  wines  known  in  the  world.  It  is  a  peculiarity  of 
these  wines  that  no  spurious  compound  can  be  made  to  imitate  them,  and  in  purity  and 
delicacy  there  is  no  known  wine  to  equal  them. 

The  most  expensive  wine  in  Europe,  the  "  Tokay,"  contains  the  least  amount  of  alcohol, 
9-85  pe^  cent.;  but  the  "Still  Catawba"  shows  a  percentage  of  9-50  only,  being,  in  fact,  the 
lowest  percentage  of  spirit  to  be  found  in  any  wine  in  the  world. 

One  more  fact,  in  passing.  By  the  Patent-Office  Report  for  the  year  1853,  it  is  stated  that 
the  value  of  American  wines  exceeds  that  of  the  tobacco  crop: 

Value  of  wines  grown  in  the  United  States $2,000,000 

"         tobacco 1,990,000 

But  not  alone  for  the  production  of  wine  are  grapes  valuable.  The  seeds  of  grapes  are 
eateavby  birds ;  and  a  fine  fixed  oil,  similar  to  olive-oil,  is  made  from  them  in  Parma,  Lom- 
bardy,  and  other  parts  of  Italy,  suitable  either  for  cooking  or  burning  in  lamps.  The  cut- 
tings of  the  vines  are  always  salable  to  propagate  new  vineyards ;  the  leaves  can  be  used  to 
feed  cattle,  and  they  are  fond  of  them.  The  finest  printer's  ink  is  made  from  the  carbon  of 
the  charred  stalks  of  old  vines.  And  from  the  lees  of  wine  we  get  cream  of  tartar,  which 
no  family  should  be  without.  And  then  the  raisins !  Whether  it  be  from  the  enormous  crop 
of  children  raised  annually  in  our  States,  or  from  some  other  unknown  reason,  we  import 
more  raisins  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world  put  together !  So  much  for  the  vine  as  a  source 
of  national  prosperity. — Putnam's  Magazine. 


Profits  of  the  Cold  Grapery. 

IN  a  recent  number  of  the  Horticulturist,  Mr.  William  Charlton  furnishes  a  statement  of 
th*e  produce  and  expenses  of  a  cold  grapery,  planted  in  March,  1850.  Mr.  C.  premises  that 
there  is  nothing  extraordinary  in  the  amount  of  fruit  raised  by  him,  more  than  what  others 


312  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

are  obtaining  by  skill,  care,  and  attention.  The  average  weight  of  the  respective  crops 
given,  if  taken  collectively,  would  be  one  pound  per  bunch,  all  of  which  would  have  readily 
sold  at  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  cents  per  pound ;  the  lowest  price,  however,  is  only  calcu- 
lated. The  following  number  of  bunches  of  good  quality  have  been  cut  in  the  respective 
years:  1851,  262  bunches;  1852,  618  bunches;  1853,  918  bunches;  1854,  1147  bunches; 
making  a  total  of  2495  bunches. 

The  following  calculation  shows  the  balance  side  of  the  question : — 

2945  Ibs.,  at  50  cents $1472.50 

Deduct  labor  expended  in  five  years $725.00 

"       yearly  dressings  of  manure,  at  $20 100.00 

"       repairs,  painting,  &c 200.00        1025.00 

$447.50 

By  the  above  example  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  $447  above  the  lowest  wholesale  mar- 
ket price ;  and  as  the  house,  border,  &c.  cost  about  $2000,  it  leaves  a  surplus  profit  of  4£ 
per  cent,  per  annum  upon  invested  capital,  which  in  the  present  position  looks  somewhat  low ; 
but  it  must  be  understood  that  in  this  case  profit  was  not  the  object ;  every  thing  was  done, 
regardless  of  expense,  to  make  a  good  and  handsome  structure.  The  best  French  glass  was 
used,  and  all  labor  paid  by  the  day ;  besides  which,  in  the  first  year,  there  is  no  return  profit, 
and  the  last  season  is  the  only  one  in  which  a  full  crop  has  been  allowed.  Take  into  con- 
sideration, also,  that  the  labor  account  for  management  is  reckoned  at  $2  per  day,  and  it 
will  be  readily  seen  that  a  good  and  suitable  house  may  be  built  and  tended  so  as  to  give  a 
large  return  profit.  A  house  of  equal  dimensions,  and  well  furnished,  can  be  erected  at  $12 
per  lineal  foot,  with  the  exception  of  cistern,  force-pump,  hose,  and  tank ;  and  if  we  make 
an  estimate  of  all  incidental  expenses  on  a  house  equal  to  the  above,  and  fifty  feet  long,  it 
will  stand  thus:  house,  50  feet  long,  furnished  with  two  coats  of  paint,  at  $12,  $600;  brick 
cistern  cemented,  10  feet  square,  $70 ;  tank,  force-pump,  and  hose,  $90 ;  25  tons  of  manure 
for  borders,  at  $2,  $50 ;  materials  for  drainage,  $20 ;  90  bushels  of  bones,  at  50  cents,  $45 ; 
100  bushels  of  charcoal,  $15;  labor,  making  borders,  etc.,  $20;  48  vines,  at  50  cents,  $24; 
total,  $934.00. 

As,  in  the  first  example,  the  house  is  74  feet  long,  and,  in  the  latter,  50  feet,  the  compara- 
tive weight  of  fruit  that  may  be  taken  will  be  about  two-thirds,  or  1954  Ibs.,  at  the  same 
prices,  making  the  total  value  for  the  five  years,  $982 ;  and,  making  the  same  comparison  in 
labor,  expenses,  &c.  in  both  cases,  we  may  put  down  $298  gain  upon  a  capital  of,  $934, 
which  shows  a  profit  of  about  six  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  this  too  at  the  commencement. 
If  we  were  to  calculate  upon  seven  years,  the  percentage  would  amount  to  nine  per  cent.; 
and  continued  further,  it  would  be  still  greater,  as  the  vines  will  continue  each  season  to 
produce  a  full  crop. 

From  these  illustrations  it  will  be  readily  seen  that,  with  good  management,  there  is  no 
loss  in  having  a  cold  grapery,  even  though  partial  failure  may  occur. 


Green-houses  and  their  Management. 

THE  following  memoranda  on  the  above  subject  are  derived  from  the  pages  of  the  Horti- 
culturist:— 

In  the  first  place,  care  must  be  taken  that  your  house  is  well  built,  so  that  it  will  exclude 
the  outer  air.  Second,  it  must  not  be  too  large  for  the  heating  apparatus ;  a  small  house 
well  heated  will  produce  more  flowers  than  a  large  one  poorly  heated.  Third,  have  your  fur- 
nace and  stock-hole  entirely  within  the  house — say  under  the  centre  stage.  This,  I  am  aware, 
is  objected  to  by  some ;  but  if  the  flues  draw  well,  which  they  will  be  sure  to  do  if  there  is 
a  regular  ascent  in  them  from  the  furnace  to  the  chimney,  and  coke  or  charcoal  is  used  in 
kindling  the  fires,  you  will  never  be  incommoded  with  smoke  or  gas,  while  the  additional  heat 
obtained  will  be  at  least  a  fourth.  Be  careful  not  to  let  the  earth  come  in  contact  with  either 
flues  or  furnace.  Fourth,  provide  a  good  supply  of  outer  shutters,  to  use  at  night.  Fifth, 
do  not  build  your  house  too  high,  or  all  the  heated  air  will  ascend,  and  leave  the  lower  part 
of  the  house  too  cold.  And  this  brings  us  to  the  most  important  matter  of  all — namely,  the 


HORTICULTURE. 


813 


requisite  degrees  of  heat  and  moisture  to  promote  health  and  bloom.  Many  amateurs  are 
greatly  misled  by  the  directions  given  in  works  on  gardening,  particularly  in  those  published 
in  England,  as  to  the  temperature  and  ventilation.  In  most  of  these  works  the  minimum 
temperature  of  a  green-house  is  set  down  at  40° ;  and  consequently  the  young  beginner  thinks 
that  so  long  as  he  keeps  his  plants  from  freezing,  he  is  perfectly  safe.  This  temperature  will 
answer  for  what  are  considered  strictly  green-house  plants — such  as  Camelias,  Rhododendrons, 
Azaleas,  Laurustinus,  Pittosporums,  and  other  hard-wooded  plants ;  but  in  a  mixed  green- 
house, where  there  is  a  large  proportion  of  soft-wooded  and  herbaceous  plants,  a  much  higher 
temperature  must  be  maintained,  in  order  to  have  them  bloom  well.  For  this  purpose  the 
mercury  in  ordinary  winter  weather  should  not  fall  below  60°,  or  55°  in  very  severe  weather, 
and  do  not  be  alarmed  if  it  rises  to  70°  or  75°  on  a  fine,  bright  day.  The  directions  given  in 
English  works,  and  too  often  followed  by  English  gardeners,  in  regard  to  ventilation,  are  not 
at  all  suited  to  the  climate  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  States  of  the  Union.  Our  atmosphere 
is  so  much  drier,  and  our  winters  so  much  colder,  that  much  less  ventilation  will  answer. 
The  difficulty  we  frequently  have  to  contend  with  is,  that  in  cold  windy  weather  we  have  too 
much  ventilation ;  and  I  am  satisfied  that  if  some  of  my  amateur  friends  would  expend  a  trifle 
more  in  cotton,  (for  filling  crevices,)  coal  and  shutters,  and  less  in  buying  the  latest  novelties, 
we  should  have  fewer  complaints  of  the  want  of  bouquets  during  the  winter  months.  While 
insisting  strongly  on  a  high  temperature,  let  me  not  neglect  to  enjoin  on  my  readers  the  im- 
portance of  supplying  the  plants  with  plenty  of  moisture.  The  whole  matter  can  be  compre- 
hended in  a  nutshell — keep  your  fires  and  syringe  going.  With  a  good  heat,  you  can  syringe 
the  house  almost  every  bright,  sunny  morning ;  whereas,  if  your  house  is  kept  at  a  low  tem- 
perature, and  you  give  much  moisture,  you  will  find  that  the  foliage  will  turn  yellow  and  fall. 

My  readers  will  understand  that  the  above  directions  are  given  for  the  management  of  a 
mixed  collection  of  plants ;  but  I  would  recommend,  in  all  cases  where  it  can  be  done,  to 
divide  your  house  into  two  compartments;  and  in  that  case  you  can  keep  the  green-house  at 
40°  or  45°,  and  the  hot-house  at  65°,  minimum. 

Another  very  important  matter — and  one  without  which  all  your  other  trouble  will  be  of  no 
avail — is  the  selection  of  the  proper  kinds  of  plants,  and  also  the  proper  proportion  of  each 
kind,  as  some  kinds  are  much  more  used  in  making  bouquets  than  others.  I  subjoin  a  list  of 
plants  which  are  almost  indispensable  for  winter  bloom,  and  are  yet  so  easily  propagated,  and 
;it  so  little  cost,  that  they  come  within  the  reach  of  almost  every  one.  By  getting  a  plant  or 
two,  or  a  package  of  seeds,  of  each  kind,  in  the  spring,  you  can  by  fall  propagate  a  sufficient 
number  to  fill  your  house : — 

A  LIST  OF  PLANTS    SUITABLE   FOR  WINTER   BOUQUETS,  WITH   THE   PROPORTIONS   OF  EACH  KIND. 


25  Eupatorium  elegans, 

25  "  salicifolium, 

25  Stevia  serrata, 

25      "      paniculata, 

25  Sweet  Alyssum, 

25  White  Candytuft, 

25  Heliotropes, 

25  Mignonette, 

25  Chinese  Primroses, 

25  Verbenas,  of  sorts 

25  Neapolitan  Violets, 

25  Bouvardia  leianthus, 

25  Poinsettia  pulcherrima, 

1'j  Euphorbia  jacquiuseflora, 

25  Roses, 

10  Wall  Flowers, 

10  Stock  Gillies, 

10  Scarlet  Geraniums, 

10  Cinerarias, 

10  Fuchsias, 

10  Habrothamnus, 

10  Oak-leaf  Geraniums, 

10  Epiphyllum  truncata, 


From  cuttings. 


From  seed. 

From  cuttings. 
From  seed. 

it 

From  cuttings. 
From  offsets. 
From  cuttings. 


Cuttings  and  seed. 

From  cuttings. 
Seeds  and  offsets. 
From  cuttings. 


10  Sparmannia  Africana,          From  cuttings. 

10  Spiraea  prunifolia,  " 

10        "       Reevsii,  " 

5  Weigela  rosea,  " 

5  Cestrum  aurantiacum, 
5  Abutilon  venosum,  " 

5  Pentas  carnea,  " 

5  Petunia,  Cuttings  and  seed. 

5  Vinca  rosea,  "  " 

5  Lan  tanas,  From  cuttings. 

5  Mahernia  odorata, 
5  Salvia  splendens,  " 

5  Calla  Ethiopica,  From  offsets. 

5  Acacias,  of  sorts,  See^ls  and  layers. 

5  Daphens,  From  cuttings. 

5  Rhododendrons,  of  sorts,      Cuttings  and  seed. 
5  Laurustinus,  From  cuttings. 

5  Pittosporums,  " 

10  Azaleas,  of  sorts,  " 

25  Camellia  japonicas,  of  sorts,        " 

A  few  Hyacinths,  Tulips,  Crocus,  and  Oxalis, 

and   a   Passiflora   alata   and    Bignonia  venusta 

planted  in  the  ground  and  trained  up  the  rafters. 


The  eleven  varieties  first  mentioned  in  the  above  list  are  indispensable  for  forming  the 
ground-work  or  filling  up  of  a  bouquet,  and  consequently  a  larger  quantity  of  them  are  re- 


314  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

quired.  The  Spircea  prunifolia  and  Reevsii,  and  Weigela  rosea,  should  be  kept  out  of  doors, 
and  two  or  three  brought  in  to  force  every  two  or  three  weeks.  The  former  can  be  forced 
into  bloom  in  three  weeks.  The  Rhododendrons,  Laurustinus,  Pittosporums,  Azaleas,  and 
Camellias,  should  be  planted  in  the  coolest  and  shadiest  part  of  the  house.  In  the  above  list 
every  plant  is  excluded  that  is  either  difficult  of  cultivation,  very  expensive,  or  that  continues 
in  bloom  but  a  short  time  and  Jurnishes  but  few  flowers. 

Grafted  Plants. 

IT  is,  we  think,  incontestable,  that  although  two  plants  of  different  species  may  be  made  to 
form  a  mutual  adhesion  by  the  process  of  grafting,  yet  that  such  adhesions  are  seldom  if  ever 
permament,  or  even  advantageous  to  the  vigor  of  the  scion.  It  is  only  when  varieties  of  the 
same  species  are  worked  on  each  other  that  a  perfectly  sound  and  durable  union  is  effected ; 
and  not  always  even  then,  as  we  see  when  a  fast-growing  apple-tree  is  grafted  upon  a  dimi- 
nutive variety,  such  as  the  Paradise.  If  the  union  is  to  be  perfect,  and  the  double  or  grafted 
plant  to  be  in  all  respects  as  healthy  as  either  of  its  parents,  the  two  must  grow  at  the  same 
rate,  must  have  their  sap  in  action  at  the  same  instant  of  time,  and  the  quality  of  their  secre- 
tions, be  they  what  they  may,  must  be  identical.  This  happens  when  pear-trees  grow  on 
pear-trees,  or  apples  on  apples,  of  similar  habits.  It  does  not  happen  in  the  same  degree 
when  pears  are  grafted  on  quinces,  or  peaches  are  budded  on  the  varieties  of  plum ;  for, 
although  we  employ  such  stock,  and  with  advantage,  it  is  expressly  because  there  is  so  much 
difference  in  the  constitution  of  the  scion  and  stock  as  to  diminish  the  rate  of  growth  of  the 
former ;  and  although  the  peach  will  live  for  many  years  on  the  plum,  yet  all  gardeners  know 
how  great  is  their  tendency  to  separate.  In  fact,  if  an  old  peach-tree  worked  on  a  plum  stock 
be  allowed  to  dry,  and  is  then  so  placed  horizontally  that  the  point  (of  graft  and  stock)  rests 
without  support  between  two  upright  posts,  and  then  receive  a  violent  blow,  the  stock  and 
scion  will  come  asunder  t  as  if  no  organic  union  had  ever  been  effected.  Had  the  peach  been 
worked  on  the  peach  under  equally  favorable  conditions,  no  such  fracture  would  be  practicable. 

Wherever  we  look  we  are  met  with  evidence  of  this  fact.  A  man  may  graft  a  cherry  on  a 
common  laurel,  a  cedar  of  Lebanon  on  a  larch,  or  a  China  upon  a  dog-rose,  and  we  all  know 
that  salable  plants  are  thus  manufactured.  But  it  will  soon  cease  to  be  worth  while  for  the 
trade  to  form  such  plants,  seeing  that  buyers  now  generally  learn  that  they  are  merely  ephe- 
meral curiosities.  If  any  one  doubt  this,  let  him  inquire  how  many  of  the  thousands  of  worked 
coniferae  which  have  come  into  market  within  the  last  twenty  years  are  still  alive.  It  would 
turn  out,  we  have  little  doubt,  that  the  only  healthy  specimens  now  discoverable  are  those  of 
varieties  of  the  same  species  or  closely-allied  species,  worked  on  each  other,  as  the  yellow- 
berried  yew  on  the  common  yew,  or  the  deodar  on  the  cedar  of  Lebanon. — From  Gard.  Chron. 
(Florist.} 

Preserving  Tender  Flower-Roots. 

QUITE  a  number  of  beautiful  summer  flowers  may  be  preserved  by  the  most  simple  means. 
The  dahlia  may  be  taken  as  the  type  of  the  class  we  have  reference  to.  Many,  no  doubt,  lose 
their  roots  during  winter,  and  wonder  why.  They  should  be  cut  off  close  to  the  ground  after 
the  first  sharp  frost  has  destroyed  their  beauty,  taken  out  of  the  soil  without  breaking  the 
roots,  and  placed  in  the  sun  till  they  have  become  perfectly  dry.  In  winter,  they  simply 
require  to  be  jjist  kept  free  from  frost,  and  in  a  naturally  dry  cellar  or  place  where  fires  do  not 
dry  the  atmosphere.  If  kept  in  a  damp  place,  they  will  rot,  and  if  in  a  place  where  much 
fire-heat  is  used,  they  will  dry  up.  If  placed  in  a  box,  with  some  perfectly  dry  sand  among 
them,  and  kept  as  above,  success  will  be  certain. 

The  following  are  plants  that  are  easily  kept  this  way,  the  first  two  doing  better  than  if 
raised  by  seed  the  usual  way : — 

Four-o'clocks,  (Mir ab  His  jalap a ;)  Scarlet-flowering  Bean,  (Phaseolus  multiflorus  ;)  Dahlias; 
Jacobean  Lily,  (Amaryllis  fomosissima ;}  Tiger  Flower,  (Ferraria  pavonia  and  conchiflora ;) 
Corn  Flag,  ( Gla diolus  gandavensis  and  floribunda ;)  Tuberose,  (Polyanthus  tuberosa  ;)  some  of 
the  iris  and  lilies  that  are  tender,  and  the  Madeira  vine. — Country  Gentleman. 


HORTICULTURE.  315 

On  the  Vitality  of  Seeds. 

A  RECENT  number  of  the  Revue  Horticole  contains  some  interesting  facts  relative  to  the 
vitality  of  seeds : — 

In  1817,  M.  Serrail,  in  the  department  of  the  Aude,  made  a  garden  bordering  on  the  river 
Fresquel.  The  ground  being  sloping,  he  arranged  it  in  terraces.  The  lowest  bed,  which 
ran  parallel  with  the  river,  and  nearly  at  its  level,  was  frequently  submerged  by  its  freshets. 
Not  knowing  how  to  occupy  the  space,  he  sowed  some  persicaria,  (Polygonem  persicaria,) 
and  thought  no  more  about  it. 

The  following  year,  (in  1818,)  he  thought  he  could  make  better  use  of  this  portion  of  his 
garden  by  planting  in  it  Provence  reeds,  (Arundo  donas.)  The  strong-growing  grass  made 
rapid  development,  and  in  less  than  three  years  formed  a  continual  barrier,  in  the  thickness 
of  which  the  river  during  its  overflows  deposited  a  large  quantity  of  mud,  which  gradually 
raised  the  level  of  the  bed.  The  reeds,  each  year  deeper  buried  by  these  deposits,  followed 
the  ascent  of  the  soil,  by  prolonging,  little  by  little,  their  rhizome  by  the  upper  part.  In  the 
month  of  February  last,  M.  Serrail  had  this  plantation  destroyed ;  the  rhizome  of  the  Arundo, 
which  then  formed  three  superposed  beds,  the  lowest  being  nearly  reduced  to  mould,  were 
dug  out  of  the  soil,  and  the  underlying  earth  transferred  for  compost  to  the  bed  immediately 
above.  What  was  his  astonishment  when,  two  or  three  months  afterwards,  he  saw  this  bed, 
as  well  as  the  excavation  whence  the  earth  had  been  taken,  cover  itself  with  an  abundant 
crop  of  persicarias !  He  then  recollected  the  seed  which  he  had  sown  thirty-five  years  be- 
fore, and  he  could  not  doubt  but  that  these  plants  came  from  the  seeds  sown  by  him  at  thut 
time,  and  which  were  preserved  unhurt  under  the  thick  bed  of  mud  which  the  reeds  had 
stopped  in  the  way,  and  which  had  solidified  in  the  network  of  their  root-stocks.  It  is 
doubtless  to  their  burial  in  the  soil  at  such  a  depth  that  the  atmospheric  influence  could  not 
reach  them,  that  the  seeds  owed  the  preservation  of  their  germinative  power  during  so  long 
a  period  of  years.  The  result  would  have  been  very  different  if,  in  place  of  being  covered, 
they  had  been  kept  in  an  apartment,  as  seeds  which  we  destine  for  sowing  generally  are ;  be- 
cause theu  the  alternatives  of  heat  and  cold,  of  dryness  and  humidity,  and  especially  the 
prolonged  contact  with  the  air,  would  have  developed  in  them  a  fermentation  incompatible 
with  their  vitality.  This  is  a  fact  of  daily  experience,  and  one  which  gardeners  have  but  too 
much  occasion  to  observe ;  every  one  knows  that  seeds  have  less  chance  to  grow  the  older 
they  are ;  there  is,  however,  a  marked  difference  in  this  respect  in  different  species. 

The  other  observation  of  which  we  have  to  speak,  and  which  is  due  to  M.  Micheli,  is  a  new 
proof  of  the  rapidity  with  which  seeds  not  sheltered  from  atmospheric  influences  are  de- 
prived of  life.  He  conceived  the  idea  of  experimenting  on  old  seeds  whose  age  he  knew 
exactly,  and  of  a  great  number  of  species.  He  made  a  sowing  in  the  open  ground  during 
last  spring,  but  a  very  few  plants  came  up ;  these  were  Cynoglossum  linifolium,  Chrysanthe- 
mum carinatum,  Coreotsis  diveraifolia,  Escholgia  Californica,  of  which  the  seeds  were  gathered 
in  1846 ;  Convolvulus  tricolor,  Hibiscus  trionum,  and  Ipomcea  purpurea,  which  were  two  years 
older ;  in  the  case  of  a  single  species,  (the  Malapi  grandiflora,)  the  data  went  back  to  1840 ; 
that  is,  they  were  twelve  years  old. 

These  results  conform  entirely  to  those  which  have  been  obtained  in  England.  The  British 
Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  some  years  since  appointed  a  commission  to  study 
specially  this  interesting  question  of  the  longevity  of  seeds.  In  one  of  its  latest  sittings,  it 
received  from  Dr.  Lankester,  the  chairman  of  this  committee,  the  report  of  the  twelfth  ex- 
periment on  this  subject.  This  experiment  was  tried  with  seed  gathered  in  1844,  a  part  of 
which  was  sown  in  1850  and  1851.  The  result  has  been  the  rapid  diminution  of  the  number 
of  germinating  seeds  as  they  became  older — a  result  which  must  be  expected  after  all  that 
we  know  on  the  subject;  the  question,  therefore,  can  be  considered  as  settled,  at  least  in  a 
general  manner. 

At  this  same  meeting  there  was  again  mention  made  of  those  famous  seeds  of  raspberries 
found  in  a  Celtic  sarcophagus,  which  have  been  sown  with  success.  In  England,  as  in 
France,  this  extraordinary  fact  has  found  many  disbelievers ;  but  new  investigations  have 
been  made  with  much  care  during  last  year,  and  they  have  tended  to  confirm  it.  Among 


316  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

other  witnesses  still  living,  we  may  mention  Dr.  Royle,  the  celebrated  botanist.  He  has 
asserted  that  he  was  present  when  the  brown  matter  containing  the  seeds,  and  which  had 
been  collected  in  the  remains  of  the  skeleton,  was  presented  to  Dr.  Lindley ;  and  he  further 
declared  that  he  had  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  what  has  been  said  of  the  germination  of  seeds 
preserved  under  the  ground  for  ages.  , 

The  deep  burial  of  seeds,  therefore,  we  repeat,  is  the  true  and  probably  the  only  means 
of  preserving  their  vitality  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time.  We  should  have  tteen  happy  at 
this  time,  if  our  ancestors  of  some  centuries  ago  had  thought  of  keeping  in  reserve  for  us,  in 
this  manner,  some  seeds  on  which  we  could  experiment.  They  did  not  do  it,  nor  could  they, 
because  the  minds  of  that  day  were  not  turned  towards  that  kind  of  observation.  But  why 
do  not  we,  whom  scientific  questions  interest  to  so  high  a  degree,  prepare  this  experiment 
for  our  descendants  ?  This  will  be  an  act  of  foresight  for  which  they  will  thank  us,  and — 
who  knows  ? — perhaps  which  will  be  a  means  of  transmitting  our  names  to  the  most  distant 
generations. — Florist. 

Culture  of  the  Peach,  and  the  Yellows. 

FOR  the  last  few  years  the  culture  of  the  peach  has  declined.  The  "yellows,"  " blight," 
peach-worm,  and  curculio  have  been  singularly  destructive.  Old  orchards  are  dying  out, 
and  comparatively  few  new  ones  formed  to  replace  them ;  confidence  in  their  successful  cul- 
ture is  yearly  growing  weaker,  till  in  almost  every  region  we  travel  we  are  told,  "Peaches 
will  not  grow  with  us  any  more." 

To  grow  peaches  successfully,  the  aspect  of  the  site  of  the  orchard  is  of  the  first  import- 
ance. Contrary  to  the  general  idea  in  favor  of  a  southern  exposure,  a  north-western  or 
western  is  preferable.  Those  in  a  southern  aspect  seldom  bear  well  over  five  years,  or  live 
over  ten ;  in  any  other,  there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  their  age.  Rarely  do  we  meet  with  a 
peach-tree  on  a  northern  slope  stricken  with  the  "yellows,"  while  aged,  healthy  trees  are  in- 
variably found  there  in  perfection. 

Theory  confirms  this  view  of  the  proper  site  for  peach-trees,  as  well  as  observation :  not 
being  a  native  of  this  country,  it  is,  like  most  exotics,  not  perfectly  adapted  to  our  climate. 
The  sap-vessels  of  the  wood  are  large,  and  there  is  a  large  amount  of  moisture  stored  up  in 
them  in  the  winter  season.  When  these  vessels  are  frozen  through,  they  become  particles 
of  ice,  and  any  sudden  thaw  is  apt  to  burst  the  cell  tissues,  if  the  expansion  by  freezing  has 
not  done  it ;  so  that  trees  in  situations  where  they  are  not  apt  to  be  suddenly  thawed  iu 
winter  are  more  liable  to  escape  injury.  In  the  respect  of  soil,  the  peach  is  not  so  fastidious 
as  it  is  often  supposed  to  be.  Any  kind  of  loam  will  suit  it  as  well  as  "Jersey  sand;"  and 
the  whole  subject  may  be  summed  up  in  the  observation,  that  the  peach  will  do  well  in  any 
soils  except  heavy  clays  or  soils  retentive  of  moisture. 

In  preparing  the  ground,  if  it  be  of  a  nature  to  get  very  dry  in  summer-time,  it  should  be 
trenched  eighteen  inches  in  depth,  or  subsoiled,  if  the  culture  is  to  be  carried  on  to  a  large 
extent.  Sandy  soils  will  not  require  the  operation.  All  strong  manures  are  superfluous,  if 
not  injurious ;  wood-ashes,  and  in  some  cases  lime  in  small  quantities,  have  been  found 
beneficial. 

The  after-management  of  the  peach  is  a  very  simple  affair.  It  consists,  in  chief,  of  "letting 
them  alone."  If  they  do  not  seem  vigorous,  prune  back,  or  shorten  in  a  little,  some  of  the 
young  shoots;  the  maxim  is  sound,  If  you  want  wood,  prune  and  "mine  out;"  if  fruit,  cut 
as  little  as  you  can.  Keep  the  ground  around  and  about  the  trees  constantly  tilled,  culti- 
vated, and  clean. 

The  writer  holds  the  immediate  cause  of  the  "yellows"  to  be  the  rapid  and  constantly 
varying  action  of  severe  frosts  and  warm  suns  on  the  moisture  in  the  tree  during  winter ; 
and  the  predisposing  cause,  any  thing  that  causes  a  large  supply  of  moisture  to  be  laid  up. 

The  circumstance  that  first  caused  this  train  of  reasoning  was  a  very  simple  one  :  Some 
five  years  ago,  after  a  severe  winter,  a  fine  specimen  of  Evonymus  japonicus,  which  for  the 
few  seasons  before  grew  very  vigorously,  pushed  forth  in  a  very  weak  manner.  Next  year, 
the  leaves  were  completely  yellow,  as  much  so  as  any  peach-tree.  The  head  was  then  cut 
away,  when  the  wood  was  found  to  be  entirely  dead,  with  the  exception  of  two  very  thin 


HORTICULTURE.  317 

circles  of  wood  on  the  outside.  Two  years  previously,  the  frost  or  winter  had  been  sufficient 
to  kill  the  wood,  but  not  the  bark,  or  perhaps  portions  of  the  wood  contiguous  to  the  bark, 
and  through  this  channel  just  enough  sap  had  been  drawn  barely  to  support  existence  and 
to  send  down  two  weak  courses  of  wood.  The  conclusion  was,  that  the  bark  of  plants  pos- 
sesses sometimes  a  greater  power  of  resisting  the  effects  of  frost  than  their  wood.  The  short 
supply  of  sap  produced  by  these  circumstances  caused  the  yellowness  in  the  leaves. 

Repeated  examinations  of  a  peach-tree  under  the  "yellows,"  since  the  case  above  stated, 
show  that  the  peach  also  will  carry  its  bark  safely  through  a  winter  severe  enough  to  destroy 
the  wood  which  it  encloses,  and  that  the  same  reduced  supply  of  sap  produces  the  same 
identical  "yellows"  as  in  the  Evonymus. 

Supposing  this  view  sound,  what  cure  would  it  point  out  for  the  "yellows?"  None.  It  is 
incurable ;  the  wood  is  diseased — dead — cannot  be  renovated ;  but  preventives  are  very  appa- 
rent. Always  plant  in  warm  soil,  and  if  the  atmosphere  of  the  locality  is  any  way  humid, 
choose  an  aspect  not  freely  exposed  to  the  winter's  sun ;  or  if  there  be  any  causes  leading 
to  late  growths  or  succulency  that  cannot  be  removed  by  aspect,  much  might  be  done  to- 
wards the  early  ripening  of  the  wood  by  divesting  them  only  of  their  foliage.  The  two 
main  preventives  are— first,  early  ripening  of  the  wood ;  second,  by  guarding  against  bursts 
of  hot  sun  on  thoroughly  frozen  wood,  the  chief  cause  of  much  injury  frost  has  to  account 
for.— MELOCOTON,  (Philadelphia Florist.} 

Strawberry  Culture. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  Gardener's  Chronicle  (England)  calls  attention  to  the  following 
new  facts  connected  with  the  cultivation  of  the  strawberry  ;  he  says — 

The  first  yt-ir's  produce  of  strawberry-plants  from  runners  of  the  preceding  season  is 
generally  considered  of  little  account ;  but,  with  attention  to  certain  points  of  treatment,  I 
have  reason  to  believe  that  it  may  be  made  nearly  equal  to  the  average  produce  of  the  second 
year.  I  observed  lutdy,  in  the  grounds  of  a  market-gardener,  a  bed  of  Keen's  seedlings, 
which,  he  informed  me,  were  from  runners  of  last  year  planted  out  at  the  end  of  summer. 
They  were  bearing  plentifully,  though  perhaps  not  carrying  so  heavy  a  crop  as  a  neighboring 
bed  two  years  old  ;  nor  were  the  plants,  of  course,  so  large  and  stocky.  I  have  myself  some 
plants  of  another  kind,  from  runners  of  last  year,  which  have  six  and  eight  fruit-stems  or 
trusses ;  and  the  aggregate  amount  of  fruit  borne  on  these  plants  is  quite  equal  to  that  on 
any  of  the  plants  from  which  they  were  made,  now  two  years  old.  The  course  I  adopted  in 
making  tlu'-i-  j. lants  was  this:  In  June,  last  year,  I  laid  down  such  runners  as  I  wished  to 
make  fresh  plants  from,  removing  all  others  as  they  were  thrown  out,  whether  from  tho 
parent  plants  or  from  the  rooted  runners.  In  September,  the  now  rooted  plants  were  de- 
tached from  the  old  ones,  and  removed  with  a  ball  of  earth  to  the  place  where  they  have 
since  remained.  The  removal  might,  I  presume,  be  as  advantageously  made  at  a  later  period 
— say  in  October  or  November — if  the  ground  they  are  intended  to  be  placed  in  should  hap- 
pen to  be  occupied  at  an  earlier  time  with  other  crops.  By  paying  attention  to  laying  down 
a  limited  number  of  runners  early,  and  concentrating  the  energies  of  the  parent  plant  in 
causing  them  to  form  their  roots,  I  consider  that  the  constitutional  maturity  and  bearing 
power  of  the  new  plants  are  materially  forwarded,  so  as  to  enable  them  to  produce  a  fair 
crop  the  next  season,  instead  of  having  the  ground  almost  uselessly  occupied  for  a  whole 
year  with  immature  and  imperfectly-bearing  plants,  as  must  necessarily  be  the  case  when 
the  beds  are  made  in  spring. 

Strawberries  of  1855, 

M.  P.  BARRY,  of  Rochester,  New  York,  communicates  to  the  Horticulturist  the  following 
results  of  his  experience  with  some  of  the  more  recent  varieties  of  strawberries  during  the 
past  season : — 

Scoffs  seedling,  of  which  we  had  but  a  very  small  bed,  and  consequently  a  trial  not  quite 
satisfactory,  has  not  come  fully  up  to  its  Boston  reputation.  It  is  large  and  handsome,  and 


318  THE   YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

very  distinctly  characterized  by  its  long,  conical  form;  crop  moderate,  and  flavor   rather 
indifferent. 

Longworth's  Prolific  and  McAvoy's  Superior,  of  which  we  had  good  beds,  in  fine  order  for  a 
fair  trial,  have  both  turned  out  poorly  ;  the  crop  has  been  light,  and  the  berries  of  both 
imperfectly  filled  out.  This,  by-the-by,  is  a  general  failing  of  all  the  Cincinnati  varieties. 
While  I  still  rank  these  two  varieties  as  good,  I  decidedly  prefer,  for  our  section,  Burr's  new 
Pine  and  Walker's  seedling.  The  latter  variety  is  of  undoubted  excellence  and  value  as  a 
staminatc. 

Moyamensing  improves  by  acquaintance,  and  is  really  a  productive  and  excellent  fruit. 
Iowa — "Iowa  male,"  as  some  call  it,  and  "Washington,"  as  many  of  the  Cincinnati  growers 
have  it — is  a  prodigious  bearer,  (staminate,)  of  a  pale-red  color  and  rather  indifferent  flavor, 
very  hardy  and  valuable  for  market.  Jenny's  seedling,  when  fairly  treated,  is  an  abundant 
bearer  and  a  good  berry,  hardy  and  vigorous.  Genesee  has  been  pretty  extensively  tested, 
and  proves  to  be  a  great  favorite.  It  is  a  staminate  uncommonly  hardy  and  vigorous  ;  the 
berry  large,  roundish  oblong,  with  a  long  neck ;  color,  light  shining  red,  very  beautiful ;  flavor, 
medium.  Monroe  Scarlet  continues  to  prove,  whenever  tested,  an  immense  bearer,  of  good 
size  and  fair  quality.  The  "  Orange  Prolific"  is  a  prodigious  bearer,  bright  color,  firm,  and 
quite  late.  Hooker's  seedling,  raised  by  H.  E.  Hooker,  of  Rochester,  a  large  conical,  dark- 
crimson  bearer,  like  Black  Prince,  evidently  a  seedling  from  it ;  very  productive ;  of  good 
quality ;  will  rank  among  the  best  new  sorts ;  a  good  match  for  Walker's,  which  is  also 
from  Black  Prince,  no  doubt.  Two  years  ago,  I  received  from  some  one  in  Steuben  county, 
New  York,  a  few  plants  called  "Steuben's  seedling."  This  season  they  have  borne  well; 
fruit,  dark-red,  firm,  and  of  good  flavor;  plant,  very  hardy,  vigorous,  and  productive.  I 
think  well  of  it ;  but  it  now  requires  more  than  ordinary  merit  to  entitle  a  new  sort  to 
attention.  We  have  tested  many  new  foreign  sorts  so  fully  as  to  warrant  an  opinion  on  their 
value  here. 

Bicton  Pine  I  still  think  well  of;  indeed,  I  think  more  of  it  than  ever.  It  is  like  most 
other  foreign  sorts,  not  so  hardy  as  our  native  varieties,  which  have  mostly  the  scarlets  for 
their  type ;  but,  with  a  trifling  protection,  it  may  be  wintered  safely  anywhere,  and  bear  a 
good  crop  of  large,  handsome,  flesh-colored  berries,  having  an  agreeable  musky  aroma. 
Cremont  Perpetual,  which  created  a  sensation  some  years  ago  around  Paris,  proves  to  be  not 
a  perpetual,  as  the  famous  "Crescent  seedling ;"  but  we  have  gathered  from  it  this  season  a 
crop  of  magnificent  berries.  Belle  Blanche,  from  France,  proves  to  be  identical  with  Bicton 
Pine.  Triomph  de  Gand,  from  Belgium,  is  a  large,  handsome,  light-crimson  fruit,  of  rather 
indifferent  flavor,  and  bears  well.  Due  de  Brabant,  from  Belgium,  rather  large,  long  conical, 
bright  shining  red ;  flavor,  musky  and  agreeable.  Very  early  ;  well  worthy  of  trial.  Cobi 
Prolific  (English)  shows  a  wonderful  profusion  of  bloom,  and  sets  a  fair  crop  of  berries ; 
roundish,  slightly  flattened,  dark-red ;  flavor,  medium.  Trollope's  Victoria  promises  better 
than  any  other  English  variety  ever  received  here.  The  plant  is  hardy,  vigorous,  and  bears 
a  large  crop  of  magnificent  fruit,  rivalling  the  British  Queen  in  its  best  condition ;  roundish 
ovate,  light  shining  red  ;  flavor  would  rank  as  good.  Among  fifty  sorts,  this  has  borne  away 
the  palm  in  appearance.  Ingram's  Prince  of  Wales,  from  England,  Honneur  de  Belgique  and 
Compte  de  Flanders,  from  Belgium,  all  give  sufficient  promise  to  warrant  more  extensive  trial. 

I  may  state  here  that  the  season  was  remarkably  favorable  for  the  production  of  large 
crops  of  strawberries  and  large  fruits.  Rainy,  cool  weather,  more  English  than  American ; 
flavor  was  not  so  good  as  usual.  I  have  been  told  by  a  gentleman,  whose  word  I  cannot 
doubt,  that,  from  an  acre  of  land  under  Large  Early  Scarlet,  over  one  hundred  and  twenty 
bushels  of  fruit  were  gathered,  and  sold  at  an  average  to  the  dealers  at  about  ten  cents  per 
quart. 

Raising  New  Varieties  of  Pear  from  the  Seed. 

THE  following  communication  on  the  above  subject  is  communicated  to  the  Philadelphia 
Horticulturist,  by  Thomas  Rivers,  of  England : — 

For  some  twenty  years  or  more,  I  have  occasionally  raised  pears  from  seeds,  and  must 
confess  that  my  success  has  been  nothing  to  boast  of;  but  latterly  I  have,  in  a  measure, 


HORTICULTURE.  319 

changed  my  mode  of  operations,  so  as  to  make  the  raising  of  seedling  pears  far  more  in- 
teresting than  merely  sowing  the  pips  of  a  good  pear,  without  name,  grafting  the  young 
shoots  from  the  seedlings,  and  waiting  till  they  bear  fruit.  My  method  is,  I  flatter  myself, 
adapted  to  your  climate,  and  is  as  follows: 

As  soon  as  the  pear-eating  season  commences,  I  have  some  two  or  three  dozen,  nine-inch 
pots  filled  with  a  compost  of  loam  and  rotten  manure— say  two-thirds  of  the  former  to  one- 
third  of  the  latter.  Some  sand  added  will  improve  it.  These  pots  are  then  placed  on  bricks 
or  tiles,  to  keep  out  the  worms,  in  some  convenient  situation  near  the  house,  and  in  each  pot 
is  a  smooth  slip  of  lath  painted  ready  to  be  written  on.  I  will  assume  it  to  be  October :  I 
am  eating  a  fine  specimen  of  the  Louise  Bonne  pear  ;  the  pips  are  plump  and  brown  ;  I  take 
them  from  the  core,  go  to  one  of  the  pots  of  earth,  and  with  my  finger  and  thumb  carefully 
press  in  the  pips,  one  at  a  time,  to  about  an  inch  deep,  and  level  the  surface  with  my  hand  ; 
I  then  write  on  the  label,  say,  "Louise Bonne  pear,  October,  1855."  A  piece  of  slate  or  tile 
is  then  placed  on  the  pot  so  as  to  completely  cover  it,  and  prevent  the  ingress  of  mice.  A 
few  days  after  this  I  may  be  again  eating  a  Louise  Bonne  pear  ;  I  reserve  the  pips,  remove 
the  covering  from  the  pots,  and  plant  them  with  the  others ;  and  so  repeat  this  till  some 
fifteen  pips  are  planted,  which  will  raise  quite  enough  trees  from  one  variety.  The  same 
process  may  be  repeated  at  other  times  and  seasons  with  other  species.  I  omitted  to  say 
that,  at  the  end  of  November,  all  the  pots  should  be  covered  with  mulch  one  foot 
deep.  The  young  plants  from  the  pips  sown  in  the  autumn  will  make  their  appearance 
curly  in  April,  if  the  weather  be  mild ;  the  pips  sown  in  February  or  March  will  not 
vegetate  till  April  or  May;  the  pips  sown  in  May  will  probably  remain  dormant  till  the 
following  April. 

There  are  two  methods  of  managing  young  pear  seedlings.  The  most  simple,  and  one  well 
adapted  for  those  whose  hands  are  full  of  gardening  matters,  is  merely  to  let  the  pots  stand 
on  the  bricks  or  tiles,  removing  them  to  a  shady  place,  all  the  summer  giving  tin-in  abundance 
of  water.  Each  young  tree  will,  or  ought  to  be,  twelve  to  eighteen  im-hes  in  height  by  the 
cm  I  i.f  summer,  and  its  stem  as  thick  as  a  quill,  and  well  ripened.  About  the  end  of  Octo- 
ber, these  seedlings  maybe  planted  out  in  the  garden,  in  rows  three  feet  apart,  and  eighteen 
inches  ;ip;irt  in  the  rows,  with  labels  to  each  sort;  and  in  the  following  April,  if  there  is  a 
wish  to  bring  them  rapidly  into  bearing,  each  young  seedling  tree  may  be  cut  down  to  within 
two  inches  of  its  base,  and  one  or  two  scions  made  from  it,  (one  ought  to  be  enough,  and 
that  made  from  the  lower  part  of  the  shoot.)  These  should  be  grafted  upon  some  stout 
stocks,  or  upon  branches  of  a  bearing  tree.  An  excellent  plan  is  to  buy  at  a  nursery  old 
dwarf  pear-trees  at  a  cheap  rate,  without  names,  to  plant  them  out  one  year,  and  then  to 
graft  them  with  seedlings,  cutting  them  to  a  stump  nine  or  ten  inches  in  height.  They  will 
soon  make  nice  pyramidal  trees,  and,  by  being  removed  biennially,  will  come  into  bearing 
quickly,  and  not  occupy  much  room.  Every  sort  should  be  labelled  with  its  origin  in  this 
way:  "  From  Marie  Louise,  Nov.  1854,"  and  so  on.  This  gives  much  interest  to  the  culture 
of  seedling  pears ;  for,  while  waiting  some  six  or  seven  years  till  they  bear  fruit,  their  habits 
will  be  found  very  interesting.  In  most  instances,  a  strong  family  likeness  to  their  parent 
may  be  distinguished  in  the  leaves  and  shoots  of  the  young  trees,  varied  by  now  and  then  a 
puny,  weakly  young  one,  which  will  canker  and  die  in  three  or  four  years ;  and  then  by  some 
one  or  two  trees  in  ten  showing  a  wide  departure  from  the  parental  stock,  making  vigorous, 
thorny  shoots,  and  growing  as  much  in  one  year  as  other  members  of  the  family  in  three. 
Contrary  to  the  views  of  "masters"  in  general,  it  is  these  renegades  that  give  the  liveliest 
hopes  to  the  raiser  of  pears.  I  have  at  this  moment  several  rows  of  seedling  pears,  five 
years  from  the  graft.  They  were  grafted  on  old  dwarf  pear-trees,  and  have  been  lifted  and 
replanted  twice.  This  has  checked  them,  so  that  they  are  now  in  a  bearing  state.  They  are 
all  labelled  with  their  origin.  Thus  far,  I  have  given  the  most  simple  method  of  raising  seed- 
lings by  sowing  in  pots  and  not  transplanting  till  autumn.  Another  method  is  to  place  the 
pots  in  a  gentle  forcing-house,  either  in  January  or  February.  The  young  plants  soon  make 
their  appearance,  and,  when  they  have  made  four  leaves  in  addition  to  the  seed-leaves,  they 
should  be  raised  carefully  with  all  their  fibres,  and  potted  into  three-inch  pots.  As  soon  as 
these  are  full  of  roots,  they  should  be  shifted  into  larger  pots,  and  kept  growing  under  glass 


320  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

till  the  beginning  of  June.     They  may  then  be  planted  out  in  light,  rich  soil ;  and  the  proba- 
bility is  they  will  be  three  feet  high  by  autumn. 

We  have  October  and  November  pears  without  end ;  their  names  are  legion,  and  serve  to 
create  distaste  rather  than  a  wish  for  a  collection  of  pears.  To  raise  new  and  fine  late  pears, 
a  word  or  two  as  to  the  selection  of  proper  kinds  as  parents  may  not  be  amiss.  That  fine, 
large,  late  pear,  Leon  le  Clerc  de  Laval,  reckoned  a  baking  pear,  but  which  in  May  and  June 
becomes  soft  and  agreeable,  should  be  crossed  with  the  Winter  Nelis,  the  most  delicious  of  all 
our  winter  pears.  The  Eastern  Beurre  may  be  crossed  with  Beurre  d'Aremberg,  always  vinous' 
and  racy  ;  the  Triomphe  de  Jodoigne  may  be  crossed  with  the  Josephine  de  Malines;  and  so  on. 
There  are  two  methods  by  which  fertilization  may  be  brought  about,  in  one  of  which  chance 
is  in  a  certain  extent  trusted  to.  This  is  by  training  the  bearing  branches  of  two  pear-trees 
on  a  wall  so  that  the  blossoms  are  mingled,  or  planting  two  pyramids  of  the  two  kinds  of 
pears  selected  in  a  situation  far  removed  from  any  others.  The  certain  method  is  to  select  a 
blossoming  spur,  or  rather  say  a  bunch  of  blossoms,  and  a  day  or  two  before  they  expand  re- 
move all  the  anthers,  cover  the  blossoms  with  a  fine  piece  of  muslin,  and  the  following  day 
fertilize  the  flowers  with  the  pollen  of  the  variety  fixed  upon  to  cross  with.  This  is  done  sim- 
ply by  finding  some  flowers  in  full  bloom,  with  the  pollen  perfect,  and  placing  them  on  the 
blossoms  under  the  muslin  cover,  closing  it  immediately,  and  tying  it  securely,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent the  ingress  of  bees.  To  those  who  have  inclination  or  leisure,  this  occupation  will  be 
found  of  much  interest ;  and  to  those  who  have  not,  the  chance  method  will  be  equally  so. 

The  theory  and  practice  of  the  late  Van  Mons,  which  for  so  many  years  has  made  such  a 
noise  on  the  Continent,  has  been  given  in  American  works  on  fruits ;  but  I  may,  I  trust,  be 
allowed  to  repeat  it  in  as  few  words  as  possible.  He  commenced  by  sowing  the  seeds  of  some 
hardy,  inferior  pear,  and,  as  soon  as  the  trees  bore  fruit,  he  sowed  the  pips  from  them,  wait- 
ing again  till  the  second  generation  bore  fruit,  from  the  pips  of  which  he  raised  trees,  and  so 
on  for  several  generations.  He  gave  out  to  the  world  that  by  this  method  he  raised  all  his 
best  pears,  and  that  those  of  the  last  generations  were  nearly  all  good.  This  seems  to  be  in 
unison  with  the  well-known  fact  that  cultivation  brings  on  amelioration ;  but  his  assertion 
that  by  thus  raising  successive  generations  his  last  seedlings  became  so  fruitful  as  to  bear 
some  years  earlier  than  the  first,  or  those  raised  in  the  ordinary  way,  was  a  delusion,  brought 
on,  I  suppose,  by  enthusiasm.  That  some  out  of  his  many  thousands  of  seedling  pears  would 
bear  fruit  some  years  before  others,  I  have  no  doubt ;  but  that  it  resulted  from  the  system, 
was  an  error. 

I  am  also  inclined  to  think  that  his  system  of  amelioration  by  successive  generations, 
although  on  paper  attractive  and  interesting,  was  slow  and  uncertain,  for  the  following  reason : 
Some  few  years  since,  I  was  travelling  in  Belgium,  and  paid  a  visit  to  the  garden  of  the  late 
Major  Esperen.  I  learned  that  he  had  no  system  of  raising  pears,  but  that  he  sowed  seed 
according  to  his  fancy,  and  trusted  to  chance.  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  he  had  raised,  in  a 
comparatively  small  garden,  and  out  of  a  small  number  of  seedlings,  such  pears  as  Josephine 
de  Malines,  Bergamotte  d' Esperen,  Fondante  de  Noel,  Fondante  de  Malines,  and  some  others.  I 
afterwards  saw  the  vast  collection  of  Van  Mons's  thousands  of  large  trees  raised  from  seed 
after  his  system,  and  among  them  all  it  may  be  safely  said  that  there  was  not  one  variety  to 
surpass,  or  even  equal,  the  two  first-named  varieties  raised  by  chance.  To  chance  also,  and 
not  to  this  much  vaunted-of  system,  we  owe  such  pears  as  Marie  Louise,  Glout  Morceau,  Beurrt 
Ranee,  Beurre  d'Aremberg,  and,  above  all,  Winter  Nelis;  so  that  we  may  console  ourselves  with 
the  idea  that  chance  is  very  liberal,  and  the  system  of  Van  Mons  not  so ;  for,  after  a  whole 
lifetime  devoted  to  it,  it  failed  to  give  him  five  pears  to  surpass  the  above,  or  one  to  equal  the 
last-named.  I  remember  feeling  assured,  when  first  I  heard  Van  Mons  talk  of  his  theory, 
that  it  was  not  tenable ;  for,  if  amelioration  was  progressive  in  seedlings  raised  in  successive 
generations  without  crossing,  and  if  in  like  manner  fertility  was  increased  by  it,  the  peach- 
orchards  in  America  would  give  fruit  all  perfect  in  quality,  and  of  wonderful  fertility, — for 
the  peaches  in  some  of  the  States  are  raised,  generation  after  generation,  from  the  stones. 
What  wonders  the  fortieth  generation  of  peach-trees  ought  to  be !  They  should  bear  fruit 
even  the  first  year  from  seed.  Among  the  hundreds  of  varieties  of  pears  with  the  name  of 
Van  Mons  attached  to  them,  there  are  some  very  good,  although  by  far  too  many  are  sorts 


HORTICULTURE.  321 

ripening  in  October  and  November ;  but  by  raising  pears  from  the  seed  in  America,  you  will 
have  sorts  better  adapted  to  your  climate,  and  of  equal,  or  even  perhaps  of  better  quality 
than  the  too  numerous  varieties  from  Belgium. 

Prof.  Kirtland  on  the  Pear. 

THE  experience  and  observation  of  fifty  years,  directed  to  a  practical  subject,  can  scarcely 
fail  to  arrive  at  conclusions  worthy  of  attentive  consideration ;  and  such  we  deem  those  of  Prof. 
J.  P.  Kirtland,  of  Cuyahoga  county,  Ohio,  on  the  cultivation  of  the  pear. 

Pear-trees  of  great  age  are  found  in  some  parts  of  the  country  ;  notable  instances  are  those 
on  Detroit  River,  planted  near  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  still  productive  and  healthy,  while 
recent  plantations — made  within  the  last  thirty  years — have  disappeared.  This  suggests,  first, 
the  query :  Why  was  the  first  stock  of  pear-trees,  reared  in  Connecticut,  Ohio,  and  Michigan, 
thus  thrifty  and  healthy?  Two  causes  operated  mainly  in  producing  such  an  effect:  1.  The 
trees  were  raised  from  the  seed ;  and  2.  The  superficial  virgin  soil  was  rich  in  vegetable  mat- 
ters, the  accumulations  of  thousands  of  years.  As  to  the  second  cause,  after  stating  that 
analysis  shows  a  large  percentage  of  phosphate  of  lime  and  potash  in  the  pear-tree,  Mr.  K. 
adds — 

Vegetables  require  their  food  as  much  as  animals.  If  it  be  afforded  in  too  restricted  quan- 
tities, they  both  will  be  stinted  in  their  growth  and  predisposed  to  disease.  Each  must  also 
have  food  of  appropriate  qualities.  An  absence  of  any  one  of  the  elements  shown  to  exist  in 
the  ash  of  the  pear  will  render  the  tree  unhealthy,  and  probably  soon  occasion  its  death.  In 
almost  every  virgin  soil  the  necessary  food  for  the  pear  exists  sufficient  to  insure  a  rapid  and 
healthy  growth  of  one  generation  of  trees.  Cultivation  of  other  crops,  as  well  as  the  demand 
of  the  pear-tree  itself,  soon  takes  up  most  of  those  elements  existing  in  the  superficial  soils, 
especially  the  phosphate  of  lime. 

The  second  query  is  the  opposite  and  explanation  of  the  first — "Why  have  more  recent 
attempts  at  rearing  this  tree  been  less  successful  than  the  first  ?"  Two  causes  are  assigned, 
as  follows : — 

1.  Suckers  have  been  too  commonly  substituted  for  seeds  in  propagating  this  species  of 
fruit ;  since  the  earliest  generation  of  trees  was  produced  in  those  several  States,  seedlings  are 
generally  healthy — suckers  never  for  any  length  of  time.     The  circumstances  of  their  spring- 
ing from  the  roots  is  an  evidence  of  pre-existing  disease.     That  disease  is  sure  to  be  inherited 
by  every  sucker.     Their  growth  may  be  rapid  for  a  time,  but  is  akin  to  the  malignant  deve- 
lopments which  sometimes  occur  in  the  animal  frame,  and  is  sure  to  end  in  premature  disease 
and  death. 

2.  The  exhaustion  or  deficiency  of  the  necessary  inorganic  elements  in  the  soil  has  a  more 
extensive  influence.     In  ordinary  soils  the  pear-tree  cannot  be  reared  successfully,  any  more 
than  it  can  "imbibe  a  solution  of  phosphates  and  potash  from  a  soil  made  up  exclusively  of 
insoluble  flint  and  clay."     The  professor  adds:  In  localities  where  those  requisite  elements 
are  furnished,  but  in  too  limited  amount,  this  tree  will  exert  its  efforts  mainly  in  producing 
blossoms  or  fruit-buds  in  excess,  which  of  course  will  prove  abortive  the  season  ensuing  from 
a  want  of  food,  and  very  little  new  wood  will  be  formed. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  most  of  those  elements  abound,  but  the  main  one — the  phosphate  of 
lime — be  absent,  or  in  a  restricted  amount,  the  tree  will  often  make  a  vigorous  effort  at  forming 
new  wood,  the  leaves  will  be  luxuriantly  developed  early  in  the  season,  and  the  shoots  will 
rapidly  elongate  with  a  spongy  texture,  till  the  period  arrives  for  making  a  draft  on  the  soil 
to  furnish  the  necessary  amount  of  phosphates,  in  order  to  mature  the  young  and  tender 
growths.  This  draft  usually  occurs  in  the  hot  and  sultry  weather  of  June  or  July,  and  is  not 
duly  honored.  The  result  is,  the  delicate  tissues  immediately  die,  a  rapid  chemical  change 
occurs  in  them,  and  it  is  said  the  tree  died  of  the  "fire-blight" 

The  "fire-blight"  is  the  blight  of innutrition,  and  specifically  distinct  from  the  frozen  sap-blight, 
the  canker-blight,  often  occurring  in  the  insect-blight,  which  also  attacks  apple,  quince,  and 
mountain  ash-trees,  occasionally.  A  third  query  still  occurs:  "Why,  in  certain  localities, 
has  the  pear-tree  continued  healthy,  and  endured  to  such  extreme  age  ?"  To  this  it  is  replied, 

21 


322  THE   YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

That  some  localities  abound  in  the  necessary  food.  The  tertiary  formations  in  New  Jersey,  and 
the  trap  dykes  in  Connecticut,  are  rich  in  all  necessary  elements,  and,  without  doubt,  the 
clays  of  the  Detroit  River  banks  contain  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  phosphates.  And  it  is 
suggested,  that — 

In  some  instances  this  tree  is  sustained  for  a  long  period  of  time  by  the  accidental  supply 
of  food.  The  dead  carcass  of  some  large  animal  may  have  been  deposited  near  its  location,  a 
pile  of  bones,  leached  ashes,  decaying  vegetable  matter,  the  refuse  of  a  slaughter-house,  or 
night-soil.  Perhaps  flocks  of  ducks,  geese,  hens,  or  turkeys  make  theft  roosts  on  or  under 
its  boughs  for  days  and  months  in  succession.  From  these  and  similar  sources,  phosphate  of 
lime  may  be  furnished.  Other  collateral  influences  have  favored  these  bicenturians  in  certain 
localities.  The  pear-tree  requires  a  rather  moist  and  tenacious  soil ;  not,  however,  wet  and 
saturated  with  stagnant  water.  If  placed  on  a  loamy  or  clayey  soil,  abounding  in  the  requi- 
site inorganic  elements,  with  pure  water  percolating  beneath  at  a  depth  at  which  it  can  merely 
be  reached  by  the  extreme  roots,  this  tree  will  be  as  hardy,  strong-growing,  and  durable  as 
the  oak.  Climate  also  exerts  an  influence  on  its  health  and  prolificness. 

The  deficiencies  which  occur  in  most  soils  may  be,  to  some  extent,  artificially  supplied. 
Animal  bones,  urine,  the  sweepings  of  the  poultry-house  and  yard,  and  guano  are  the  prin- 
cipal sources  from  whence  the  supplies  must  be  furnished.  My  own  trees  have  been  greatly 
improved,  both  in  their  vigor  and  productiveness,  by  burying  about  their  roots  large  quanti- 
ties of  unground  bones :  time  and  weather  break  them  down  as  rapidly  as  the  trees  call  for 
supplies.  The  surface  of  the  ground  has  been  dressed  with  ashes  and  refuse  lime.  Under 
this  course  of  treatment  I  never  had  a  pear-tree  attacked  with  any  species  of  blight.  This  may 
have  been  accidental.  In  conclusion,  I  would  say  that,  in  common  localities,  no  one  should 
set  out  one  pear-tree  more  than  he  can  annually  cultivate  with  care,  and  can  constantly  supply, 
in  some  form,  with  the  requisite  food.  A  starved  fruit-tree  is  of  no  more  profit  than  a  starved 
animal. — Rural  New  Yorker. 


Time  when  Pears  should  be  Gathered. 

THE  following  article,  on  the  gathering  and  ripening  of  the  pear,  by  M.  De  Jonghe,  of 
Brussels,  is  taken  from  the  London  Gardener's  Chronicle: — 

Formerly,  when  the  varieties  of  pears  in  cultivation  were  comparatively  few,  there  was 
little  difficulty  in  knowing  the  time  when  each  sort  ought  to  be  gathered ;  but  now,  when  the 
number  of  good  varieties  is  so  much  increased,  the  proper  time  for  gathering  the  respective 
sorts  cannot  be  known  without  a  certain  experience  acquired  during  a  period  of  from  three 
to  five  years,  in  order  that  a  mean  may  be  obtained ;  for  the  maturity  of  the  fruit  on  the 
tree  depends — 

1.  On  the  individual  constitution  of  the  tree  and  its  liability  to  change.  2.  On  the  soil  in 
which  the  tree  is  planted.  3.  On  the  influence  of  the  stock.  4.  On  the  temperature  of  the 
season,  whether  more  or  less  favorable  for  accelerating  the  maturity  of  the  fruit.  In  order 
to  know  exactly  the  mean  period  of  maturity  on  the  tree  of  any  particular  variety  of  fruit,  it 
is  necessary  to  observe  several  trees  of  such  variety,  planted  in  different  soils  and  situations. 
With  regard  to  the  varieties  of  pears  which  ripen  at  the  end  of  summer  or  early  in  autumn, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  fix  the  date  when  they  should  be  gathered ;  for,  in  the  same  situation, 
this,  in  different  years,  does  not  vary  more  than  ten  days.  The  influence  of  soil,  of  stocks, 
and  of  temperature  more  or  less  warm  and  dry,  is  not  so  great  on  early  fruits  as  on  the  late 
autumn,  winter,  and  spring  varieties.  With  regard  to  the  summer  and  early  autumn  kinds, 
they  cannot  always  be  left  to  ripen  completely  on  the  tree,  grown  as  a  pyramid  or  standard ; 
and  it  is  needless  to  add  that  these  sorts  of  fruits  do  not,  in  our  climate,  merit  a  wall,  where, 
in  fact,  they  are  never  so  good  as  in  the  open  ground.  When  a  considerable  number  of 
fruits  is  observed  to  have  reached  the  point  of  maturity,  and  when,  with  a  slight  pressure  of 
the  thumb,  the  stalk  is  readily  detached,  without  twisting,  at  its  junction  with  the  spur,  a 
portion  of  the  fruit  should  then  be  gathered,  and  allowed  to  acquire  their  full  maturity  in  the 
fruit-room.  This  first  gathering  will  ease  the  tree,  and  the  whole  of  the  nutritive  sap  will  be 


HORTICULTURE.  323 

directed  towards  the  remaining  fruits,  which,  in  consequence,  become  much  finer;  and  these 
are  gathered  in  the  same  manner,  and  successionally.  The  operation  of  successional  gather- 
ing, called,  in  French  gardening  terms,  V  entrecueillement,  may  be  very  advantageously  followed 
up,  because  all  the  fruits  on  a  tree  never  ripen  simultaneously ;  and  that  they  may  acquire 
full  perfection,  it  is  important  that  they  should  be  left  on  the  tree  to  attain  the  necessary 
degree  of  maturity,  known  to  the  practised  eye  by  certain  signs,  which  it  would  be  difficult 
to  point  out  without  entering  into  tedious  details. 

With  regard  to  the  late  autumn,  winter,  and  spring  pears,  the  same  proceeding  is  adopted; 
it  is  only  by  successional  gathering,  V entrecueillement,  that  we  can  bit  upon  the  proper  time, 
and  know  the  happy  medium  between  gathering  too  early  or  too  late.  When  some  fruits, 
neither  bruised  nor  pierced  by  insects,  of  a  late  variety  of  pear  begin  to  drop,  although  not 
affected  by  strong  winds,  nor  by  the  continued  drought  which  we  sometimes  experience  in 
our  climate  towards  the  end  of  September,  and  when  the  leaves  begin  to  turn  yellow  and  fall 
from  the  tree,  an  attentive  and  experienced  person  will  perceive  that  the  period  of  gathering 
is  close  at  hand.  As  above  stated,  the  period  of  the  maturity  of  the  fruit  on  the  tree,  and 
likewise  in  the  fruit-room,  depends  in  a  great  measure  on  the  soil  in  which  the  tree  is  planted ; 
and  the  most  delicious  qualities  of  certain  varieties  of  pears  are  owing  to  the  peculiar  nature 
of  the  soil.  The  lighter,  warmer,  and  drier  the  soil,  the  sooner  the  flow  of  sap  ends,  and  the 
earlier  the  fruit  indicates  the  necessity  of  partial  gathering.  But  in  case  of  a  stiff,  cold  soil, 
it  is  the  reverse. 

It  cannot  be  denied,  and  all  practical  men  agree,  that  the  stock  has  great  influence,  not 
only  as  regards  the  period  of  gathering  the  fruit,  but  also  with  respect  to  that  of  its  ripening 
in  the  fruit-room.  I  knew  a  cultivator  who  raised  stocks  for  budding  with  summer  and 
autumn  fruits,  others  for  winter  and  spring  varieties.  With  regard  to  the  summer  and  autumn 
kinds,  the  nature  of  the  stock  is  of  little  importance ;  but  when  long-keeping  sorts  are  worked 
on  wild-pear  stocks,  which  stocks,  if  allowed  to  fruit,  would  produce  summer  pears,  it  is 
certain  that  the  period  of  ripening  of  late  pears  worked  on  these  stocks  would  be  affected.  I 
have  seen  some  seedlings,  planted  in  proper  soil,  produce  fruit  of  which  the  medium  time  of 
ripening  on  their  own  roots  had  been  fixed  between  December  and  February ;  but  when  grafted 
on  summer  or  early-ripening  wild  pears,  the  ripening  of  the  above  varieties,  grown  in  similar 
soil,  was  accelerated  more  than  a  month.  Such  irregularities  do  not  result  from  propaga- 
tions on  the  quince  stocks,  because  these  are  identically  reproduced  from  layers.  The  im- 
portance of  avoiding  the  unsuitable  union  of  winter  and  summer  fruits  will  be  readily 
admitted;  that  is,  the  grafting  of  late-ripening  varieties  of  pear-trees  on  early-ripening  wild- 
pear  stocks. 

I  am  aware  it  will  be  objected  that  the  purchaser  would  not  take  precautions  on  this  point 
into  consideration;  that  he  only  sees  to  the  young  trees  having  been  once  or  twice  properly 
cut  or  pruned ;  and  that  a  certain  number  of  such-and-such  varieties  required  for  his  planta- 
tion is  obtained.  I  understand  these  objections,  because  they  do  in  reality  exist.  However, 
there  are  some  intelligent  amateurs  who  wish  to  obtain  good  articles  on  which  they  can 
depend,  and  are  willing  to  pay  a  good  price  for  them  as  a  just  remuneration  to  the  producer. 

Warm  and  early  seasons  accelerate  the  maturity  of  the  fruit  on  the  tree,  but  not  in  the 
fruit-room.  After  a  good  summer  and  warm  autumn,  pears  keep  better,  are  always  longer 
in  becoming  fit  for  use,  than  when  the  season  is  otherwise,  especially  as  regards  the  late  sorts. 
In  conclusion,  from  what  has  been  stated,  it  results  that  the  same  kind  of  fruit  cannot  be 
gathered  uniformly  at  the  same  date,  owing  to  various  circumstances  which  influence  the 
ripening ;  that  by  successional  gatherings,  or  at  intervals,  the  proper  time  for  different  locali- 
ties is  best  ascertained ;  'and  that,  in  general,  all  the  varieties  ought  to  be  gathered  before 
their  perfect  maturity,  which  should  be  obtained  in  the  fruit-room. 

Catawissa  Raspberry. 

THE  Catawissa  raspberry  originated  in  the  graveyard  of  a  little  Quaker  meeting-house  in 
the  village  of  Catawissa,  Columbia  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  fruit  is  of  medium  size,  in- 
ferior to  many  of  the  new  popular  varieties,  but  is  sufficiently  large  for  all  economical  pur- 


824  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

poses.  Its  color  is  dark-red  purple  when  ripe,  and  is  of  a  very  high  flavor.  It  bears  most 
abundantly  after  the  young  wood,  on  which  it  produces  its  best  fruit;  attains  a  height  of  four 
or  five  feet ;  usually  begins  to  ripen  early  in  August,  and  even  sooner.  The  fruit  is  produced 
on  branches  continually  pushing  out  from  all  parts,  successively  appearing  in  various  stages 
of  growth,  from  the  blossom  to  perfect  maturity;  and  often  there  may  be  counted  more  than 
fifty  berries  on  a  branch.  As  the  fruit  of  each  branch  successively  ripens,  the  later  ones 
gradually  diminish  in  size;  but  there  is  no  suspension  of  blooming  or  fruiting  before  the  plant 
is  checked  by  frost.  If  protected  in-doors,  it  undoubtedly  would  produce  during  the  winter 
months.  One  great  advantage  of  this  over  other  varieties  of  the  raspberry  is,  that  if  the 
stocks  should  be  accidentally  broken  or  cut  off,  or  should  be  killed  by  winter  frost,  it  is  all 
the  better  for  the  crop.  Another  advantage  is,  that  from  the  small  space  of  a  few  yards  well 
cultivated,  a  daily  dessert  for  a  small  family  would  be  at  hand  for  from  three  to  four  months 
of  the  year. — Horticulturist. 

The  Ground  Cherry. 

UNDER  this  name,  Mr.  P.  S.  Beers,  of  Southville,  Connecticut,  describes  in  the  Horti- 
culturist a  fruit  of  a  species  of  Solanum.  It  is  about  the  size  and  shape  of  a  cherry,  of  a 
cream  color,  and  enveloped  in  a  dry,  paper-like  calyx.  It  is  much  more  agreeable  to  the 
taste,  when  eaten  raw,  than  any  tomato.  The  stalk  of  a  full-grown  specimen  is  nearly  an 
inch  in  diameter  at  the  ground,  and  about  three  feet  high;  its  habits  of  growth  are  similar  to 
the  tomato.  It  bears  transplanting  well,  and  comes  to  maturity  early  in  the  season.  If  sown 
from  the  seed,  care  must  be  taken  that  the  young  plants  are  not  mistaken  for  weeds,  and 
rooted  up.  Mr.  Beers  states  that  this  fruit  is  excellent  for  pies  and  preserves,  and  also  for 
eating  in  a  raw  state. 

On  the  Cultivation  and  Propagation  of  the  Cranberry. 

MR.  SULLIVAX  BATES,  of  Bellingham,  Massachusetts,  who  has  given  much  time  and  atten- 
tion to  the  cultivation  of  the  cranberry,  furnishes  the  following  information  respecting  the 
culture  of  this  valuable  and  profitable  fruit.  In  regard  to  the  selection  of  soils  and  varieties 
of  the  plant,  Mr.  Bates  says — 

Select  a  situation  for  your  cranberry-field  on  a  clay  soil,  on  such  as  is  not  liable  to  bake, 
or  on  a  dark  loam  soil,  or  on  all  moist  soils  where  there  is  a  mixture  of  sand ;  reclaimed 
lands,  such  as  can  be  made  moderately  dry,  are  well  adapted  to  grow  the  cranberry.  Per- 
sons commencing  the  cultivation  would  do  well  to  distribute  their  plants  in  different  locations, 
as  by  so  doing  the  best  soils  may  be  ascertained.  As  far  as  ascertained,  there  are  three 
varieties  of  the  cranberry  susceptible  of  cultivation  in  the  United  States — the  barberry,  the 
cherry,  and  the  bell.  The  last-mentioned  seems  to  be  the  only  variety  that  can  be  made  to 
flourish  in  a  dry  soil.  In  its  wild  and  cultivated  state,  it  is  much  larger  than  either  of  the 
others,  and  is  frequently  found  on  the  borders  of  bogs,  extending  towards  the  uplands.  ,  Those 
engaging  in  the  cultivation  of  the  cranberry  should  select  the  bell  variety;  and  by  commenc- 
ing with  those  that  have  been  cultivated  and  naturalized  to  a  dry  soil,  they  will  much  sooner 
accomplish  their  object,  and  with  much  less  trouble  and  expense,  as  the  plants  multiply  and 
increase  abundantly.  Persons  commencing  with  one  or  two  thousand,  will  be  able  to  obtain 
plants  of  their  own  raising  sufficient  to  transplant  acres  in  two  or  three  years.  In  extensive 
field-culture  no  great  degree  of  moisture  is  necessary,  but  a  uniformity  is  to  be  desired.  Soils 
adapted  for  the  strawberry  are  suited  to  the  cranberry,  but  no  animal  or  vegetable  manure 
should  be  applied.  The  vines  propagate  by  runners  like  the  strawberry.  Where  the  land  is 
rich,  and  liable  to  grass  and  weeds,  we  prepare  the  ground  by  removing  the  top  soil  at  a 
sufficient  depth  to  prevent  their  growth.  This  may  be  easily  done  by  plowing  the  sod,  and 
removing  the  top  soil  in  carts  or  otherwise.  The  object  in  doing  this,  is  to  make  the  soil  so 
poor  that  nothing  will  grow  to  obstruct  the  growth  of  the  cranberry. 

If  the  land  is  poor,  so  that  grass  and  weeds  will  not  vegetate,  then  it  may  be  plowed  and 
harrowed  without  other  preparation — the  greatest  object  in  cultivation  being  to  have  the  plants 


HORTICULTURE.  325 

placed  in  a  poor  soil,  or  to  render  it  so  by  removing  the  top  soil  by  filling  up  or  by  any  other 
process.  If  these  rules  are  followed,  there  is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  their  cultivation. 

In  setting  out  a  cranberry  plantation,  the  soil  is  prepared  the  same  as  for  sowing  grain,  by 
plowing,  harrowing,  and  making  your  soil  even;  then  mark  it  out  in  drills  18  or  20  inches 
apart,  putting  the  plants  in  the  drills  5  or  6  inches  apart ;  hoe  them  slightly  at  first,  till  the 
roots  become  clinched,  and  afterwards  no  other  cultivation  is  needed.  The  plants  may  be 
expected  to  run  together  and  cover  the  whole  soil  in  two  or  three  years.  The  cranberry 
grown  by  cultivation  usually  yields  from  150  to  400  bushels  per  acre ;  its  fruit  is  two  or  three 
times  as  large  as  the  wild  fruit,  and  of  a  beautiful  flavor ;  it  readily  keeps  sound  from  the 
harvest-time  of  it  to  the  time  of  harvest  again.  The  fruit  is  generally  gathered  in  Sep- 
tember ;  it  is  gathered  with  wire-teeth  rakes  made  for  the  purpose ;  one  man  will  generally 
gather  from  30  to  40  bushels  per  day,  with  the  aid  of  a  boy  to  pick  up  the  scattering  fruit. 

Persons  having  a  garden  of  moderate  size,  and  wishing  to  raise  their  own  cranberries  of  a 
superior  quality,  can  do  so  by  obtaining  a  few  plants ;  and  with  a  small  amount  of  labor  at 
the  commencement,  will  find  their  cultivation  both  easy  and  profitable.  The  proper  time  for 
fall  transplanting  is  October  and  November;  for  spring,  from  the  opening  of  the  same  till 
about  the  25th  of  May. 

The  bell  cranberry  may  also  be  grown  in  pots  and  boxes,  and  in  these  situations  is  an  ex- 
ceedingly ornamental  plant,  as  the  fruit  when  protected  will  remain  upon  the  vines  until  they 
again  blossom,  the  blossoms  starting  each  year  from  the  new  growth.  The  exceeding  bounti- 
ful appearance  of  this  slender  vine,  standing  erect,  and  clothed  in  the  most  luxuriant  green, 
bearing  its  delicate  blossoms,  and  laden  with  rich  clusters  of  crimson-colored  fruit,  renders 
it,  as  an  ornament  for  the  window,  garden,  or  green-house,  entirely  unrivalled.  As  the  cran- 
berry naturally  grows  in  a  very  wet  soil,  it  is  generally  supposed  it  will  not  thrive  in  a  dry 
soil;  but  this  idea  is  erroneous.  Mr.  Hates  has  cultivated  the  cranberry  on  a  dry  soil  for 
several  yours  with  the  utmost  success,  having  produced  300  bushels  to  the  acre  on  several 
acres,  and  his  fruit  double  the  usual  size. 

The  method  of  cultivation  followed  by  Mr.  Hull,  a  well-known  cultivator  in  Massachusetts, 
is  to  spread  on  his  swampy  ground  a  quantity  of  sand :  this  is  to  kill  the  grass ;  but  where 
sand  is  not  at  hand,  gravel  will  answer  the  same  purpose.  He  then  digs  holes  four  feet  apart 
each  way,  and  puts  in  the  holes  sods  of  cranberry-plants  about  one  foot  square. 

In  Massachusetts,  the  cranberry  crop  is  once  in  a  few  years  cut  off  by  the  late  spring  frosts. 
This  may  be  prevented  where  a  meadow  is  so  sitiMU-d  us  to  be  flowed.  The  water  should  not 
be  over  one  or  two  inches  deep  on  the  cranberries,  nor  loft  <>u  Inter  than  the  last  of  May  in 
this  climate.  If  kept  on  till  it  becomes  warm,  it  will  kill  the  vines.  Sometimes,  in  the 
ru  States,  the  cranberries  are  destroyed  by  a  frost  in  September;  where  water  is  con- 
venient and  plenty,  the  meadow  could  be  flowed  on  cold  nights,  at  this  season,  as  well  as  in 
the  spring. 

Previous  to  shipping  cranberries,  they  should  be  run  over  a  platform  slightly  inclined.  The 
rotten  and  bruised  fruit  will  not  run  off,  but  stick  going  down  the  platform,  and  are  scraped 
off  and  thrown  away.  The  perfect  fruit  is  then  put  into  tight  barrels,  which  are  headed  up, 
filled  with  water,  and  in  this  manner  they  arrive  in  Europe  in  perfect  order,  and  have  fre- 
quently sold  in  foreign  ports  at  $20  per  barrel. 

Rakes  are  now  made  for  the  express  purpose  of  gathering  cranberries,  and  although  these 
rakes  tear  the  vines  somewhat,  yet  the  crop  is  not  diminished  by  raking;  on  the  contrary,  it 
has  been  increased.  Some  years  ago,  a  gentleman  in  Massachusetts  commenced  raking  his 
little  patcli  of  one- fourth  of  an  acre.  The  first  year  it  produced  12  bushels,  the  next  18,  the 
third  25,  and  so  on  till  his  last  harvest,  when  the  crop  amounted  to  65  bushels.  This  increase 
is  easily  accounted  for  by  the  method  of  gathering  with  rakes — the  pulling  up  a  few  of  the 
vines  loosens  the  ground ;  and  although  not  intended,  yet  in  fact  the  raking  acts  as  a  partial 
cultivation.  In  order  to  promote  the  cultivation  of  this  fruit,  we  understand  that  arrange- 
ments have  been  made  by  the  American  Institute  for  supplying  horticulturists  with  cranberry- 
plants  early  in  the  spring.  Plants  are  also  supplied  by  Mr.  Bates,  of  Bellingham,  Massa- 
chusetts. The  usual  price  charged  for  the  bell  cranberry  is  from  seven  to  eight  dollars  per 
thousand  plants. 


326  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

On  the  Cultivation  and  Improvement  of  the  Water-Melon. 

THE  following  suggestions  respecting  the  cultivation  of  the  water-melon  are  communicated 
to  the  Horticulturist  by  Edward  Decker,  of  New  Brighton,  N.  Y. : — 

Having  made  selection  of  a  spot  for  your  melon-patch,  you  will  greatly  benefit  your  ground 
and  forward  yourself  by  manuring  in  the  fall  instead  of  stopping  till  the  busy  spring-time 
commences,  and  you  find  you  have  a  dozen  things  want  attending  to  at  once.,..  After  giving 
your  ground  a  middling  coat  of  manure,  dig  it  well  two  spits  in  depth,  throwing  it  up  in 
ridges  to  enable  it  to  receive  the  benefit  of  a  g  jod  sharp  frost,  which  will  mellow  and  sweeten 
the  soil,  besides  destroying  millions  of  insects  in  the  embryo  state. 

The  last  week  in  April  or  the  first  in  May  is  the  most  desirable  time  to  sow  your  seed. 
Having  levelled  and  forked  over  the  ground  that  was  manured  in  the  fall,  commence  by  mark- 
ing off  your  plot  into  squares  nine  feet  apart  each  way ;  dig  out  the  soil  two  feet  square, 
spreading  it  equally  all  round ;  then  fill  up  the  holes  with  good  rotten  manure ;  the  top 
spit  from  an  old  pasture,  in  equal  quantities,  well  mixed  and  broken  with  the  spade,  is  the 
best,  but  any  good,  light,  moderately  rich  soil  will  do ;  fill  the  holes  six  inches  higher  than 
the  surrounding  ground ;  over  these  place  your  melon-boxes,  and  sow  from  eight  to  ten  seeds 
in  each.  If  you  have  not  the  convenience  of  boxes,  four  bricks  laid  edgeways  so  as  to  form 
a  square,  and  covered  with  a  sheet  of  glass,  is  a  good  substitute.  As  soon  as  you  have  sown 
your  seeds,  place  the  sashes  on  the  boxes,  and  let  them  remain  on  till  the  seed  is  fairly  up ; 
then  commence  giving  air  on  all  favorable  opportunities,  not  forgetting  to  pull  the  sashes  off 
in  warm  showers,  and  increasing  as  the  plants  progress  in  strength ;  thin  them  out  to  four 
plants  in  each  hill  so  soon  as  they  have  made  two  rough  leaves ;  keep  them  free  from  weeds, 
and  draw  the  soil  about  the  stems,  so  as  to  strengthen  them  against  the  winds.  When  they 
have  made  four  or  six  rough  leaves,  stop  the  end  of  each  shoot,  to  make  them  branch  out. 
As  soon  as  the  weather  becomes  settled,  remove  the  sashes,  but  let  the  boxes  remain,  as  they 
prevent  in  a  great  measure  the  plants  from  being  attacked  by  a  black  and  yellow-striped  bug, 
and  can  easily  be  taken  away  when  they  become  filled  with  vines.  The  best  remedy  we  have 
found  for  the  destruction  of  this  pest  is  a  slight  sprinkle  from  the  rose  of  a  watering-pot  of 
whale-oil  soap,  diluted  in  water — half  a  pound  of  soap  to  six  gallons  of  water — every  other 
day  from  the  time  the  plants  make  their  appearance  until  they  begin  to  grow  freely.  As 
every  foot  of  ground  is  valuable  in  small  gardens,  it  is  advisable  to  sow  a  row  of  early  bush 
beans,  turnip-rooted  beets,  etc.  between  the  hills,  and  they  will  be  off  the  ground  before  the 
melons  occupy  the  whole ;  attending  to  hoeing  and  keeping  clear  of  weeds  is  aU  the  further 
assistance  they  require. 

Removal  of  Bark  from  Apple-trees. 

THE  practice  of  taking  off  the  old  bark  from  apple-trees  has  been  in  use  nearly  two  cen- 
turies. The  old,  cracked,  and  dead  bark  on  the  stem  and  thick  branches  affords  soil  and  shelter 
for  mosses  and  lichens,  and  also  forms  a  fit  receptacle  for  numerous  larvae,  which  in  time  devour 
the  tender  leaves  and  buds  as  they  shoot  forth.  Besides,  by  removing  the  old  bark  the 
living  bark  is  brought  in  contact  with  the  air,  and  myriads  of  insects  prejudicial  to  the  trees 
are  destroyed.  In  performing  this  operation,  great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  injure  the  live 
bark  and  lay  bare  the  alburnum.  As  the  dead  bark  is  more  easily  detached  when  it  is  moist, 
the  best  time  to  perform  the  operation  is  immediately  after  a  heavy  rain,  with  an  instrument 
having  a  dull  edge,  such  as  a  spade  or  Dutch  hoe,  lest  the  live  bark  should  be  injured.  After 
this,  and  especially  if  the  trees  have  been  too  closely  scraped,  a  wash  of  soft  mud  from  the 
bottom  of  puddles  may  be  applied  with  a  paint-brush  or  soft  broom.  As  soon  as  the  trees 
have  been  scraped,  all  the  bark,  moss,  etc.  should  be  collected  and  burnt ;  for  unless  that  is 
immediately  done,  the  larvae  will  not  be  long  in  taking  shelter  in  the  ground  or  in  the  grass 
around  the  bottom  of  the  tree. — Gardener's  Chronicle. 

Galadium  esculentum, 

A  WRITER  in  the  Philadelphia  Florist  states  that  this  esculent  root,  which  is  extensively 
cultivated  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  has  recently  been  imported  into  Texas  from  the 


HORTICULTURE  327 

Sandwich  Islands.  It  seems  remarkable  that  any  one  inhabiting  the  Southern  country  should 
be  so  ignorant  of  this  common  vegetable  jjs  to  be  at  the  trouble  of  importing  it  some  thousands 
of  miles  when  it  could  be  procured  close  at  hand.  The  plant  is  known  as  the  Tanyer,  the 
Eddo,  and  the  Jabavi.  As  for  its  value  as  an  esculent,  the  most  that  can  be  said  of  it  is,  that 
it  is  a  very  poor  substitute  for  the  potato.  There  is,  however,  considerable  difference  in  the 
quality  of  the  roots,  some  being  very  dry  and  mealy,  others  of  a  finer  texture  are  very  muci- 
laginous ;  of  the  first,  the  white  ones  are  far  preferable  to  the  purple.  The  young  shoots,  or 
rather  buds — that  is  to  say,  the  portion  of  involuted  and  blanched  leaves  that  can  be  procured 
from  them  shortly  after  they  first  sprout  from  the  earth — when  dressed  like  asparagus,  form 
probably  the  most  delicious  vegetable  that  can  be  eaten.  The  French  formerly  cultivated  it 
for  this  purpose  in  Hayti,  under  the  name  of  Chou  caraibe,  or  Carribean  cabbage.  The 
writer  in  the  Florist  says  he  knows  of  no  plant  which  will  produce  more  to  the  acre  than  this, 
particularly  if  left  in  the  ground  for  two  years,  when  the  whole  soil  appears  to  become  one 
solid  mass  of  roots. 

The  Ammabroma,  or  Sand-Food  of  Sonora. 

THIS  new  plant  has  recently  been  brought  to  notice  by  Mr.  H.  B.  Gray,  who  was  attached 
to  one  of  the  recent  explorations  across  the  continent  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the 
practicability  of  constructing  a  railway  to  the  Pacific.  It  is  a  parasitic  plant,  with  a  large  and 
fleshy  root :  a  parasite  which  Professor  Torrey,  of  New  York,  to  whom  Mr.  Gray  submitted 
it  for  examination,  finds  to  constitute  "  a  new  genus  of  the  small  group  or  family  represented 
by  the  little-known  anomalous  Corallophyllum  of  Kunth,  and  the  Pholisma  of  Nuttall ;  in  the 
floral  structure  and  the  scales  more  like  the  latter,  from  which  it  is  distinguished  by  its 
woolly,  plumose  calyx,  and  its  singular  cyathifonn  inflorescence."  It  was  found  in  abundance 
through  a  range  of  naked  sand-hills  skirting  "  Adair  Bay,"  near  the  Gulf  of  California,  fur- 
nishing an  isolated  band  of  Papigo  Indians  with  an  important  article  of  food.  The  fresh 
plant  is  cooked  by  roasting  upon  hot  coals,  and  resembles  the  sweet-potato  in  taste,  hav- 
ing much  saccharine  matter  about  it.  It  is  likewise  dried  and  mixed  with  less  palatable 
kinds  of  food,  such  as  musquit,  beans,  &c..  It  is  represented  to  be  a  very  delicious  vegetable ; 
and  could  it  be  transplanted,  Mr.  Gray  believes  that  it  would  constitute  an  important  acqui- 
sition to  the  table,  probably  not  second  in  demand  to  the  sweet-potato  or  asparagus.  In  the 
opinion  of  Professor  Torrey  it  cannot  be  grown  elsewhere,  unless  the  root  of  the  shrub,  which 
is  entirely  under  ground,  &c.,  to  which  it  attaches  itself,  can  be  transplanted.  The  name 
given  to  this  root  is  the  Ammabroma  Sonorce,  which  signifies  the  sand-food  of  Sonora. 

The  Lawton  Blackberry. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  Mr.  Field  said  he  had  been  experi- 
menting with  the  common  bramble  to  see  whether  the  improvements  effected  in  the  black- 
berry by  Secore,  and  carried  into  extensive  operation  by  Lawton,  were  the  result  of  change 
in  the  soil  and  cultivation,  or  whether  it  could  be  traced  to  a  peculiar  variety  of  the  bramble. 
He  took  a  plant  from  the  woods,  where  it  had  grown  in  fine  soil,  and  planted  it  in  poor 
soil,  and  yet  it  produced  berries  as  large  as  Lawton's,  although  only  a  small  crop.  Several 
bemies  measured  four  inches  each  in  circumference.  From  his  experiments  he  was  convinced 
that  there  were  distinct  varieties  of  the  bramble,  some  of  which  were  more  favorable  than 
others  to  produce  the  fine  fruit  now  grown  by  Lawton,  and  that  it  is  to  the  variety,  rather 
than  to  either  the  soil  or  the  cultivation,  that  the  superiority  is  to  be  attributed. 

New  Varieties  of  Currants. 

La  Versaillaise,  La  Native,  and  La  Fertile,  three  varieties  comparatively  new,  are  well 
worthy  of  cultivation.  The  first  is  the  largest  currant  known — larger  even  than  the  Cherry 
currant ;  its  bunches  are  very  long.  The  second  and  third  are  well  named,  for  La  Hative  is 
as  early  as  Knighfs  Early  Red,  but  with  berries  much  larger ;  and  La  Fertile  is  a  most  pro- 
digious bearer,  so  that  its  leaves  are  hidden  by  its  fruit. 


328  THE  TEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Transparent  White  proves  a  most  excellent  sort.  Its  fruit  is  more  amber-colored  than  any 
other  white  currant. — Rivers 's  Catalogue  of  Fruits,  late  Supplement. 

London  Currants. — A  writer  in  the  Horticulturist  speaks  of  the  fine  currants  of  the  market- 
gardens  near  London,  which  are  grown  in  the  following  manner  :  They  are  planted  in  rows, 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  apart,  and  three  or  four  feet  aparU  in  the  rows  ;  the  ground,  which  is 
naturally  good,  is  highly  manured,  and  cropped  between  with  vegetables.  When  the  plants 
commence  bearing,  they  are  pruned  very  hard ;  the  greater  part  of  the  young  wood  is  thinned 
out,  and  what  is  allowed  to  remain  is  shortened  back  to  two  or  three  inches.  By  this  means 
the  trees  are  always  kept  short,  never  attaining  a  greater  height  than  two  or  three  feet. 
These  strong-manured  and  well-pruned  trees  produce  magnificent  fruit,  and  in  great  abun- 
dance, well  remunerating  the  market-gardener  for  his  trouble. 


New  Plan  for  Raising  Hops. 

AT  the  recent  State  Agricultural  Fair  of  New  York,  a  plan  of  raising  hops  upon  a  frame 
was  exhibited,  which  is  worthy  attention  from  all  hop-growers.  A  wire  stretched  between 
posts  holds  strings  upon  which  the  vines  climb.  The  hops,  when  ripe,  are  to  be  protected  by 
tin  caps  to  shed  off  the  rain. 

Japan  Pea. 

THIS  new  and  rare  article  is  found  to  be  adapted  to  our  soil  and  climate,  and  yields  bounti- 
fully. The  writer  has  counted  on  an  average  300  pods  to  each  plant — pods  containing  from 
two  to  three  peas.  They  are  small,  round,  of  a  cream  color,  and  very  hard.  Should  think 
they  might  be  ground.  They  are  very  nutritious.  The  plant  attains  the  height  of  about 
thirty  inches ;  it  is  stiff  and  woody ;  unlike  all  other  peas,  it  stands  independent  of  all  sur- 
rounding objects,  and  upright,  like  a  shrub  or  small  tree.  Experience  will  prove  the  best 
manner  of  cultivating  and  harvesting. 

They  should  be  planted  or  sown  about  the  usual  time  of  planting  corn,  not  earlier,  as  frost 
is  fatal  to  the  young  plants. — J.  W.  Briggs,  Genesee  Farmer. 

Mexican  Frijoles. 

THERE  are  two  varieties  of  frijoles  cultivated  in  Mexico;  the  one,  small,  of  a  black  color, 
growing  on  the  coast  and  in  the  hot  climate,  (tierra  caliente ;)  the  other,  of  a  brown  color  and 
a  larger  size,  in  the  high  lands,  under  the  temperate  and  cold  climate  of  that  republic.  They 
grow  in  small  bushes,  and  yield  abundantly.  The  time  of  planting  them  is  in  the  months  of 
April  and  May.  The  frijoles  are  the  principal  food  of  the  Mexican  population.  When  ripe 
and  dry,  they  are  generally  soaked  in  soft  water  three  or  four  hours,  and  then  cooked  in 
water  with  chopped  onions  and  pork  or  lard,  without  salt. 

The  culture  of  frijoles  has  been  tried  for  the  last  few  years  in  Prussia  with  great  success, 
where  they  have  been  recommended  to  the  farmers  as  a  substitute  for  potatoes.  They  are  a 
substantial,  healthy,  and  most  palatable  food.  Like  the  potatoes  in  Europe,  they  are  always 
met  with  at  the  tables  of  the  rich  and  poor. 

For  a  delicate  dish,  the  following  direction  is  used :  Soak  the  frijoles  in  soft  water  for 
three  hours,  and  boil  them  with  chopped  onions  and  lard,  without  salt,  in  the  evening,  until 
they  are  nearly  done.  The  next  day,  take  sufficient  lard,  put  chopped  onions  in  it,  and 
when  very  hot,  add  the  frijoles  with  their  gravy  to  it,  and  let  them  boil  quickly  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  seasoning  with  pepper  and  salt.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  let  the  gravy  boil  all 
away,  as  when  dry  they  are  not  so  savory. — Hunt's  Merchant's  Magazine. 

The -Sorgho,  a  new  Sugar-Plant. 

THE  scarcity  of  corn  in  France  during  the  past  year  has  drawn  attention  to  a  new  plant, 
recently  introduced  from  China,  which  promises  to  supersede,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  use 
of  beet-root  in  the  manufacture  of  sugar  and  the  distillation  of  alcohol.  The  agricultural 


HORTICULTURE.  329 

committee  of  Toulon  has  recently  addressed  a  report  to  the  Minister  of  War  with  respect  to 
the  use  of  the  plant  in  question.  It  is  called  the  Sorgho,  or  Holeus  sacckaratus,  and  was  first 
introduced  into  France  in  1851,  by  M.  de  Montigny,  the  French  consul  in  China,  who  sent 
some  grains  of  the  seed  to  the  government.  Since  then  the  culture  of  the  plant  has  been 
commenced  with  success  in  Provence,  and  promises  to  be  of  great  advantage  to  Algeria. 
The  sorgho  has  been  called  the  "sugar-cane  of  the  north  of  China;"  and  numerous  experi- 
ments have  recently  been  tried  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  if  it  possesses  the  properties 
necessary  for  producing  a  crystallizable  syrup,  so  as  to  become  a  rival  to  sugar-cane  and 
beet-root.  According  to  the  report  of  the  Toulon  Agricultural  Association,  it  would  appear 
to  have  those  properties.  The  fact  has  been  ascertained  by  a  series  of  experiments  made  in 
the  department  of  the  Var.  It  also  appears  to  be  richer  in  the  saccharine  principle  than  any 
known  plant,  except  the  vine.  Beet-root  contains  from  eight  to  ten  per  cent,  of  sugar ;  the 
sorgho  produces  from  sixteen  to  twenty  per  cent.,  from  which  eight  or  ten  per  cent,  of  pure 
alcohol,  fit  for  all  industrial  and  domestic  purposes,  can  be  produced.  The  refuse  is  excel- 
lent food  for  cattle,  who  are  very  fond  of  it.  The  plant  grows  with  great  rapidity,  and  does 
not  require  irrigation.  The  sorgho  is  not  &  new  discovery,  as  it  has  been  used  from  time 
immemorial  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  North  of  China,  by  whom  large  quantities  of  sugar 
are  extracted  from  it.  But  this  is  the  first  time  it  has  been  produced  on  any  thing  like  an 
extensive  scale  in  Europe. 

M.  Vilmorin  has  succeeded  in  making  cider  of  the  sorgho.  In  one  experiment,  with  200 
kilogrammes  of  stalks,  the  product  in  juice  was  65  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  stalks.  This 
quantity  would  give  6000  gallons  to  each  hectare  of  land,  (2-47  acres.) 

This  plant,  or  a  variety  of  it,  has  also  been  found  in  South  Africa,  where  it  has  received 
the  name  "  Imfe,"  or  "  Imfy."  Mr.  Wray,  an  English  planter  from  Natal,  states  that  fifteen 
varieties  of  it  may  be  found  upon  the  south-west  coast  of  Caffraria.  In  rich  soil,  it  grows  to 
the  height  of  six  to  nine  feet,  stalks  erect,  with  flexible  reclining  leaves.  Its  habits  are  very 
similar  to  that  of  Indian  corn,  but  more  elegant.  It  forms  generally  a  tuft,  composed  of  six 
or  seven  stalks,  terminated  by  a  conical  or  rather  serrate  panicle,  green  at  first,  then  passing 
by  violet  shades  into  the  deep  purple  of  ripeness.  Mr.  Wray  further  states  that  the  irnfy 
will  grow  wherever  Indian  corn  will  ripen,  though  it  likes  a  hot,  bright  summer ;  that  two 
crops  a-year  may  be  harvested  in  our  cotton  States,  and  one  in  any  part  of  our  country  south 
of  45° ;  that  it  does  not  require  replanting  oftener  than  the  hop,  (say  four  times  in  a  cen- 
tury ; )  and  that  it  will  yield  three  to  four  thousand  pounds  of  choice  sugar  to  the  acre  at 
each  harvest. 

Mr.  Wilder,  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board  to  South  Africa,  in  a  communication  to 
the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  confirms  the  statements  of  Mr.  Wray,  and,  in  addition, 
:  "  While  growing,  the  imfy  resembles  broom-corn,  and  produces  its  seed  after  the  same 
manner.  The  natives  of  Natal  plant  it  with  Indian  corn,  and  cultivate  it  in  the  same  man- 
ner, and  it  comes  to  perfection  in  about  the  same  time,  say  from  three  to  four  and  a  half 
months.  They  cultivate  it  wholly  for  its  saccharine  juice,  of  which,  under  but  slight  pres- 
sure, it  yields  a  much  larger  quantity  than  does  the  common  sugar-cane,  but  not  of  BO  rich 
a  quality.  I  should  say  that  the  same  bulk  of  juice  contained  from  one-half  to  three-fourths 
as  much  sugar  as  the  juice  of  common  cane.  The  advantages  it  has  over  common  cane  are, 
that  it  grows  well  wherever  Indian  corn  does,  it  is  raised  from  the  seed  in  four  months 
ready  to  be  made  into  sugar,  it  grows  on  high  lands  as  well  as  on  low,  and  the  abundance  of 
seed  it  produces  may  be  used  for  provender  for  horses." 

Notwithstanding  the  flattering  notices  which  have  been  given,  and  the  high  expectations 
which  seem  to  have  been  formed  respecting  these  plants,  a  writer  in  the  Philadelphia  Florist 
maintains  that  the  sorgho  or  imfy  is  merely  a  variety  of  the  ordinary  broom-corn,  "  turned 
up  in  a  foreign  land." 

Pumpkins  and  Squashes. 

WE  know  of  no  vegetable  genus  in  which  there  is  so  much  confusion  of  names  and  charac- 
ters among  cultivators  as  the  pumpkin  and  squash  tribe,  or  Cucurbita  of  botanists.  Their 
common  names  have  so  multiplied,  that  a  farmer,  wishing  to  grow  some  for  his  stock  or  his 


330  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

table,  can  hardly  tell  what  to  ask  for  at  the  seed-stores,  or  what  will  be  the  character  of  his 
crops  when  obtained. 

The  following  communication  from  Dr.  T.  W.  Harris,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Farm  Journal,  furnishes  much  desirable  information  respecting  the  origin, 
qualities,  and  uses  of  the  several  varieties  of  these  vegetables : — 

In  September,  1834,  Mr.  John  M.  Ives,  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  exhibited  in  Faneuil 
Hall,  Boston,  a  new  squash,  to  which  he  subsequently  gave  the  name  of  fhe  "Autumnal 
Marrow  Squash."  This  fruit,  thus  introduced  and  brought  into  notice,  soon  became  a  great 
favorite,  and  has  ever  since  been  extensively  cultivated  for  table  use,  as  a  sauce  and  for  pics, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Boston.  So  popular  has  it  become  in  the  market  of  Boston,  that  it  may 
well  be  called  "the  Boston  Squash,"  though  I  never  heard  that  name  applied  to  it.  Mr. 
Ives,  in  his  description  of  it,  called  it  a  variety  of  Cucurbita  melopepo,  which  is  an  error.  If 
not  a  mere  variety  of  Commodore  Porter's  Valparaiso  squash,  it  doubtless  descended  from 
the  same  stock  as  the  latter.  It  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  kind  cultivated  in  England 
under  the  name  of  "Vegetable  Marrow" — a  very  poor  vegetable,  as  I  am  assured  by  friends 
who  have  eaten  it  in  London — and  apparently  one  of  the  sorts  which  in  New  England  would 
be  called  summer  squashes.  The  "Autumnal  Marrow"  is  eaten  only  when  fully  ripe;  the 
"  Vegetable  Marrow,"  like  "  Cymlings,"  is  eaten  only  in  an  unripe  state.  The  former  comes 
into  eating  in  September,  but  may  be  kept  with  care  till  March.  When  pure  or  unmixed 
by  crossing  with  other  kinds,  it  is  considered  as  the  very  best  autumnal  and  winter  squash 
in  New  England.  Many  cultivators  have  allowed  it  to  degenerate  or  become  mixed  with 
the  larger  and  grosser  Valparaiso,  so  that  we  do  not  often  find  it  in  entire  purity  in  our 
markets.  It  generally  has  only  three  double  rows  of  seeds. 

I  am  not  sure  what  is  the  fruit  denominated  Connecticut  Field  pumpkin,  and  the  cheese 
pumpkin  is  unknown  to  me  except  by  its  name  in  catalogues. 

The  Valparaiso  squashes,  of  which  there  seem  to  be  several  varieties,  known  to  culti- 
vators by  many  different  names,  some  of  them  merely  local  in  their  application,  belong  to 
a  peculiar  group  of  the  genus  Cucurbita,  the  distinguishing  characters  of  which  have  not 
been  fully  described  by  botanists.  The  word  squash,  as  applied  to  these  fruits,  is  a  mia- 
nomer,  as  may  be  shown  hereafter ;  it  would  be  well  to  drop  it  entirely,  and  to  call  the 
fruits  of  this  group  pompions,  pumpkins,  or  potirons.  It  is  my  belief  that  they  were 
originally  indigenous  to  the  tropical  and  subtropical  parts  of  the  western  coast  of  America ; 
they  are  extensively  cultivated  from  Chili  to  California,  and  also  in  the  West  Indies,  whence 
enormous  specimens  are  sometimes  brought  to  the  Atlantic  States.  How  much  soever 
these  Valparaiso  pumpkins  may  differ  in  form,  size,  color,  and  quality,  they  all  agree  in 
certain  peculiarities  that  are  found  in  no  other  species  or  varieties  of  Cucurbita.  Their 
leaves  are  never  deeply  lobed  like  those  of  other  pumpkins  and  squashes,  but  are  more 
or  less  five-angled,  or  almost  rounded,  and  heart-shaped  at  base;  they  are  also  softer 
than  those  of  other  pumpkins  and  squashes.  The  summit  or  blossom-end  of  the  fruit  has 
a  nipple-like  projection  upon  it,  consisting  of  the  permanent  fleshy  stile.  The  fruit-stalk 
is  short,  nearly  cylindrical,  never  deeply  five-furrowed,  but  merely  longitudinally  striated 
or  wrinkled,  and  never  clavated  or  enlarged  with  projecting  angles  next  to  the  fruit. 
With  few  exceptions,  they  contain  four  or  five  double  rows  of  seeds.  To  this  group  belong 
Mr.  Ives'  autumnal  marrow  squash  (or  pumpkin)  before  named,  Com.  Porter's  Valparaiso 
squash,  (pumpkin,)  the  so-called  mammoth  pumpkin  or  Cucurbita  maxima  of  the  botanists, 
the  turban  squash  or  acorn  squash,  Cucurbita  piliformis  of  Duchesne,  the  Cashew  pumpkin, 
Cole's  Connecticut  pie-squash,  Stetson's  Cuba  squash,  and  his  hybrid  called  the  Wilder 
squash,  with  various  others. 

The  variety  introduced  from  Valparaiso  by  Com.  Porter  became  known  to  me  about  the 
year  1830,  since  which  time  it  has  been  more  or  less  cultivated  in  New  England,  both  for 
the  table  and  for  stock.  It  is  of  an  oblong,  oval  shape,  of  a  pale  reddish-yellow  color  exter- 
nally when  ripe,  nearly  smooth,  and  very  slightly  furrowed,  and  often  grows  to  a  large  size. 
It  readily  mixes  with  the  autumnal  marrow,  but  is  inferior  to  it  in  quality.  It  may  prove 
better  and  more  valuable  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States  than  in  New  England. 

The  turban,  sometimes   called  the   acorn  squash,  because  when   the  fruit  is  small  it 


HORTICULTURE.  831 

resembles  somewhat  an  acorn  in  its  cup,  seems  to  be  the  Cucurbita  piliformis  of  Duchesne. 
It  sometimes  grows  to  a  large  size,  measuring  fourteen  or  fifteen  inches  in  transverse 
diameter,  and  looks  like  an  immense  Turkish  turban  in  shape.  Specimens  raised  in  my 
garden  in  1851,  were  little  more  than  ten  inches  in  diameter,  and  weighed  ten  pounds  or 
more,  having  very  thick  and  firm  flesh,  but  a  small  cavity  within.  They  proved  excellent 
for  table  use,  equal  in  quality  to  the  best  autumnal  marrows.  They  keep  quite  as  well  as 
the  latter. 

The  earliest  account  of  the  Cashew  pumpkin  that  has  fallen  under  our  notice  is  contained 
in  the  English  translation  of  Du  Pratz's  History  of  Louisiana,  (vol.  ii.  p.  8,)  where  it  is 
called  Cushaw.  In  the  original  French  work,  the  name  given  to  it  is  Giromon.  Du  Pratz 
described  two  varieties:  one  round,  and  the  other  curved,  or  of  the  shape  of  a  hunter's 
horn.  The  latter  was  considered  the  best.  The  cushaw  or  cashew  pumpkin  is  not  cul- 
tivated or  much  known  in  New  England.  I  raised  some  specimens  of  the  crook-necked 
variety  (which  has  only  three  double  rows  of  seeds)  a  few  years  ago,  from  seeds  received 
from  New  Jersey.  They  did  not  ripen  well,  and  many  of  them  rotted  before  half  ripe. 
They  are  evidently  too  tender  for  a  New  England  climate.  From  the  account  given  of  them 
by  Du  Pratz,  they  seem  well  suited  to  Louisiana,  where  they  are  much  esteemed. 

The  genuine  mammoth  pumpkin,  or  true  Pot  iron,  (Cucurbita  maxima,)  may  be  considered 
as  the  typical  species  of  this  group,  having  rather  soft,  roundish  heart-shaped,  and  entire 
leaves,  a  short,  cylindrical  fruit-stem,  a  permanent  fleshy  stile,  and  five  carpels  or  double 
rows  of  seeds.  The  form  of  the  fruit  is  an  oblate  spheroid,  depressed  at  the  blossom  and 
stem  ends,  and  marked  with  ten  or  more  wide  meridianal  furrows.  It  sometimes  grows  to 
an  immense  size,  two  feet  or  more  in  diameter,  and  sixty  pounds  or  more  in  weight,  being 
light  in  proportion  to  its  size,  on  account  of  the  large  hollow  within.  It  is  known  to  vary 
much  in  color  and  size,  and  somewhat  in  form.  In  some  of  its  variations,  it  may  have 
lost  its  original  characteristic  form  so  far  as  to  be  no  longer  recognised.  If  this  be  true, 
Cole's  Connecticut  pie-squash,  the  round  Valparaiso  squashes,  and  several  others  may  be 
merely  varieties  of  the  mammoth  pumpkin.  To  some  of  the  varieties  of  this  fruit,  the 
name  Giromon  or  Giromont,  otherwise  written  Giraumon  and  Giraumont,  signifying  a  rolling 
mountain,  seems  originally  to  have  been  applied,  in  allusion  to  the  form  and  size.  French 
writers  subsequently  transferred  this  name  to  certain  varieties  of  the  Cucurbita  pepo. 

The  plants  of  the  foregoing  Valparaiso,  or  Potiron  group,  are  more  tender  and  less 
hardy  than  those  of  the  common  pumpkin,  or  Pepo  group ;  they  are  also  much  more  subject 
to  the  attacks  of  worms  or  borers  (&geria  cucurbitce)  at  the  roots.  Their  fruits,  compared 
with  common  pumpkins  and  winter  squashes,  have  a  thinner  and  more  tender  rind,  ami 
finer-grained,  sweeter,  and  less  strongly-flavored  flesh,  on  which  accounts  they  are  preferred 
by  most  persons  for  table  use. 

The  second  group  contains  the  common  New  England  field  pumpkin,  bell-shaped  and 
crook-necked  winter  squashes,  the  early  Canada  winter  squash,  the  custard  squash,  and 
various  others,  all  of  which  (whether  rightly  or  not  cannot  now  be  determined)  have  been 
generally  referred  by  botanists  to  the  Cucurbita  pepo  of  Linnaeus.  This  group  is  readily 
to  be  distinguished  from  the  first  one  by  the  following  characters:  The  leaves  are  rough, 
and  more  or  less  deeply  and  acutely  five-lobed.  The  fruit  has  only  three  carpels  or  double 
rows  of  seeds,  and  the  stile  drops  oft7  with  the  blossom.  The  fruit-stem  is  long,  and  clavated 
or  enlarged  next  the  fruit,  where  it  spreads  out  into  five  claw-like  projections,  and  is 
five-angled  and  deeply  five-furrowed.  The  fruit  is  eaten  only  when  fully  ripe,  and  it  may 
be  kept  with  care  throughout  the  winter.  The  rind,  though  sometimes  quite  hard,  never 
becomes  a  woody  shell,  and  the  flesh  remains  juicy  and  succulent  till  it  rots,  never  drying 
up  into  a  spongy  or  fibrous  substance,  in  which  respects  these  fruits  differ  from  what  are 
called  summer  squashes.  The  seeds  are  not  so  broad,  thick,  or  plump,  and  white  as  those 
of  the  potiron  group,  but  are  smaller,  thinner,  and  of  a  grayish  color. 

The  common  field  pumpkin  of  New  England,  which  formerly  was  extensively  raised  for 
stock,  and  is  still  used  for  the  same  purpose,  and  of  which  our  pumpkin-pies  and  pumpkin- 
sauce  were  made  till  the  winter  crook-neck  and  autumnal  marrow  came  to  be  substituted 
therefor,  has  a  form  somewhat  resembling  that  of  the  mammoth  pumpkin,  but  its  longitudinal 


332  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

often  exceeds  its  transverse  diameter ;  its  color  is  of  a  deeper  yellow  or  orange,  the  furrows 
on  its  surface  not  so  deep  or  broad,  and  its  rind  much  thicker,  and  in  some  varieties  quite 
hard.  Its  flesh  is  rather  coarse,  of  a  deep  orange-yellow  color,  and  of  a  peculiar  strong 
odor.  Baked  pumpkin  and  milk,  pumpkin-sauce,  and  dried  pumpkin  for  winter  use  have 
had  their  day,  and  gone  out  of  fashion;  and  pumpkin-pies  are  now  mostly  made  of  the 
autumnal  marrow  and  crook-necked  winter  squashes,  except  by  some  of  the  old  folks,  who 
still  prefer  the  pumpkin  baked  in  a  milk-pan,  and  without  any  pastry. 

The  New  England  "crook-neck  squash,"  as  it  is  commonly  but  incorrectly  called,  is  a 
kind  of  pumpkin,  perhaps  a  genuine  species,  for  It  has  preserved  its  identity,  to  our  certain 
knowledge,  ever  since  the  year  1686,  when  it  was  described  by  Ray.  It  has  the  form  and 
color  of  the  Cashew,  but  is  easily  distinguished  therefrom  by  the  want  of  a  persistent  stile, 
and  by  its  clavated  and  furrowed  fruit-stem.  Before  the  introduction  of  the  autumnal  mar- 
row, it  was  raised  in  large  quantities  for  table  use  during  the  winter,  in  preference  to 
pumpkins,  which  it  almost  entirely  superseded.  Many  farmers  now  use  it  instead  of  pump- 
kins for  cattle,  the  vine  being  more  productive,  and  the  fruit  containing  much  more  nutri- 
ment in  proportion  to  its  size.  It  varies  considerably  in  form  and  color.  The  best  kinds 
are  those  which  are  very  much  curved,  nearly  as  large  at  the  stem  as  at  the  blossom  end, 
and  of  a  rich  cream  color.  Some  are  green,  variegated  with  cream-colored  stripes  and 
spots.  Some  are  bell-shaped,  or  with  a  very  short  and  straight  neck,  and  are  less  esteemed 
than  the  others ;  for  the  neck,  being  solid  and  of  fine  texture,  is  the  best  part  of  the  fruit. 
These  crook-necks  can  be  kept  all  winter,  if  not  exposed  to  frost,  and  I  have  eaten  of  them 
when  a  year  old.  On  account  of  its  hardiness,  its  fruitfulness,  and  its  keeping  qualities, 
this  is  perhaps  the  most  valuable  variety  to  the  New  England  farmer.  It  is  said  to  degene- 
rate in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States,  where,  probably,  Porter's  Valparaiso  or  some 
kindred  variety  may  be  better  adapted  to  the  climate. 

The  early  Canada  squash  seems  to  be  a  precocious  and  dwarfed  variety  of  the  common 
crook-neck.  It  is  smaller,  with  a  short  and  often  straight  neck,  and  is  of  a  dark  and  dirty 
buff  color  externally.  It  comes  into  eating  early,  quite  as  soon  as  the  autumnal  marrow, 
and  was,  indeed  still  is,  much  esteemed  as  a  table  vegetable. 

The  custard  squash  or  pumpkin  is  an  oblong,  deeply-furrowed,  and  prominently  ten-ribbed 
fruit,  with  a  pale  buff  and  very  hard  (but  not  woody)  rind,  and  fine,  light-yellow  flesh,  much 
esteemed  in  the  making  of  pies  and  puddings.  From  seeds  received  from  Paris,  under  the 
name  of  Patagonian  squash,  I  raised  a  fruit  exactly  like  the  custard  squash  in  form  and 
size,  but  of  a  dark-green  color  externally,  and  entirely  worthless  as  an  article  of  food. 
Nevertheless,  I  infer  that  the  custard  squash  is  merely  an  improved  variety  from  the  same 
original  stock. 

The  fruits  belonging  to  this  second  group  probably  originated  in  the  eastern  and  central 
parts  of  the  two  Americas.  They  were  cultivated  by  the  Indians,  and  were  found  here  in 
their  gardens  and  fields  by  Europeans  on  the  first  settlement  of  the  country.  Pumpkins, 
or  bell-shaped  squashes,  (as  New  Englanders  would  now  call  them,)  were  found  as  far  north 
as  Saco,  by  Champlain,  in  1605  and  1606.  A  similar  variety  was  cultivated  by  the  Iroquois 
Indians,  and  still  bears  their  name  in  France.  Pumpkins  were  found  by  Raleigh's  colony 
among  the  Indians  in  North  Carolina,  and  by  early  voyagers  in  the  West  Indies.  There 
are  indigenous  kinds  in  Brazil,  and  we  have  seen  that  even  Patagonia  has  added  another  to 
the  common  stock.  Cultivation  has,  doubtless,  improved  their  qualities,  and  has  caused 
them  to  sport  in  numerous  varieties,  so  that  it  is  now  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  deter- 
mine which  of  the  known  kinds  are  typical  species  and  which  are  mere  varieties. 

A  third  group  remains  to  be  described.  The  representatives  of  it  are  the  Cucurbita  melo- 
pepo,  verrucosa,  and  ovifera,  of  Linnaeus.  It  includes  all  those  kinds  called  in  New  England 
summer  squashes,  because  they  are  eaten  only  during  the  summer  while  they  are  soft  and 
tender,  and  in  an  unripe  state.  These  are  the  only  two  squashes,  if  regard  be  had  to  the 
origin  of  the  name,  derived  from  the  language  of  the  Massachusetts  Indians,  by  whom, 
according  to  Roger  Williams,  this  kind  of  fruit  was  called  "Askutasquash,  which  the  English 
from  them  call  Squashes."  From  the  same  authority,  and  from, other  sources,  we  learn  that 
the  Indians  of  New  England  cultivated  this  kind  of  fruit  or  vegetable,  and  used  it  for  food ; 


HORTICULTURE.  333 

that  some  of  their  squashes  were  "of  the  bigness  of  apples,  of  several  colors,"  while  others 
are  represented  by  Champlain  as  being  considerably  larger,  turbinated,  and  more  or  less 
puckered  on  the  margin,  and  of  the  same  form  as  that  which  in  France  is  called  Bonnet  de 
prStre,  probably  the  prototype  of  our  scalloped  squash,  or  Cucurbita  melopepo.  Bartram 
found  a  squash-vine  growing  wild  in  the  interior  of  East  Florida,  climbing  to  the  tops  of  the 
trees,  and  bearing  little  yellow  squashes  of  the  form  and  size  of  an  orange.  Mr.  Nuttall 
informs  us  that  the  warted  squash,  Cucurbita  verrucosa,  was  "cultivated  by  the  Indians  of 
the  Missouri  to  its  sources."  It  has  generally  been  supposed,  on  the  authority  of  Linnseus, 
that  the  egg-squash,  Cucurbita  orifera,  was  a  native  of  Artrachan  in  Tartary.  On  turning 
to  the  account  of  it  given  by  Dr.  Lorche,  from  whom  Linnaeus  received  his  specimens,  I  find 
it  included  in  a  list  of  plants  not  natives  of  the  vicinity  of  Astrachan,  but  cultivated  only 
in  gardens,  where  it  is  associated  with  such  exotics  as  Indian  corn  or  maize,  with  which  it 
was  probably  introduced  directly  or  indirectly  from  America.  We  also  learn  from  Lorche 
that  this  species  varied  in  form,  being  sometimes  pear-shaped;  that  it  was  sometimes  varie- 
gated in  color  with  green  and  white;  and  that  the  shell  served  instead  of  little  boxes. 
Here  we  have  plainly  indicated  the  little  gourd-like,  hard-shelled,  and  variegated  squashes 
that  are  often  cultivated  as  ornamental  plants.  From  these  and  similar  authorities,  we  con- 
clude that  summer  squashes  were  originally  natives  of  America,  where  so  many  of  them  were 
found  in  use  by  the  Indians,  when  the  country  began  to  be  settled  by  Europeans. 

The  summer  squashes,  like  the  plants  belonging  to  the  second  group,  have  acutely  five- 
lobed,  rough  leaves,  and  large  yellow  flowers,  a  clavated  five-angled  and  five-furrowed  fruit- 
stem,  and  a  deciduous  stile.  Their  seeds  also  resemble  those  of  common  pumpkins  and 
winter  squashes,  but  are  smaller  and  thinner;  some  of  them  are  runners  and  climbers,  others 
have  a  dwarf  erect  habit,  and  hence  are  sometimes  called  "bush  squashes."  They  differ 
from  all  the  foregoing  kinds  in  having,  when  ripe,  a  hard  and  woody  rind  or  shell  to  the 
fruit,  with  a  slimy  and  fibrous  pulp,  which,  when  dry,  become  a  mere  stringy  and  spongy 
mass.  Hence  these  fruits  are  only  eaten  while  they  still  remain  tender  and  succulent,  and 
never  in  a  ripe  state.  On  account  of  their  woody  shells,  they  are  something  mistaken  for 
and  miscalled  yourds,  from  which  they  are  not  only  distinguished  by  th«-ir  oval  and  thin 
seeds,  but  by  the  largeness  and  yellow  color  of  their  flowers, — those  of  gourds  being  smaller 
and  white, — and  by  their  deeply-lobed  and  rough  leaves,  those  of  gourds  being  entire,  or  at 
most  only  slightly  angular  and  downy. 

Under  the  name  of  Cucurbita  melopepo  is  to  be  included  what  in  New  England  is  called 
scalloped  squash,  and  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States,  cymlings;  perhaps  the  patty-pan 
squash  is  another  synonym  for  the  same.  This  melopepo  is  a  very  broad  and  thin  or  com- 
pressed fruit,  with  scallop  edges,  and  more  or  less  warted  surface ;  it  measures  often  ten  or 
eleven  inches  in  transverse  diameter,  and  three  to  four  from  stem  to  blossom.  It  varies  in 
form,  being  sometimes  much  thicker,  and  more  or  less  turbinated  or  top-shaped,  when  it 
takes  the  name  of  Bonnet  de  pritre,  or  priest's  cap ;  perhaps  this  is  really  its  original  form. 
Other  varieties,  nearly  round,  are  sometimes  seen. 

The  Cucurbita  verrucosa  is  the  cucumber-shaped  warted  squash,  generally  with  a  slightly- 
curved  neck.  In  the  West  Indies  there  is  a  much  larger,  oblong,  ovoid  squash,  with  a  some- 
what warted  surface,  which  is  also  referred  to  the  Cucurbita  verrucosa.  Intermediate 
between  these,  there  is  another,  which  may  be  described  as  pestle-shaped,  measuring  ten 
inches  or  more  in  length,  and  quite  smooth  on  the  surface.  These  two  kinds,  namely  the 
Cucurbita  melopepo  and  C.  verrucosa,  with  all  their  varieties,  are  generally  of  a  dwarf  habit, 
with  erect  stems. 

Cucurbita  ovifera,  with  its  varieties  auriantiaca,  the  orange  or  apple  squash,  and  the  pyri- 
formis,  or  pear-shaped  and  variegated  squashes,  has  a  running  or  climbing  stem.  Some  of 
the  orange  squashes  are  the  very  best  of  the  summer  squashes  for  table  use,  far  superior 
either  to  the  scalloped  or  warted  squashes. 

The  vegetable  marrow,  as  it  is  called  in  England,  has  been  considered  by  botanists  as  a 
variety  of  the  Cucurbita  ovifera  of  Linnaeus ;  if  this  be  correct,  cultivation  has  forced  it  to 
a  most  unnatural  size,  and  has  greatly  changed  its  original  form. 


334  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Propagation  of  the  Olive  in  the  United  States. 

DURING  the  past  season,  the  Patent  Office  has  distributed  in  the  Southern  States  bordering 
on  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  of  Mexico,  choice  cuttings  of-^the  olive,  selected  in  the  South  of 
France.  It  is  already  well  known  that  this  product  has  been  cultivated  in  some  parts  of 
Florida  and  California  for  many  years;  and,  doubtless,  there  are  other  sections  of  country 
uniting  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  growth  and  perfection  of  its  roots.  It  may  be  stated 
that,  while  the  Floridas  were  held  by  the  English  in  1769,  one  Dr.  Turnbull,  a  famous 
adventurer  of  that  nation,  brought  over  from  Smyrna  a  colony  of  fifteen  hundred  Greeks  and 
Minorcas,  and  founded  the  settlement  of  New  Smyrna  on  the  Mosquito  River.  One  of  the 
principal  treasures  which  they  brought  from  their  native  land  was  the  olive.  Bartram,  who 
visited  this  colony  in  1775,  describes  that  place  as  a  flourishing  town.  Its  prosperity,  how- 
ever, was  of  momentary  duration.  Driven  to  despair  by  hardship,  oppression,  and  disease, 
a  part  of  these  unhappy  exiles  died,  while  others  conceived  the  hardy  enterprise  of  embark- 
ing for  Havana  in  an  open  boat,  and  in  three  years  their  number  was  reduced  to  five  hundred. 
The  rest  removed  to  St.  Augustine,  when  the  Spaniards  resumed  possession  of  the  country, 
and  in  1783  a  few  decaying  huts  and  several  large  olive-trees  were  the  only  remains  to  be 
seen  of  their  wearied  industry.  Numerous  attempts,  at  different  times,  have  been  made  to 
propagate  the  olive  from  seeds,  in  various  parts  of  the  South,  which  have  proved  unsuccess- 
ful. This  want  of  success  may  be  attributed,  in  part,  to  the  tendency  of  the  olive  to  sprout 
into  inferior  varieties  when  propagated  from  seeds ;  but  after  the  experiment  has  been  fairly 
tested  by  cuttings  of  choice  and  well-proved  varieties,  it  is  hoped  that  this  "first  among 
trees"  will  sooner  or  later  become  celebrated  in  the  regions  of  the  South. 

Mr.  R.  Chisholm,  in  a  recent  communication  to  the  Charleston  (South  Carolina)  Mercury, 
states  that  he  has  cultivated  two  kinds  of  the  olive  for  ten  years,  and  that  its  fruit  ripens 
fully  in  the  low  countries  of  the  South.  He  has  now  three  hundred  trees  under  cultivation, 
but  he  believes  that  it  cannot  be  cultivated  at  present  for  the  sake  of  its  oil,  as  cotton  is  a 
more  profitable  crop. 

Olives  in  California. — At  a  meeting  of  the  California  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  held 
February  5,  1855,  drawings  and  specimens  of  the  California  olive  were  exhibited  by  Dr. 
Kellogg.  The  specimens  in  question  were  brought  by  Col.  D.  Ransom,  of  the  United  States 
Survey,  from  San  Fernando.  It  is  well  acclimated  in  California  at  all  the  old  mission 
stations.  This  tree,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Kellogg,  is  thrifty  on  the  sea-coast,  declivities,  and 
valleys,  when  the  soil  is  free  from  stagnant  moisture,  and  when  the  debris  is  flat  gravel.  It 
grows  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet,  with  a  trunk  of  eight  or  ten  inches  diameter,  and  forms  a 
picturesque  ornament  to  avenues  and  plantations.  Its  branches  are  graceful;  its  foliage 
evergreen ;  its  wood  excellent ;  it  lives  to  a  great  age,  and  can  be  propagated  by  cuttings. 

Culture  of  Horse-Radish. 

Mr.  B.  F.  CUTTER,  of  Pelham,  New  Hampshire,  in  a  communication  to  the  New  England 
Farmer,  recommends  the  following  plan  for  the  cultivation  of  horse-radish  : — 

Take  any  good  rich  land  with  a  deep  soil  that  is  suitable  for  a  garden,  root  crops  gene- 
rally, or  a  well  drained  bog-meadow  that  is  in  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  and  ridge  by  turn- 
ing two  furrows  together  three  feet  apart ;  make  smooth  by  raking  if  necessary,  and  plant 
the  seed  fifteen  inches  instead  of  two  feet  apart :  some  cultivators  put  it  nearer  both  ways. 
The  after  cultivation  consists  in  keeping  the  ground  light  and  clear  from  weeds  in  any 
way  that  best  suits  the  cultivator.  I  prepare  my  seed  early  in  the  spring,  by  taking  roots 
one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  cutting  in  pieces  one  inch  long;  wash  clean  and  rub 
off  all  fibrous  roots,  and  then  cover  them  up  in  the  ground  until  the  sprouts  are  an  inch 
long,  and  previous  to  planting,  rub  off  all  but  the  best  one.  The  reason  for  this  operation 
is,  that  you  will  have  less  small  roots;  consequently,  more  large  ones.  For  the  cultivation 
of  horse-radish  generally,  dig,  late  in  the  fall,  all  that  is  wanted  for  winter  use,  and  let  the 
rest  remain  in  the  ground  for  spring,  as  it  is  not  easy  to  keep  it  well  in  dry  cellars. 


HORTICULTURE.  335 

Celery. 

WHEN  celery-plants  commence  to  be  bushy,  I  find  they  do  best  to  be  cut  down,  and  I 
repeat  that  process  some  three  or  four  times,  and  each  time  I  give  them  soluble  manure. 
This  plan  renders  them  so  strong,  that  when  I  plant  them  out  in  rows  they  do  not  require 
shading  with  leaves  even,  as  is  usual.  It  is  wrong  to  plant  celery  in  low,  damp  places,  where 
the  land  is  not  drained.  But  if  the  land  be  drained  so  as  to  let  off  the  water,  you  will  do 
well  to  keep  up  a  constant  stream  all  day.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  trough  made  with 
two  boards  a  V-shape,  and  place  it  across  the  highest  part  of  the  celery  rows.  Have  a  plug- 
hole over  each  row,  so  as  to  allow  the  water  to  run  into  any  row  required  to  be  irrigated; 
the  stream  should  always  be  kept  up  until  the  water  has  reached  the  extremity  of  the  trench. 
It  will  pay  well  to  keep  a  man  pumping  all  day,  if  the  land  be  such  as  to  get  rid  of  the 
water,  and  not  allow  it  to  become  stagnant.  Celery  cultivated  in  this  way  will  grow  six  feet 
long. — Prof.  Mapes,  Proc.  New  York  Farmers'  Club. 

Sprouted  Wheat  good  for  Seed. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  Rural  New  Yorker,  W.  Garbut,  Wheatland,  New  York,  states  that 
sprouted  wheat  is  about  as  good  for  seed  as  that  which  is  uninjured  by  wet  weather.  Mr. 
Garbut  says — 

The  excessive  wet  weather  in  harvest  sprouted  so  much  of  the  wheat  in  this  section,  that 
innny  of  the  farmers  are  very  anxious  to  procure  sound  wheat  for  seed.  I  can  assure  them 
that  they  need  not  be  solicitous  on  that  account,  for  wheat  that  has  been  sprouted  will  ger- 
minate as  freely  a  second  time  as  it  did  the  first,  and  with  equal  vigor.  To  test  the  fact,  on 
the  17th  of  this  month  I  took  some  of  the  worst  sprouted  wheat  that  I  had;  every  kernel  of 
it  had  grown,  and  it  was  so  thoroughly  dry  that  the  sprouts  all  rubbed  off.  I  put  it  into 
rich  soil  of  suitable  moisture.  On  the  fifth  day  much  of  it  made  its  appearance,  and  now, 
on  the  eighth  day,  many  of  the  spears  are  three  inches  long,  and  as  strong  and  as  vigorous 
as  I  ever  saw  young  shoots  of  wheat.  Every  kernel  of  it  has  grown. 


New  Use  for  the  Sweet-Potato  Vines. 

MR.  P.  A.  STROBEL  communicates  the  following  information  to  the  Georgia  Telegraph  :— It 
may  not  be  generally  known  that  the  sweet-potato  vine  may  be  saved  during  the  winter,  and 
used  the  following  spring,  in  propagating  a  new  crop.  I  have  tried  the  experiment  during 
this  year  to  my  entire  satisfaction,  and  therefore  feel  it  my  duty  to  communicate  the  result 
for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  In  the  fall,  (any  time  before  frost,)  the  vines  may  be  cut  in 
any  convenient  length,  and  placed  in  layers,  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  to  the  depth  of 
twelve  or  eighteen  inches ;  cover  the  vines,  while  damp,  with  partially-rotted  straw  (either 
pine  or  wheat  will  answer)  to  the  depth  of  six  inches,  and  cover  the  whole  with  a  light 
soil  about  four  inches  deep.  In  this  way  the  vines  will  keep  during  the  winter,  and  in  the 
spring  they  will  put  out  sprouts  as  abundantly  as  the  potato  itself  when  bedded.  The  draws  or 
sprouts  can  be  planted  first,  and  the  vine  itself  can  be  subsequently  cut  and  used,  as  we  gene- 
rally plant  slips.  This  experiment  is  worthy  the  consideration  of  farmers,  as  it  will  save  a 
great  many  seed-potatoes,  (particularly  on  large  plantations,)  which  can  be  used  for  feeding. 


Cultivation  of  Root  Crops. 

No  subject  connected  with  agricultural  improvement  is  more  frequently  discussed  than 
that  of  root  culture.  Each  root,  from  carrots  to  common  turnips,  and  from  ruta  bagas  to 
radishes,  has  its  advocates.  Yet,  with  a  few  exceptions,  even  our  best  writers  seem  to  have 
confused  ideas  as  to  the  object  and  effect  of  an  extensive  cultivation  of  root  crops,  and  their 
consumption  on  the  farm  by  animals.  Most  writers  advocate  the  cultivation  of  root  crops 
because  more  nutritious  food  can  be  obtained  from  an  acre  of  land  in  this  way  than  in  any 
other.  This  is  a  one-sided  view  of  the  matter,  and  leads  to  numerous  errors  in  opinion  and 


336  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

practice.  The  principal  reason  for  the  extensive  culture  of  root  crops,  the  effect  their  growth 
has  on  the  soil,  and  the  amount  of  fertilizing  matter  which  their  consumption  furnishes  for  the 
higher  order  of  plants,  is  overlooked.  Nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  much  nutritious  matter  can  be 
obtained  from  an  acre  cultivated  with  Indian  corn  as  from  the  same  acre  cultivated  with 
turnips.  In  this  respect,  therefore,  there  is  little  advantage  in  growing  turnips.  But  take 
another  view  of  the  subject:  suppose  that  one  acre  is  planted  with  Indian  corn,  and  another, 
alongside,  with  turnips,  and  that  the  crops  from  the  two  acres  are  consumed  by  animals, 
and  the  manures  made  from  them  returned  respectively  to  each  acre,  and  both  are  sown  to 
wheat :  the  wheat  on  the  turnip  acre  would  ue  a  better  crop  than  on  the  corn  acre.  Wo  think 
there  can  hardly  be  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  on  this  point.  The  value  of  roots,  therefore,  is 
partly,  if  not  principally,  due  to  their  fertilizing  effect  on  the  soil ;  and  in  deciding  which 
root  to  cultivate,  we  must  by  all  means  bear  this  in  mind. — New  York  Country  Gentleman. 


Beets  vs.  Turnips  for  Feeding  Stock. 

TURNIPS  are  raised  to  a  greater  extent,  both  in  Great  Britain  and  this  country,  than  any 
other  kind  of  roots,  except,  perhaps,  potatoes.  But  water  enters  very  largely  into  their 
composition,  so  as  to  detract  from  nutritive  qualities.  According  to  Dr.  Anderson,  the 
chemist  to  the  Highland  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland,  the  beet  is  much  more  profitable 
for  feeding  than  the  turnip.  He  states  that  he  has  analyzed  a  crop  of  mangel-wurzel, 
amounting  to  thirty-four  tons  per  acre,  and  ascertained  by  that  analysis  that  the  nutritive 
matter  produced  exceeded  two  and  a  half  times  that  of  a  good,  "and  three  and  a  half  times 
that  of  an  average,  crop  of  turnips. 

Mr.  A.  Y.  Moore,  President  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society  of  Michigan,  states  that  the 
kind  of  root  which  has  produced  the  greatest  quantity  of  milk  with  him,  is  the  sugar-beet. 

Others  have  found  the  sugar-beets  of  superior  value,  so  much  so,  that  one  farmer  within 
our  knowledge  has  raised  them  as  a  field  crop  for  a  great  many  years.  He  says  they  yield 
as  abundantly  as  any  other  root,  and  are  at  the  same  time  more  nutritive  than  others,  with 
the  exception  of  carrots.  He,  too,  thinks  they  are  superior,  for  milch  cows,  to  any  other 
root  or  vegetable  whatever.  He  informs  us  that  butter  made  in  winter  from  cows  fed  on 
this  root,  in  addition  to  their  dry  feed  of  hay,  is  nearly  as  great  in  quantity  as  in  the  fall, 
and  of  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  rich  a  color  and  quality. 


On  the  Art  of  Cultivating  Fruit-Trees. 

THE  absolute  necessity  of  proper  preparation  and  deep  and  thorough  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  especially  for  certain  fruits,  is  now  generally  admitted,  though  regard  must  always  be 
had  to  the  natural  activity  in  the  sap  of  the  species,  and  to  the  degree  of  fertility  of  the  soil. 
Surely  it  would  be  unwise  to  apply  the  same  cultivation  to  the  peach  and  the  cherry  as  to 
the  apple  and  the  pear,  or  to  treat  any  of  these  on  new  and  fertile  grounds  as  in  old  and  ex- 
hausted lands.  The  influence  of  soils  is  remarkable.  But  by  these  we  do  not  mean  the 
identical  spot,  the  artificial  bed  in  which  the  tree  stands ;  for,  in  time,  the  roots  take  a  wide 
range  in  search  of  food.  Some  fruits  are  good  in  nearly  all  places ;  others,  only  in  their 
original  locality :  some  succeed  best  on  light,  loamy,  or  sandy  soils ;  others,  in  stiff,  clayey 
soils.  In  the  latter,  many  pears — for  instance,  the  Beurr^  bosc  and  Napoleon — are  as- 
tringent ;  while  in  the  former  they  are  entirely  free  from  this  quality.  The  Beurre"  ranee, 
in  England  and  in  some  parts  of  France,  is  the  best  late  pear.  So  it  is  also  in  some  parts 
of  the  soils  in  Belgium ;  while  with  others,  and  with  us,  it  is  generally  inferior.  The  flavor 
of  fruit  is  much  influenced  not  only  by  soil,  but  also  by  climate  and  meteorological  agents. 
Thus,  in  a  cold,  wet,  and  undrained  soil,  disease  commences  in  the  root,  and,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  the  juices  of  the  tree  are  imperfectly  elaborated,  and  unable  to  supply  the 
exigency  of  the  fruit.  Even  injurious  substances  are  taken  up.  A  plum-tree  has  been 
known  to  absorb  oxide  of  iron,  so  as  not  only  to  color  the  foliage,  but  also  to  exude  and 
form  incrustations  on  the  bark,  and  finally  to  kill  the  tree.  As  an  instance  of  climatic 


HORTICULTURE.  337 

agency,  it  is  sufficient  to  report  the  fact,  that  out  of  fifty  varieties  of  American  peaches 
grown  in  the  gardens  at  Chiswick,  England,  only  two  were  adapted  to  the  climate. 

In  relation  to  appropriate  fertilizers  for  fruit-trees,  a  diversity  of  opinion  prevails.  All 
agree  that  certain  substances  exist  in  plants  and  trees,  and  that  these  must  be  contained 
in  the  soil  to  produce  growth,  elaboration,  and  perfection.  To  supply  these,  some  advocate 
the  use  of  what  are  termed  special  manures ;  others  ridicule  the  idea.  We  submit  whether 
this  is  not  a  difference  in  language  rather  than  in  principle ;  for  by  special  fertilizers,  the 
first  mean  simply  those  which  correspond  with  the  constituents  of  the  crop.  But  are  not 
the  second  careful  to  select  and  apply  manures  which  contain  those  elements  ?  And  do  they 
not,  in  practice,  affix  the  seal  of  their  approbation  to  the  theory  which  they  oppose  ?  Ex- 
plode this  doctrine,  and  do  you  not  destroy  the  principle  of  manuring  and  the  necessity  of  a 
rotation  of  crops?  Trees  exhaust  the  soil  of  certain  ingredients,  and,  like  animals,  must 
have  their  appropriate  food.  All  know  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  a  fruit-tree  flourish  on  the 
spot  from  which  an  old  tree  of  the  same  species  has  been  removed. 

The  great  practical  question  now  agitating  the  community  is,  How  shall  we  ascertain 
what  fertilizing  elements  are  appropriate  to  a  particular  species  of  vegetation  ?  To  this, 
two  replies  are  rendered :  some  say,  analyze  the  crop ;  others,  the  soil.  Each,  we  think, 
maintains  a  truth,  and,  both  together,  nearly  the  whole  truth.  We  need  the  analysis  of  the 
crop  to  teach  us  its  ingredients,  and  that  of  the  soil  to  ascertain  whether  it  contains  these 
ingredients,  and,  if  it  does  not,  what  fertilizers  must  be  applied  to  supply  them.  Thus,  by 
analysis,  we  learn  that  nearly  one-quarter  part  of  the  constituents  of  the  pear,  the  grape, 
and  tho  strawberry  consists  of  potash.  This  abounds  in  new  soils,  and  peculiarly  adapts 
them  to  the  production  of  these  fruits ;  but  having  been  extracted  from  soils  long  under 
cultivation,  it  is  supplied  by  wood-ashes  or  potash,  the  value  of  which  has  of  late  greatly 
ine reused  in  the  estimation  of  cultivators. — Annnal  Address  before  the  Pomological  Conven- 
tion, by  Marshall  P.  Wilder. 

Improvements  in  Raising  Fruit-Trees. 

A  BOHEMIAN  arboriculturist  has  successfully  introduced  a  new  mode  of  planting.  Instead 
of  using  the  process  of  grafting,  he  takes  an  offshoot  of  any  fruit-tree — an  apple-tree,  for  in- 
stance— and  plants  it  in  a  potato,  both  being  carefully  placed  in  the  soil,  so  that  five  or  six 
inches  oY  the  shoot  shall  be  above  the  ground.  This  latter  takes  root,  grows  with  rapidity, 
and  produces  the  finest  of  fruit. — Maine  Farmer. 

On  the  Gathering  and  Preservation  of  Fruits. 

NEXT  in  importance  to  the  ability  to  grow  any  given  crop  successfully,  is  a  knowledge  of 
the  means  and  appliances  that  are  best  adapted  to  preserve  it  in  its  best  condition  for  future 
use  and  sale.  It  is  not  the  mark  of  a  prudent  farmer  to  suffer  his  grain  to  be  damaged  for 
want  of  storage ;  neither  is  it  wise  for  any  one  who  has  fruit  to  gather  and  assort  for  market, 
to  permit  ill-judged  haste  to  bruise  the  tender  cells  or  mar  the  external  appearance  and 
form.  Much  has  been  said  on  the  imperative  necessity  of  not  allowing  apples,  or  any  fruits  de- 
signed for  long  keeping,  to  receive  even  the  slightest  bruise  or  indentation.  Why  this  necessity 
for  preserving  the  delicate  cellular  tissue  intact,  will  be  evident  if  we  consider  for  a  moment, 
the  reasons  therefor.  The  juices  of  all  fruits  are  contained  in  cells ;  and  it  is  by  the  growth 
and  aggregation  of  these  cells,  protected  by  their  external  covering,  that  fruit  attains  its 
ultimate  size.  When  fruits  have  attained  their  full  growth  and  development — or  become 
ripe,  as  we  say — the  laws  of  vitality  are  suspended,  except  as  relates  to  the  preservation  of 
the  seed ;  and  the^ver-active  agencies  of  chemical  decomposition  are  ready  to  commence  their 
work,  and  thus  continue  the  ceaseless  round  of  production  and  decay. 

So  long  as  the  temperature  is  kept  below  the  germinating  point,  or  below  the  degree  at 
which  decomposition  commences,  and  the  natural  moisture  inherent  in  itself  is  not  permitted 
to  escape,  many  fruits  may  be  kept  in  all  their  freshness  for  a  long  time ;  but  in  how  many 
instances  are  all  these  conditions  a  perfect  blank !  Go  into  our  orchards,  and  observe  care- 

22 


338  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

fully  the  general  method  of  procedure.  Instead  of  feet  properly  shod  stepping  carefully 
among  the  branches  and  delicate  twigs,  how  often  does  the  iron-shod  heel  bi-uise  or  tear  off 
the  bark,  and  leave  ragged  wounds  to  be  healed  by  the  abused  tree !  Instead  of  picking  off 
the  fruit  one  by  one,  and  placing  it  gently  and  with  care  in  the  basket,  the  long  pole  to  whip 
the  branches  is  brought  into  requisition ;  and  though  if  may  be  sport  to  the  lads  to  see  the 
apples  fly  through  the  air  and  fall  heavily  upon  the  earth,  pierced,  very  likely,  by  the  stubble 
of  the  wheat,  oat,  or  barley  crop,  (taken  off  that  the  use  of  the  land  be  notlost,)  yet  when 
gathered,  how  few  will  you  find  in  a  fit  state  for  keeping ! 

Now,  all  this  wholesale  process  of  bruising  and  waste  may  be  remedied,  by  the  exercise 
of  a  little  forethought  in  providing  means  of  access  to  the  branches  of  the  trees.  Had  we  a 
crop  of  nice  fruit  to  gather,  in  anticipation  of  the  friendly  fireside  chat  during  the  long 
winter  evenings,  we  should  not  deem  it  time  lost  to  spend  a  few  days  in  providing  step- 
ladders,  folding-ladders,  and  canvas  sheets  with  rings  at  the  corners,  by  which  they  could 
be  extended  under  the  trees  if  necessary,  in  order  to  gather  the  fruit  difficult  of  access. 
When  collected  in  our  basket,  we  would  not  pour  them  heavily  upon  the  floor  of  our  fruit- 
room  or  into  the  barrel ;  neither  would  we  convey  them  homeward  or  to  market  in  a  spring- 
less  conveyance.  When  about  to  place  them  in  winter  quarters,  we  should  reject  every  un- 
sound or  bruised  one,  remembering  that  the  old  proverb  holds  true  in  this  as  in  every  case — 
"Evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners;"  which,  paraphrased,  would  read,  "Every 
unsound  or  decaying  specimen  of  fruit  will  invariably  depreciate  the  value  of  the  rest,  and 
dispose  them  to  rot." 

In  regard  to  the  winter-keeping  of  fruit,  the  Hon.  M.  P.  Wilder,  of  Boston,  in  the  "  Horti- 
culturist," states  that  his  experiment  of  keeping  fruits  was  suggested  by  the  difficulty  of 
avoiding  the  bad  effects  of  moisture  and  warmth  in  his  old  fruit-cellars  under  his  dwelling- 
house  ;  and  the  same  difficulty  exists  on  the  ground-floor  of  buildings.  "I  therefore  re- 
sorted," he  says,  "to  the  other  extreme — a  cool  and  dry  chamber  on  the  north  end  of  my 
barn,  the  location  of  which  being  over  the  carriage-room.  I  am  now  quite  satisfied  that  we 
have  at  last  attained  the  proper  location  for  a  fruit-room — namely,  a  cool  upper  apartment 
with  lined  non-conducting  walls." 

But  we  apprehend  the  great  difficulty  to  be  found  in  the  want  of  care  and  attention  to  these 
points  is  this —  Will  it  pay  ?  To  such  we  do  not  know  that  we  can  give  a  better  reply  than  by 
giving  the  experience  of  a  noted  fruit-grower,  who  is  satisfied  that  it  does  pay.  Mr.  Pell,  of 
Pelham,  New  York,  in  some  remarks  before  the  American  Institute,  thus  explains  his 
process : — 

*  •*  *  «  To  do  this  reasonably,  they  should  be  picked  from  the  tree  by  hand  with 
great  care,  so  as  not  to  break  the  skin  or  bruise  the  fruit  in  the  slightest  degree,  as  the 
parts  injured  immediately  decay,  and  ruin  all  the  fruit  coming  in  contact.  Apples  shaken 
from  the  tree  become  more  or  less  injured,  and  totally  unfit  to  be  kept  through  the  winter, 
or  even  shipped  to  the  nearest  ports.  My  pippin  fruit  is  all  picked  by  hand,  by  men  from 
ladders,  into  half-bushel  baskets,  from  them  into  bushel-and-a-half  baskets,  in  which  they  are 
carried  in  spring  wagons,  twelve,  at  a  time,  to  storerooms  covered  with  straw,  where  they 
are  carefully  piled,  three  feet  thick,  to  sweat  and  discharge  by  fermentation  some  30  per 
cent,  of  water,  when  they  are  ready  for  barrelling  for  shipment  to  Europe  or  elsewhere.  If 
they  reach  their  port  of  destination  before  the  second  process  of  sweating  comes  on,  they 
will  keep  perfectly  four  months.  I  have  kept  them  sound  two  years,  and  exhibited  them  at 
the  end  of  that  time  at  the  Institute  Fair,  Castle  Garden.  They  have  been  sent  to  Europe 
and  China  from  my  farm,  packed  in  various  ways — namely,  in  wheat  chaff,  buckwheat  chaff, 
oats,  rye,  mahogany  sawdust,  corkdust,  wrapped  separately  in  paper,  and  in  ice.  By  the 
mode  I  now  adopt,  I  can  warrant  them  to  bear  shipment  superior  to  any  other,  except  ice."- 
Genesee  Farmer. 

On  the  Ripening  of  Fruit. 

WE  make  the  following  extract,  on  the  ripening  of  fruit,  from  the  address  of  Hon.  Marshall 
P.  Wilder,  before  the  U.  S.  Pomological  Society  : — 

Much  progress  has  been  made  in  this  art  within  a  few  years,  and  important  results  have 


HORTICULTURE.  339 

been  attained.  The  principle  has  been  settled  that  the  ripening  process  can  be  controlled. 
Autumnal  fruits  have  been  kept  and  exhibited  the  succeeding  spring.  We  have  seen  the 
Seckel,  Bartlett,  and  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey  pears  in  perfection  in  January,  and  even  later. 
The  maturity  of  fruits  depends  on  saccharine  fermentation.  This  is  followed  by  other  fer- 
mentations, as  the  vinous  and  acetous.  To  prevent  these,  and  preserve  fruit  in  all  its  beauty, 
freshness,  and  flavor,  the  temperature  must  be  uniform,  and  kept  below  the  degree  at  which 
the  fermentation  or  the  ripening  process  commences.  Our  remarks,  like  our  experience,  have 
special  regard  to  the  apple  and  the  pear,  though  the  principle  is  doubtless  susceptible  of  a 
more  extensive  application.  Fruits  designed  to  be  kept  for  a  considerable  time,  should  be 
gathered  with  great  care  some  days  before  the  ripening  process  commences,  especially  sum- 
mer pears.  A  summer  pear  ripened  on  the  tree  is  generally  inferior.  In  respect  to  the  latter, 
Mr.  Barry,  editor  of  the  Horticulturist,  has  so  aptly  expressed  my  own  sentiments,  that  I  use 
his  language:  "The  process  of  ripening  on  the  tree,  which  is  the  natural  one,  seems  to  act 
upon  the  fruit  for  the  benefit  of  the  seed,  as  it  tends  to  the  formation  of  woody  fibre  and  fa- 
rina. When  the  fruit  is  removed  from  the  tree  at  the  very  commencement  of  ripening,  and 
placed  in  a  still  atmosphere,  the  natural  process  seems  to  be  counteracted,  and  sugar  and 
juice  are  elaborated  instead  of  fibre  and  farina.  Thus,  pears  which  become  mealy  and  rot  at 
the  core  when  left  on  the  tree  to  ripen,  become  juicy,  melting,  and  delicious  when  ripened  in 
the  house."  Various  fruit-houses  have  been  built,  both  in  this  country  and  in  Europe ;  and 
experience  shows  that  their  object  can  be  attained  only  by  a  perfect  control  of  the  tempera- 
ture, moisture,  and  light.  Hence,  they  must  be  cool,  with  non-conducting  walls,  or  with  ex- 
terior and  interior  walls,  or  a  room  within  a  room.  Thus  the  external  atmosphere,  which 
either  starts  the  saccharine  fermentation  or  conveys  the  agents  which  produce  it,  can  be  ad- 
mitted or  excluded  at  pleasure.  It  is  possible,  however,  to  preserve  the  temperature  at  so 
low  a  degree  and  for  so  long  a  time,  as  to  destroy,  especially  with  some  varieties  of  the  pear, 
the  vitality,  and  therefore  all  power  ever  to  resume  the  ripening  process.  Experience  proves 
that  for  the  common  varieties  of  the  apple  and  pear,  about  forty  degrees  of  Fahrenheit  is  the 
temperature  best  suited  to  hold  this  process  in  equilibrium.  The  proper  maturing  of  fruit 
thus  preserved  demands  skill  and  science.  Different  varieties  require  different  degrees  of 
moisture  and  heat,  according  to  the  firmness  of  the  skin,  the  texture  of  the  flesh,  and  the 
natural  activity  of  the  juices.  Thus,  some  varieties  of  the  pear  will  ripen  at  a  low  tempera- 
ture and  in  a  comparatively  dry  atmosphere,  while  others,  as  the  Eastern  Beurre",  are  im- 
proved by  a  warm  and  humid  air. 

Some  varieties  of  the  pear  ripening  with  difficulty,  and  formerly  esteemed  only  second 
rate,  are  now  pronounced  of  excellent  quality,  because  the  art  of  maturing  them  is  better 
understood. 

But  so  many  experiments  have  been  tried  or  are  in  progress,  and  so  much  has  been  written 
on  this  branch  of  our  subject,  that  I  need  not  enlarge,  except  to  say  that  the  art  of  preserving 
and  ripening  fruit  in  perfection  involves  so  much  scientific  knowledge,  as  to  require  great 
attention  and  care ;  and,  until  its  laws  are  more  fully  developed,  must  be  attended  with  con- 
siderable difficulty. 

On  the  best  Method  of  Storing  and  Preserving  Potatoes. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Farmers'  Club  of  Whitby,  England,  some  interesting  statements 
were  made  relative  to  the  best  methods  of  storing  and  preserving  potatoes.  The  general 
opinion  expressed  was,  that  the  potatoes  when  first  gathered  should  not  be  housed  or  packed 
.away  immediately,  but  be  spread  out  thinly  for  ten  days  or  two  weeks  under  shelter,  in  order 
that  they  may  be  allowed  "to  sweat."  If  room  in  out-houses  is  not  abundant,  they  may  be 
put  in  small  heaps  in  the  field,  and  carefully  covered  with  straw ;  here  they  should  be  allowed 
to  remain  for  about  a  fortnight.  It  was  also  particularly  recommended  that  the  potatoes 
should  be  sorted,  as  soon  as  gathered,  into  three  sorts — the  marketable,  for  seed,  and  the  bad 
and  small  ones. 


340  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  Oidium  Tuckeri,  or  Grape  Malady  of  Europe, 

FROM  a  paper  read  before  the  Royal  Institution  of  Great  Britain,  by  M.  Brockedon,  we  ob- 
tain the  following  information  respecting  the  singular  disease  which  has  of  late  years  proved 
so  destructive  to  grapes  of  France  and  other  parts  of  Europe : — 

It  appears  to  have  been  first  observed  in  England  by  an  observant  gardener  of  Margate, 
whose  name  has  been  given  to  the  fungus  producing  the  disease — viz.  Oidiunfc  Tuckeri.  It  is 
an  egg-shaped  fungus,  one  of  an  immense  family  of  this  class  of  destroyers,  but  one  not  be- 
fore known  or  recognised ;  and  though  it  bears  a  close  resemblance  to  those  which  are  found 
upon  the  potatoe,  peach,  cucumber,  &c.,  yet  it  is  distinguished  from  all  others  by  a  micro- 
scopic observer,  and  has  never  yet  been  found  upon  any  other  plant,  and,  when  found  upon 
the  grape,  has  always  been  destructive.  Its  first  appearance  is  like  a  whitish  mildew,  showing 
itself  principally  upon  the  young  grape  when  about  the  size  of  a  pea.  When  the  spore  of 
this  fungus  has  settled  on  the  young  berry,  it  enlarges  and  radiates  irregularly  in  fine  fila- 
ments, which  often  cover  the  whole  surface,  extending  with  great  rapidity.  These  fix  them- 
selves by  imperceptible  attachments,  which  do  not  appear  to  penetrate  the  cuticle ;  numerous 
branches  from  the  mycelium  are  unfruitful ;  others  are  jointed,  and  rise  vertically  like  the 
pile  of  velvet ;  the  upper  joint  enlarges,  rounds  itself  into  an  elliptical  form,  ripens,  separates, 
and  is  carried  off  with  the  slightest  motion  of  the  air,  to  find  another  grape  upon  which  it  can 
be  developed.  Warmth  and  moisture  favor  its  rapid  fructification ;  a  succession  of  spores 
rise  from  the  same  branch,  and  often  two,  three,  or  four  ripen  and  disperse  almost  at  the 
same  time.  Its  effect  upon  the  grape  is  to  exhaust  the  juices  of  the  cuticle,  which  ceases  to 
expand  with  the  pulp  of  the  fruit ;  it  then  bursts,  dries  up,  and  is  utterly  destroyed.  This 
fatal  disease  has  returned  with  increased  virulence  in  each  succeeding  year.  In  1847  the 
spores  of  this  Oidium  reached  France,  and  was  found  in  the  forcing-houses  of  Versailles  and 
other  places  near  Paris ;  but  the  disease  soon  reached  the  trellised  vines,  and  destroyed  the 
grapes  out  of  doors  in  the  neighborhood,  and  continued  to  extend  from  place  to  place ;  but 
until  1850  it  was  chiefly  observed  in  vineries,  which  lost  from  this  cause,  season  after  season, 
the  whole  of  their  crops.  Unhappily,  in  1851,  it  was  found  to  have  extended  to  the  south  and 
south-east  of  France  and  Italy,  and  the  grapes  were  so  affected  that  they  either  decayed,  or 
the  wine  made  from  them  was  detestable.  In  1852,  the  Oidium  Tuckeri  reappeared  in  France 
with  increased  and  fatal  energy ;  it  crossed  the  Mediterranean  to  Algeria,  has  shown  itself  in 
Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  attacked  the  Muscat  grapes  at  Malaga,  injured  the  vines  in  the  Balearic 
Islands,  utterly  destroyed  the  vintage  in  Madeira,  greatly  injured  it  in  the  Greek  Islands,  and 
destroyed  the  currants  in  Zante  and  Cephalonia,  rendering  them  almost  unfit  for  use ;  and  so 
diminished  the  supply,  that  five  hundred  gatherers  did  the  ordinary  work  of  eight  thousand ! 
But  it  is  in  France  that  its  frightful  ravages  are  chiefly  to  be  regarded  as  a  national  calamity, 
where  the  produce  of  the  soil  in  wine  is  said  to  exceed  five  hundred  millions  of  hectolitres ; 
two-fifths  of  the  usual  quantity  of  wine  made  there  has  been  destroyed,  and  what  has  been 
made  is  bad.  It  has  not  touched  with  equal  severity  all  the  departments. 

M.  Mdhl  has  most  carefully  examined  whether  the  Oidium  of  the  grape  lives  on  other  plants 
besides  the  vine,  but  he  is  decidedly  of  opinion  that  it  does  not.  Some  persons  have  supposed 
that  it  was  caused  by  insects,  because  occasionally  they  have  been  found  on  diseased  vines ; 
but  the  idea  is  now  utterly  rejected,  for  not  the  slightest  appearance  of  disease  precedes  the 
fungus,  which  creeps  over  the  epidermis,  but  does  not  enter  its  tissues.  It  envelops  the  grape, 
absorbs  the  juices  of  the  superficial  cells,  and  stops  the  growth  of  the  cuticle.  The  pulp 
expands  within  the  fruit,  bursts  longitudinally,  its  juices  are  lost,  and  it  dries  up.  In  an 
early  stage  of  the  disease  the  fungus  may  be  wiped  off,  and  the  fruit  will  come  to  maturity. 
The  Oidium  never  matures  on  decayed  vegetable  substances ;  it  lives  and  fructifies  only  on 
living  tissues.  By  many  it  is  asked,  Is  the  Oidium  the  cause,  or  the  consequence  of  the  dis- 
ease of  the  vine.  The  vine,  one  party  says,  is  over-cultivated  and  liable  to  affections  which 
the  wild  healthy  plant  resists,  and  it  should  be  treated  as  in  a  state  of  plethora :  tap  it,  lessen 
its  sap,  and  it  will  invigorate  so  as  to  resist  the  poison  of  the  Oidium.  This  has  been  tried 
and  has  failed.  If  this  were  the  cause,  also,  it  could  not  have  so  suddenly  and  widely  ex- 
tended itself. 


[grintlforal 


INCLUDING 

THE  INTRODUCTION   OF   NEW   BREEDS   OR    SPECIES    OF   ANIMALS,   NOTICES  OF    IMPROVEMENTS 

IN   THE   TREATMENT    AND    GROWTH    OF    STOCK,    THE    PRODUCTION    OF    ANIMAL 

FIBROUS    SUBSTANCES,  DISTRIBUTION  OF   ANIMALS,  ETC. 


On  the  Introduction  of  Foreign  Domestic  Animals  into  South  Carolina. 

R.  DAVIS,  of  Columbia,  S.  C.,  furnishes  to  the  Patent  Office 
the  following  communication  respecting  the  introduction  of 
various  breeds  of  foreign  domestic  animals  into  the  Southern 
States,  especially  South  Carolina : — 

The  want  of  calcareous  u»^  in  nearly  all  of  the  soils  of  the 
Southern  States,  together  with  the  heat  of  the  sun.  renders 
them  unfit  for  perennial  grasses  for  grazing;  hence  they  are 
more  suitable  for  browsing,  as  both  tend  to  originate  shrub- 
bery and  weeds.  In  1836,  having  had  some  experience  in  the 
importation  of  short-horned,  Devon,  and  Ayrshire  cattle  into 
the  South,  I  then  summarily  advanced  an  opinion,  "that  all 
cattle  brought  from  a  Northern  to  our  Southern  climate  must 
necessarily  degenerate  to  the  peculiarities  of  our  location,  and  that  it  would  be  easier  to  im- 
prove cattle  already  acclimated,  or  import  animals  from  a  still  warmer  region."  In  my  late 
sojourn  in  Asia  and  the  East,  I  had  reference  to  this  observation  in  importing  Cashmere, 
Scinde,  and  Malta  milking-goats,  as  well  as  the  Brahmin  ox,  or  Nagore,  of  India,  the  Asiatic 
buffalo,  or  water-ox,  and  other  animals. 

The  Cashmere,  Persian,  Angora,  and  Circassian  goats  are  one  and  the  same  animal,  changed 
in  some  respects  by  altitude,  though  but  little  by  latitude.  They  abound  in  all  this  inac- 
cossible  territory,  and  are  the  eating,  milking,  cheese  and  butter-making  and  clothes-making 
animal  of  the  whole  country.  They  are  finely  developed  for  the  table,  much  disposed  to 
fatten,  very  white  and  beautiful,  with  long  fine  wool  or  curly  hair,  yielding  about  four  to  four 
and  a  half  pounds  to  the  fleece.  They  can  be  easily  procured  by  an  energetic  man,  acquainted 
with  the  peculiarities  of  the  population,  and  at  a  cost  of  $4  to  $6  each  on  the  spot.  I 
brought  to  the  United  States,  in  1849,  seven  females  and  two  males.  They  have  kids  only 
•  •v. -ry  spring,  usually  two  at  a  birth.  The  full  breeds  have  increased  only  to  about  thirty, 
from  the  accidental  circumstance  that  in  nearly  every  instance  the  issue  has  been  males. 

In  locating  these  animals  in  different  sections  of  South  Carolina,  I  can  see  no  difference  be- 
tween those  reared  here  and  the  imported,  with  the  exception  that  those  reared  in  this  State 
are  finer  and  heavier  fleeced  than  those  imported. 

On  my  arrival,  I  immediately  procured  a  number  of  our  little  diminutive  native  female 
g-oats,  and  crossed  them  upon  a  Cashmere  buck.  Their  progeny  had  hair  very  fine,  but  little 
longer  than  that  of  the  does.  I  again  crossed  the  females  of  this  progeny  upon  the  other 
Cashmere  buck,  and  it  was  difficult  to  distinguish  these  from  the  pure  breed ;  and  the  subse- 
quent cross  cannot  be  detected.  In  the  spring,  I  contemplate  effecting  still  another  cross.  I 
consider  this  a  most  valuable  and  useful  experiment,  as  I  made  an  arrangement  with  ama- 
teurs to  sell  pure  bucks  at  $100,  and  to  exchange  annually,  so  as  to  furnish  them  with  the 

341 


342  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

advantages  of  different  crosses.  In  ten  days  all  the  pure  breeds  were  taken,  with  a  demand 
for  many  more.  Even  the  mixed  kids  have  been  readily  taken  by  those  determined  to  infuse 
their  blood  with  their  stock.  In  these  arrangements,  however,  I  have  located  them  from  the 
top  of  the  mountains  to  the  seaboard,  both  in  Carolina  and  Georgia.  Apart  from  their 
manifest  practical  aptitude  in  all  these  particulars,  there  is  this  ultimate  value  to*  be  con- 
sidered :  a  Cashmere  shawl  is  worth  from  $700  to  $1500.  Why  is  this  difference,  except  in 
their  intrinsic  value  from  durability  as  wearing  apparel  ?  I  have  socks  which  I  have  worn 
for  six  years,  and  are  yet  perfectly  sound. 

No  naturalist  has  yet  been  able  to  assign  a  systematic  law  regulating  the  acclimation  of 
animals.  The  Merino*  sheep,  whenever  it  has  been  removed,  has  generally  changed,  and  in 
most  cases  for  the  worse.  Even  when  crossed  upon  the  best  Saxony  sheep,  it  was  a  deteriora- 
tion ;  but  when  crossed  upon  a  coarse-wooled  animal,  it  improved  the  fleece ;  and  the  cross 
fixed  both  the  character  of  the  wool  and  the  carcass.  This  fact  is  observed  in  many  other 
instances,  demonstrating  that  the  constitution  of  animals  must  be  connected  with  location  to 
fix  the  character  of  the  wool  or  the  carcass.  In  fact,  the  same  temperature,  but  modified  by 
altitude  instead  of  latitude,  does  not  produce  the  same  results.  On  all  the  table  mountain 
and  valley  plains  between  Persia  and  Turkey  in  Asia,  all  the  animals  have  fine,  long,  silken 
hair,  as  the  Angora  cat,  grayhound,  and  rabbits,  and  I  have  seen  the  same  in  some  specimens 
of  the  Koordistan  horse.  To  a  considerable  extent  this  is  the  fact  on  the  western  part  of 
South  America. 

In  connection  with  this  part  of  the  subject,  I  will  now  mention  the  Thibet  shawl-goat, 
belonging  to  the  coldest  regions.  I  accidentally  came  in  possession  of  a  pair  of  these  ani- 
mals, but  lost  the  male.  I  have  a  considerable  increase  from  the  female,  bred  with  a  Cash- 
mere buck.  The  Thibet  goat  has,  under  a  long,  coarse  hair,  a  coat  of  beautiful  white  wool, 
which,  when  combed,  makes  about  a  pound  to  a  fleece.  I  had  these  specimens  with  me  at 
the  Zoological  Gardens  in  London ;  and,  in  comparing  them  with  a  stuffed  specimen  of  a 
Rocky  Mountain  goat,  I  could  not  discover  the  slightest  difference ;  nor  do  I  yet  see  any 
change  of  the  fresh  cross  of  the  Cashmere  buck  upon  my  Thibet  doe ;  but  in  the  third  cross 
upon  the  Cashmere,  we  may  expect  a  valuable  experiment  by  changing  the  fine  under-wool, 
or  down,  into  a  conjoint  and  uniform  covering  of  wool.  In  regard  to  the  Scinde  goat,  so 
called  from  the  province  at  the  mouth  of  the  Indus,  he  is  a  gigantic  animal,  with  pendulent 
ears  twenty-two  inches  long,  is  used  for  the  table  and  dairy,  and  is  very  similar  to  the  Syrian 
goat.  The  Malta  milking-goat  is  also  for  the  dairy,  giving  about  a  gallon  of  milk  in  a  duy. 
It  may  not  be  uninteresting  for  me  to  state  a  fact  observed  by  me  in  the  malarious  sections 
of  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  In  all  the  similar  sections  of  Asia  and  the  East,  they 
regard  cow's  milk  as  being  an  exciting  cause  to  bilious  fevers,  as  well  as  to  liver  complaints, 
and  hence  use  only  goat's  milk.  The  modus  agendi,  I  see,  has  been  a  matter  under  discussion 
by  the  faculty  of  Paris. 

Having  given  thus  much  on  the  subject  of  goats,  I  now  hasten  to  the  cattle.  In  referring 
to  the  Nagore  or  Brahmin  cattle  of  India,  in  Youatt's  work  on  British  cattle,  it  will  be  per- 
ceived that  they  are  organized  to  undergo  the  fatigues  of  the  hottest  climates  known,  and 
will  carry  a  soldier  six  miles  an  hour  for  six  consecutive  hours.  I  brought  but  one^  pair  to 
the  United  States,  and,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  my  crosses  of  them  upon  other  cattle  are  the 
first  known  in  this  country.  I  crossed  this  bull  upon  Ayrshire,  Devon,  and  Durham  breeds, 
as  well  as  upon  our  common  cattle.  The  offspring  is  considered,  by  all  who  have  seen  them, 
far  the  handsomest  animal  of  the  cow  kind.  They  are  symmetrical  and  active,  and  can  keep 
fat  when  any  other  cow  would  starve.  I  had  this  half-breed  crossed  again  upon  our  cattle, 
but  am  not  yet  sufficiently  experienced  to  report  of  their  milking  qualities.  As  evidence, 
however,  that  our  agriculturists  confide  in  the  appearances,  my  half-breeds  readily  sell  for 
$1000  a  pair,  and  the  second  cross,  or  half-Brahmin,  at  from  $100  to  $300  each.  Prefer- 
ring the  mixed  breeds  to  the  pure,  I  sold  to  Mr.  Edes,  of  Kentucky,  the  original  pair  for 
$4000,  as  that  State  would  prove  a  better  place  to  breed  and  disseminate  the  stock.  As 
Kentucky  is  the  dependence  of  the  South  for  beeves,  they  needed  an  animal  that  could  come 
to  us  in  the  hot  months  of  summer,  and  remain  healthy  and  sound.  They  have  from  this 
animal  a  progeny  that  will  travel  thirty  miles  a  day  in  August ;  and  the  further  South  they 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  343 

go,  the-  better  adapted  are  they — the  great  desideratum  to  the  Northern  breeder  and  the 
Southern  consumer. 

The  Asiatic  buffalo,  or  water-ox,  is  a  large,  ugly,  hardy  animal.  The  cows  are  good 
milkers,  making  fat  and  good-flavored  beef,  though  coarse-grained,  and  precisely  suited  to 
sea-coast  marshes,  where  no  other  animal  can  venture,  as  well  as  to  lands  subject  to  in- 
undation. 

Introduction  of  the  Chinese  Yak  into  Europe. 

THE  Garden  of  Plants,  at  Paris,  has  recently  received,  for  the  purpose  of  acclimation  and 
propagation  in  France,  a  number  of  yaks  from  China — ar  animal  which  Buffon  says  "  is  more 
precious  than  all  the  gold  of  the  New  World."  In  Thibet  and  China  this  animal  serves  as  a 
horse,  an  ass,  a  cow,  and  a  sheep  ;  it  bears  heavy  burdens,  draws  large  loads,  supplies  milk, 
has  flesh  which  is  excellent,  and  hair  which  can  be  wrought  into  warm  cloths.  To  naturalize 
them,  therefore,  in  Europe  would  be  an  immense  service  to  mankind ;  and,  as  they  bear  cold 
bravely,  the  French  naturalists  have  every  hope  that  they  will  be  able  to  do  so.  Some  Chi- 
nese have  been  brought  over  to  attend  the  yaks,  and  they  will  teach  the  French  the  way  of 
treating  them  and  of  curing  them  in  sickness.  The  yaks  are  of  lowish  stature,  are  singu- 
larly shaggy,  and  have  tails  more  bushy  than  those  of  horses. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  people  of  the  United  States  will  take  their  share  in  endeavoring 
to  accustom  Asiatic  and  African  animals  to  our  climates.  It  is  not  very  creditable  to  our 
boasted  nineteenth  century  that  in  this  respect  it  is  far  behind  the  old"Romans.  Out  of  the 
many  thousand  species  of  which  the  animal  creation  consists,  only  between  forty  and  fifty 
are,  in  fact,  domesticated. 

Acclimatization  of  the  Cashmere  Goat  in  the  United  States. 

AT  the  Annual  State  Fair  of  New  York  for  1854,  three  Cashmere  goats  were  exhibited  by 
Dr.  Davis,  of  South  Carolina.  It  is  the  animal  of  which  the  Cashmere  shawls  are  made,  the 
value  of  which  does  not  depend,  as  many  suppose,  upon  their  rarity,  but  upon  the  fact  that 
the  material  surpasses  every  other  like  article  in  its  capacity  for  wear.  The  Cashmere  goat 
was  introduced  into  South  Carolina  several  years  ago,  by  Dr.  Davis,  from  the  interior  of  Asia 
Minor,  and  the  breed  has  since  been  carried  into  the  adjoining  States  of  North  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Alabama,  Tennessee,  and  Florida,  and  mixed  with  the  native  goat.  The  hair  of  the 
animal,  which  is  pure  white,  is  most  beautiful.  It  somewhat  resembles  in  appearance  the 
finest  portion  of  the  fleece  of  the  Chinese  sheep,  a  few  of  which  were  on  exhibition.  It  is 
curly,  soft  in  texture,  and  brilliant  in  appearance.  The  animal  is  extremely  delicate  in 
shape,  though  hardy.  A  sock  made  from  the  hair  was  shown  with  the  goats.  We  learn  that 
the  meat  is  white  and  delicate,  and  is  preferred,  in  the  parts  of  South  Carolina  where  they 
are  reared,  to  mutton.  A  herd  will  protect  itself  against  dogs,  which  constitutes  a  great 
advantage  over  sheep  in  localities  where  dogs  are  troublesome.  Throughout  South  Carolina, 
the  ordinary  animal  has  risen  largely  in  price,  from  the  facility  with  which  the  breed  is 
improved  by  this  cross. 

A  letter  from  Dr.  Davis,  June,  1855,  to  the  Greensborough  (S.  C.)  Beacon,  states,  that 
"  the  fourth  crop  of  the  Cashmere  upon  our  native  goat  is  fully  equal  to  the  pure  Cashmere." 
This  animal,  the  doctor  says,  is  destined  to  make  a  great  revolution  in  the  agriculture  of  the 
whole  South.  Beautiful  cloth  is  now  made  by  negro  weavers,  with  ordinary  plantation 
looms,  from  the  second  cross.  All  the  native  goats  in  South  Carolina,  he  states,  are  now 
appropriated  to  crossing  with  the  Cashmere  breeds,  and  Georgia  and  Virginia  are  also  breeding 
these  animals  extensively. 

Introduction  of  Camels  into  the  United  States. 

AT  the  last  session  of  Congress,  in  accordance  with  a  recommendation  from  the  Secretary 
of  War,  an  appropriation  was  granted  for  the  purpose  of  importing  and  introducing  the  camel 
into  the  United  States,  to  be  used  for  transportation  on  the  prairies  and  deserts  of  the  West. 


344  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

For  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  plan  and  procuring  a  sufficient  number  of  these  animals, 
an  expedition,  under  the  charge  of  Lieutenant  Porter,  U.S.N.,  and  Major  Wayne,  of  the 
Army,  sailed  from  New  York,  in  June  last,  for  Egypt  and  the  Mediterranean. 

It  is  the  intention  of  the  latter  officer  to  visit  Egypt,  Nubia,  Arabia,  and  such  other  coun- 
tries of  the  East  as  produce  the  camel,  where  he  will  examine  the  different  varieties,  study  their 
habits,  and  select  such  as,  in  his  opinion,  are  best  adapted  to  the  climate  and  food  of  the  dis- 
trict where  it  is  proposed  to  introduce  them.  The  camel  is  as  greatly  improved  by  careful 
raising,  and  by  the  selection  of  good  varieties,  as  the  horse  is ;  hence  it  may  not  be  in  the  coun- 
tries originally  indigenous  to  these  animals  tLat  those  best  suited  to  our  wants  will  be  found. 

The  camel  of  Egypt^used  to  a  hot,  dry,  aud  little-varying  climate,  would  not  be  adapted 
to  the  changeable  climate  and  cutting  northers  of  Texas.  Yet  it  might  answer  well  for  the 
region  on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range  bordering  on  Mexico,  where  the 
arid  deserts  occur.  The  Persian  or  Bactrian  camel,  which  is  used  on  the  steppes  of  Siberia 
and  the  plateaux  of  Central  Asia,  will  doubtless  be  found  the  best  adapted  for  our  prairies 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  experiment  is  a  most  important  one,  and,  if  successful,  will 
revolutionize  the  present  mode  of  travelling  across  the  prairies ;  but  more  particularly  the 
desert  regions,  where  water  and  grass  are  scarce. 

Tartar  or  Shanghai  Sheep. 

MR.  E.  EMERSON,  of  Philadelphia,  communicates  to  the  Progressive  Farmer  the  following, 
information  relative  to  the  Tartar  or  Shanghai  sheep,  recently  introduced  into  this  country: — 

They  are  of  good  size,  with  ears  drooping  forward,  prominent  noses,  agreeably  expressive 
faces,  covered  with  a  short  and  very  fine  glossy  silken  hair.  The  fleece  is  light  and  best 
adapted  for  blankets  and  similar  woollen  textures.  The  value  of  this  breed  does  not,  there- 
fore, consist  in  the  fleece ;  but  must  be  sought  for  in  the  remarkable  facility  it  offers  to  in- 
crease the  supply  of  this  kind  of  animal  food  almost  at  pleasure,  for  the  ewes  have  lambs 
twice  a  year,  generally  from  three  to  four  at  a  birth,  and  not  unfrequently  five  at  a  time.  I 
have  a  ewe  which  brought  three  lambs  last  February,  all  of  which  were  raised  to  maturity. 
About  the  middle  of  November,  she  had  two  more,  and  at  the  same  time  her  two  February 
ewe  lambs  each  brought  a  lamb,  making  her  progeny  in  nine  months  no  less  than  seven,  all 
living  and  thriving,  save  one  accidentally  killed. 

The  quality  of  the  mutton  is  of  the  highest  order.  When  in  China,  several  years  ago,  I 
was  not  a  little  surprised  to  find  the  eagerness  exhibited  by  every  one  for  mutton ;  and  never 
did  I  see  a  leg  brought  upon  the  table  of  which  any  thing  was  left  but  the  bone.  I  attributed 
this  partiality,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the  high  price  of  the  meat,  the  cost  of  which  to  foreigners 
was  something  like  fifty  cents  per  pound.  But  I  have  since  been  convinced  that  while  rarity 
contributed  something  to  the  flavor,  there  was  still  more  due  to  the  intrinsic  qualities  of  the 
meat,  which  is  entirely  free  from  any  woolly  or  other  disagreeable  taste,  and  has  a  delicacy 
resembling  venison.  This  characteristic  of  the  mutton  of  the  Tartar  sheep,  with  the  capacity 
they  afford  of  furnishing  lambs  at  any  time  of  the  year,  must  make  them  of  great  value  to 
those  whose  chief  object  is  to  breed  for  the  shambles. 

I  have  crossed  the  breed  with  a  good  stock  of  country  sheep,  and  have  about  twenty-five 
half-bloods,  pronounced  remarkably  fine  sheep  by  all  who  have  seen  them,  being  rather  larger 
than  the  full-bloods,  with  much  better  fleeces.  How  they  are  to  turn  out  in  the  excellence  of 
their  mutton  and  prolific  qualities  remains  to  be  tested.  Probably  they  will  exceed  common 
sheep  in  the  average  number  of  their  lambs,  but  not  equal  the  full-bloods  in  their  astonishing 
prolific  qualities,  and  this  to  many  persons  may  constitute  an  improvement. 

On  the  Artificial  Propagation  of  Fish  in  American  Waters. 

THE  subject  of  the  production  and  propagation  of  fish  by  the  artificial  methods  discovered 
in  France  some  years  ago,  and  since  successfully  introduced  into  that  country  and  Great 
Britain,  has  especial  claims  upon  the  attention  of  all  interested  in  the  increase  and  develop- 
ment of  our  national  resources.  "We  understand,"  says  a  writer  in  Putnam's  Magazine, 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  345 

"  that  the  Natural  History  Society  of  New  Jersey  are  prepared  to  make,  to  the  three  States 
of  Now  York,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania,  an  offer  to  restock  the  Hudson,  Passaie,  Rari- 
tan,  nnd  Delaware  rivers,  with  salmon  fry;  provided  the  legislatures  will  jointly,  or  severally, 
~uch  laws  for  the  preservation  of  the  fish,  until  they  shall  become  fully  established  in 
those  waters,  and  forever  during  spawning  season,  including  the  removal  of  all  obstacles  to 
their  free  ingression  and  retrogression  to  and  from  the  salt  water,  as  shall  be  deemed  suffi- 
cient ;  the  society  asking  no  privilege,  or  remuneration,  beyond  the  actual  expenses  of  pro- 
viding and  transporting  the  fry." 

'There  are  two  ways  in  which  fish  may  be  propagated  artificially  in  any  quantities.  The 
one  is  by  taking  the  breeding  fishes  alive,  male  and  female,  previous  to  their  depositing  their 
spawn,  in  the  gravel  shoals  of  their  native  beds,  and  compelling  the  female  fish,  first,  by  a 
gentle  pressure  of  the  hands  upon  her  sides,  to  deposit  her  ova  on  a  layer  of  gravel,  in  a 
box  suitably  prepared  for  the  purpose,  covered  with  a  wire  grating,  and  provided  with  writable 
apertures,  similarly  guarded  at  one  extremity  to  admit  the  influx  and  atllux  of  spring  water 
from  a  source  of  proper  temperature,  without  which  the  ova  cannot  be  matured.  This  done, 
the  male  fish  is,  by  a  similar  treatment,  forced  to  emit  his  milt  over  the  female  ova  on  the 
gravel,  which  are  thus  impregnated,  when  the  box  is  placed  so  as  to  receive  a  constant  current 
of  aerated  running  water,  subjected  to  which  the  eggs  are  hatched,  and  the  young  fish 
excluded  in  a  space  of 

114  days,  when  the  temperature  of  the  water  is 36° 

101          "  "  "  "  -i:i° 

90          "  "  "  "  45° 

The  experiments  by  which  these  facts  were  arrived  at  were  performed  in  the  open  air,  in 
natural  streams,  liable  to  the  ordinary  influences  of  the  atmosphere  and  weather. 

The  second  method  is  the  mixing  in  the  same  manner  of  the  milt  of  the  male  with  the  ova 
of  the  female  fish,  taken  out  of  the  bodies  of  fish  recently  dead.  It  is  proved,  indubitably, 
that  the  ejrgs  tlm<  prepared,  and  similarly  subjected  to  the  flow  of  aerated  spring  water,  will 
produce  living  fish.  This  method  has  been  largely  put  into  practice  in  France,  where  exten- 
sive waters  have  been  stocked  with  both  fresh  and  salt-water  species,  although  it  is  certain 
that  sea-fishes,  if  excluded  from  salt  water,  lose  much  of  the  characteristic  excellence  of 
their  flesh ;  while  it  is  doubtful,  at  least,  whether  they  have  the  power,  under  those  circum- 
stances, of  reproducing  their  species. 

Both  these  methods,  however,  presuppose  the  possibility  of  having  either  the  live  fish 
taken  on  the  spot,  when  in  condition  for  the  immediate  deposition  of  its  ova,  or  the  dead  fish, 
in  the  same  condition,  immediately,  or  within  a  few  hours,  after  the  capture — since  it  cannot 
be  expected  that  the  vitality  of  the  ova  would  long  survive  the  death  of  the  parent  animal. 
These  conditions,  therefore,  render  it  indispensable  that  the  experiments  should  be  performed, 
and  the  system  of  breeding  carried  on,  where  the  living  fish  or  the  dead  fish  immediately  out 
of  the  water  can  be  readily  procured ;  that  is  to  say,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  salmon 
rivers.  This  would,  of  course,  render  it  necessary  to  form  breeding  establishments  at  a  dis- 
tance from  this  section  of  the  country,  and  to  provide  for  their  subsequent  transportation. 
Fortunately,  however,  this  difficulty  is  obviated  by  another  peculiarity  of  the  young  salmon, 
which  the  Natural  History  Society  of  New  Jersey  propose  to  turn  to  account  in  their  scheme 
of  restocking  the  rivers  named  above.  On  first  emerging  from  the  membrane  in  which  it 
was  enclosed,  or  being  hatched,  the  young  fry  has  the  yolk  of  the  egg  attached  to  the  ante- 
rior part  of  the  abdomen,  immediately  behind  the  gills,  and  for  the  first  twenty-seven  days 
of  its  existence  takes  no  manner  of  food  externally,  being  supported  wholly  by  its  absorption 
of  this  nutritious  substance.  At  the  end  of  this  period,  it  has  attained  the  length  of  about 
three-quarters  of  an  inch,  and  is  enabled  to  forage  for  itself  and  live  on  the  prey  which  it 
captures,  which  is  identical  with  that  of  the  trout.  During  the  first  twenty-seven  days  of 
its  life,  therefore,  the  young  salmon  may  be  enclosed  in  bottles,  casks,  or  any  other  utensils 
of  the  like  nature  filled  with  water,  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  change  during  that  period, 
and  may  be  transported  any  distance  which  can  be  compassed  by  steam  within  that  time. 
If  then  turned  out  into  rapidly  running,  aerated  streams  with  gravel  bottoms,  suited  for  the 
nutriment  of  trout,  it  will  remain  in  those  waters  until  the  middle  of  the  May  of  the  year 


346  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

next  ensuing,  or  the  second  after  the  deposition  of  the  ova  which  produced  it  in  the  month 
of  October  or  November.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  they  will  return,  grilse,  as  they  are 
now  termed,  varying  in  weight  from  two  to  eight  pounds.  In  the  succeeding,  or  third  year, 
having  deposited  their  ova  in  the  streams  wherein  they  were  themselves  hatched,  they  will 
redescend  to  the  sea,  not  increased  in  weight  or  size ;  but  will  make  their  reappearance  in 
the  same  autumn,  ascending  to  reproduce  their  species,  full-grown  fish,  weighing,  it  is  con- 
fidently alleged,  from  twenty  to  forty  pounds  in  weight. 

It  is  on  this  quality  of  the  young  fry  of  the  salmon,  as  we  understand,  that  the  Natural 
History  Society  rely  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  scheme. 

They  calculate  with  certainty  on  procuring,  at  small  cost,  the  young  fry,  just  excluded, 
with  the  yolk  yet  adherent — from  correspondents  in  the  British  provinces — enclosed  in  hogs- 
heads of  spring  water,  which  can  readily  be  transmitted  by  marine  steamers  to  New  York,  and 
thence  by  rail  to  the  localities  where  they  should  be  emancipated. 

The  feeding  streams  of  the  Passaic,  Raritan,  Delaware,  and  Hudson  have,  we  are  in- 
formed, been  carefully  explored  and  investigated  by  several  gentlemen;  and  waters  have 
been  found,  abounding  in  trout,  communicating  with  these  rivers,  without  the  interruption 
of  any  impassable  natural  falls,  admirably  calculated  for  fish  nurseries,  and  requiring  only  a 
modification  of  the  dams  to  enable  them  at  once  to  become  the  spawning-places  and  abodes 
of  countless  myriads  of  fry.  Into  these  streams,  being  the  Second  and  Third  rivers,  as  they 
are  termed,  for  the  Passaic,  the  Black  River  for  the  Raritan,  the  Request  and  Muscanetcong 
for  the  Delaware,  and  the  Walkill  and  Esopuskill  for  the  Hudson,  they  propose  to  turn  out 
sufficient  numbers  of  fry,  fully  to  insure  the  stocking  of  the  rivers,  provided  the  States  will 
furnish  the  actual  cost  of  the  purchase  and  transportation  of  the  fish — making  no  demands 
for  their  own  time,  labor,  and  travel — and  grant  the  protection  which  they  conceive  to  be 
necessary,  and  without  the  concession  of  which,  it  is  understood,  that  they  will  not  stir  in 
the  business. 

With  regard  to  the  feasibility  of  this  scheme,  according  to  the  premises,  there  cannot  be  a 
question.  It  has  been  proved,  in  other  countries,  that  waters  can  be  as  easily  stocked  with 
fish  as  parks  with  game,  or  pastures  with  cattle ;  and,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  these  rivers 
did  once,  beyond  denial,  abound  in  salmon,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  in  any  unprejudiced  mind, 
that  they  can  be  made  to  produce  them  again,  in  undiminished  numbers.  Nor  is  it  to  be 
disputed,  that  the  method  proposed  by  these  gentlemen  is  simple,  reasonable,  and  well  calcu- 
lated to  produce  the  desired  end ;  while  it  is  presumed  that  the  character  and  qualifications 
of  the  persons  engaged  in  the  project  may  be  taken  as  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  the  plan 
.being  well  carried  out  in  its  details. 

There  remain  to  be  considered,  the  conditions  on  which  they  offer  to  restock  the  rivers, 
and  the  practicability  and  propriety  of  the  according  of  those  conditions  by  the  legislatures 
of  the  States  concerned. 

The  conditions,  we  learn,  are  as  follow : 

1.  An  absolute  prohibition  to  kill  or  take  salmon  in  any  of  the  rivers  named,  or  in  the 
bays,  estuaries,  channels,  or  sea-ways  into  which  they  flow,  for  the  space  of  five  years,  under 
the  penalty  of  $100  for  each  and  every  such  offence,  the  whole  to  go  to  the  informer. 

The  term  of  five  years  is  selected,  as  giving  an  opportunity  to  the  fish  to  breed  three  times 
previous  to  the  capture  of  any. 

The  large  amount  of  the  penalty,  and  its  disposition,  are  assumed  to  be  necessary,  in  order 
to  induce  neighbors  and  fishermen  to  inform  one  against  the  other ;  the  ordinary  small  fine, 
exacted  in  the  usual  game-laws,  having  been  found  utterly  inoperative  to  procure  the  rendition 
of  informations. 

2.  The  prohibition,  under  the  same  penalties,  of  taking  trout  in  the  same  waters  and 
their  tributaries,  for  the  same  terms  of  years. 

This  clause  is  adopted  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  between  trout  and  the 
young  salmon  fry,  which,  unless  thus  protected,  would  be  liable  to  destruction,  as  their 
congeners  the  brook  trout. 

3.  The  prohibition,  under  the  same  penalties,  forever,  of  taking  salmon  between  the  months 
of  October  and  April,  in  any  of  the  waters  named  or  their  tributaries,  or  on  their  spawning- 


AGRICULTURAL   ZOOLOGY.  347 

beds,  or  on,  or  within  half  a  mile  of,  above  or  below,  any  fish-weir,  dam,  or  run-way,  over 
which  the  lish  may  pass  at  any  season  of  the  year. 

4.  The  prohibition,  under  the  same  penalties,  of  the  erections  of  any  stake-weirs  or  per- 
manent nets,  extending  from  either  shore,  above  one-third  of  the  width  of  the  stream,  or 
intercepting  the  main  channel  or  current  of  the  river. 

5.  The  absence  of  any  clause,   providing  that  persons  shall  not  be  held  answerable  in 
penalties  for  violating  the  said  prohibitions — on  their  own  ground.     Such  exception  having 
been  found  invariably  and  totally  to  prevent  and  nullify  the  operation  of  all  protective  laws, 
and  to  preclude  all  benefit  arising  from  them. 

6th,  and  lastly,  a  statute  compelling  all  mill-owners,  proprietors  of  dams,  weirs,  or  the 
like,  to  erect,  within  a  certain  number  of  months  after  the  passage  of  the  act,  to  every  fall, 
weir,  or  mill-dam,  exceeding  four  feet  in  height,  a  slope  or  apron,  extending  on  the  lower 
side  of  the  fall,  from  a  point  one  foot  below  the  head  of  water  maintained,  to  the  bottom  of 
the  river  at  &n  angle  of  not  exceeding  forty-five  degrees  to  the  horizon ;  such  aprons  not  to 
be  less  than  twenty  feet  in  width,  or  the  whole  width  of  the  stream  in  the  smallest  brooks ; 
and  in  rivers  of  two  hundred  yards  and  upwards  in  width,  not  less  than  one  hundred  yards  in 
width,  and  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  main  current  or  tide-way  of  the  stream  or  river. 

These  are  the  conditions — easy  conditions,  it  seems  to  us — on  which  it  is  offered  to  make 
an  attempt,  which,  there  is  little  doubt,  would  prove  fully  successful.  That  they  are  strictly 
practicable,  as  far  as  constitutionality  is  concerned,  cannot  be  doubted.  They  trespass  on 
the  rights  of  no  man ;  would  entail  but  a  small  expense  on  a  small  class  of  property  holders, 
which  no  man  of  ordinary  patriotic  feelings  could  hesitate  a  moment  to  incur  for  the  carrying 
out  of  the  great  aims  in  view. 

Further  than  this,  we  believe  the  protection  asked  would  be  adequate  to  the  carrying  out 
of  the  plan,  and  that  no  degree  of  protection,  short  of  that  which  is  asked,  would  be 
adequate. 

That  the  object  aimed  at  is  worthy  of  a  trial,  is  not  to  be  denied  or  doubted  ;  ami  that,  it' 
attainable,  it  would  be  productive  of  great  national  benefit,  is  as  certain — it  being  no  less 
than  the  creation,  or,  at  least,  the  regeneration,  of  a  new,  or  quasi  new,  branch  of  national 
industry,  which  would  necessarily  employ  and  produce  a  large  capital,  which  would  give 
work  and  wages  to  several  thousands,  probably,  of  hands,  and,  what  is  of  yet  more  conse- 
quence, would  furnish,  in  these  times  of  high  prices,  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  increasing 
lU'inand  for  food,  a  cheap  and  abundant  article  of  nutriment  for  the  masses. 

Again,  the  necessary  outlay  for  restoring  these  waters  is  rated  at  so  mere  a  trifle,  that  it 
is  unworthy  of  a  thought — the  estimated  expense  of  stocking  the  rivers  named,  in  the  first 
instance,  not  exceeding  a  thousand  or  two  of  dollars,  added  to  the  individual  outlay  of  a  few 
mill-owners,  in  remodelling  their  dams  in  a  manner  which  would  permit  of  the  ingress  and 
regress  of  the  fish,  without,  in  any  wise,  affecting  the  height  of  the  head  of  water  or  the 
supply  maintained  by  the  present  system. 

Artificial  Propagation  of  Fish  in  Ohio. 

AT  the  Ohio  State  Agricultural  Fair  for  1854,  specimens  of  trout,  artificially  propagated, 
were  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Ackley  and  Garlick,  and  attracted  much  attention  as  the  successful 
result  of  one  of  the  earliest  efforts  made  in  this  direction  in  the  United  States.  In  the  Ohio 
Farmer,  for  September,  1855,  we  find  the  following  account  of  Messrs.  Ackley  and  Garlick's 
proceedings,  furnished  by  the  last-named  gentleman.  Mr.  G.  says : — 

Early  in  the  spring  of  last  year,  Prof.  H.  A.  Ackley  and  myself  determined  to  make  the 
experiment  of  artificially  breeding  fishes.  After  some  deliberation,  we  concluded  to  select 
the  speckled  trout  (Salmo  fontinalis)  for  our  first  experiment.  Accordingly,  in  the  month  of 
August  last,  I  started  for  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  with  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  parent 
fishes,  while  Prof.  Ackley  was  preparing  a  suitable  place  for  their  reception,  by  building  a 
dam  across  a  very  fine  large  spring  of  water  on  his  farm,  some  two  miles  from  Cleveland. 
There  was  no  difficulty  in  capturing  as  many  as  I  desired ;  but  it  was  quite  another  kind  of 
sport  to  transport  them  alive  a  distance  of  near  six  hundred  miles.  After  various  vexation?, 


318  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

among  which  was  the  loss  of  the  first  shipment,  we  succeeded  in  getting  down  three  lots,  in 
all  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  in  fine  condition,  and  lodged  them  safely  in  their  new  home, 
where  they  seemed  as  happy  and  as  sportive  as  they  were  in  the  beautiful  blue  waters  of 
Lake  Superior.  In  the  month  of  September,  I  made  a  trip  to  Port  Stanley,  Canada,  for 
another  lot,  and  succeeded  in  getting  home  about  forty  mere  specimens,  constituting,  certainly, 
a  very  fair  beginning  to  our  enterprise.  We  did  not,  however,  expect  to  rear  any  young 
fishes  this  season,  for  we  supposed  the  transportation,  &c.  would  prevent  thenf  from  depositing 
their  eggs;  but  in  this  we  were  most  agreeably  disappointed,  for,  on  the  15th  of  November, 
we  discovered  unmistakable  evidences  that  they  were  about  to  engage  in  this  interesting  pro- 
cess. Several  male  trout  had  proceeded  up  the  stream,  and  commenced  preparing  the  beds 
in  which  the  eggs  were  to  be  deposited.  This  was  done  by  removing  all  the  sediment  and 
sand  from  certain  gravelly  locations.  These  beds  were  about  one  foot  in  diameter,  consisting 
of  coarse  and  fine  pebbles,  the  spaces  or  interstices  between  which  were  to  be  the  future 
depository  for  the  eggs.  This  peculiar  construction  of  their  beds,  or  nests,  is  highly  essential 
to  their  preservation,  as  it  protects  them  from  being  washed  away  by  freshets,  also  from 
being  devoured  by  small  fishes,  which  are  always  prowling  about  seeking  them  for  food.  The 
male  trout  at  this  time  was  very  beautiful,  being  decked  out  in  the  most  gaudy  colors  imagina- 
ble, and  his  actions  showed  clearly  enough  that  he  was  quite  vain  of  his  personal  appear- 
ance. In  the  course  of  five  days,  the  females  made  their  appearance.  They  were  not  near 
so  gaudy  in  their  dress ;  but  had  a  most  staid  and  matronly  look.  The  next  step  was  choosing 
their  mates.  After  the  usual  amount  of  flattering  attentions  to  the  females,  with  which  they 
seemed  highly  delighted,  and  some  battles  among  the  males,  this  important  matter  was  settled, 
apparently  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties.  t  Our  trout  were  from  four  to  six  weeks  later 
than  their  usual  time  in  depositing  their  eggs,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  vicissitudes  incident 
to  transportation,  change  of  water,  &c. 

On  the  20th  of  November  they  had  fairly  commenced  operations,  one  pair  offish  occupying 
each  bed — the  male  manifesting  the  utmost  jealousy,  and,  if  any  suspicious  interloper  ap- 
proached, he  was  instantaneously  attacked  and  driven  off.  On  the  21st,  I  captured  a  pair  by 
means  of  a  landing-net,  and  placed  them  in  a  bucket  of  water,  and,  being  provided  with  an 
earthen  vessel,  I  made  my  first  attempt  at  artificially  spawning  and  impregnating  the  eggs. 
This  was  accomplished  as  follows :  I  partially  filled  the  earthen  vessel  with  water,  and,  taking 
the  female  in  my  left  hand,  and  making  gentle  pressure  on  her  abdomen  with  my  right,  the 
eggs  were  forced  into  the  earthen  vessel  containing  the  water ;  the  male  was  treated  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  manner,  forcing  the  spermatic  fluid  into  the  same  vessel ;  the  nppearance  of 
the  eggs  was  almost  immediately  changed  from  their  bright  golden-orange  color  to  a  pale 
transparent  yellow ;  they  were  then  placed  in  running  water  with  the  vessel  containing  them. 
On  the  9th  of  January,  one  of  the  eggs  was  placed  under  a  microscope.  The  egg,  which  at 
first  had  been  a  simple  cell,  was  now  multiplied  into  a  countless  number  of  cells,  of  diflFerent 
sizes,  with  traces  of  blood-vessels ;  the  eyes  also  being  perceptible.  On  the  22d  of  January, 
we  examined  them  again,  and  to  our  joy  we  found  a  young  fish,  which  had  just  left  its  nar- 
row place  of  confinement  to  try  its  new  mode  of  existence  ;  it  was  very  lively  in  its  motions, 
but  could  not  be  considered  an  expert  swimmer,  owing  to  an  appendage  to  its  abdomen,  of 
nearly  the  size  of  the  egg,  which  in  fact  it  was,  containing  the  material  for  the  further 
development  of  the  yet  very  imperfect  fish ;  this  sack  was  filled  with  a  multitude  of  minute 
cells,  whose  absorption  keeps  pace  with  the  development  of  the  fish.  When  the  young  fish 
leaves  its  egg,  it  measures  about  half  an  inch  in  length  ;  neither  the  month,  gills,  nor  any  of 
the  abdominal  viscera  are  visible,  all  of  which  would  be  plainly  discerned  with  the  micro- 
scope, if  they  existed,  owing  to  its  almost  perfect  transparency.  The  heart,  with  the  prin- 
cipal blood-vessels,  and  even  the  corpuscles  of  blood,  are  beautifully  shown  with  a  microscope 
of  moderate  power.  Their  external  appearance  is  remarkable.  The  eyes,  are  large  and 
quite  well  developed ;  the  pectoral  fins  are  also  in  an  advanced  stage  of  development,  and  in 
constant  and  rapid  motion,  which,  I  think,  in  the  more  advanced  stage  of  the  fish,  has  some- 
thing to  do  with  its  respiration,  as  they  are  placed  near  the  opening  of  the  gill-covers.  The 
other  portions  of  the  fish  are  quite  rudimentary,  no  other  fins  being  perceptible  ;  but  in  their 
place  is  an  attenuated  margin,  or  finlike  substance,  as  on  the  tail  of  the  tadpole,  commencing 


AGRICULTURAL   ZOOLOGY.  349 

where  the  dorsal  fin  should  be,  and  continuing  uninterruptedly  around  the  caudal,  and  ter- 
minating with  the  anal  fin,  or  rather  where  it  should  'K>. 

This  finlike  substance  undei-goes  a  constant  change  as  the  fish  grows  older.  At  fourteen 
days,  the  dorsal,  adipose,  caudal,  and  anal  fins  are  plainly  seen ;  but  as  yet  none  of  them 
have  rays,  except  the  caudal,  in  which  they  are  very  distinct.  The  rays  of  the  caudal  fin 
are  first  apparent  at  the  centre,  although  the  general  form  of  the  rudimentary  tail  is  very 
unsymmetrical,  the  superior  lobe  being  the  larger,  and  the  outline  not  unlike  that  of  the  tails 
of  many  heterocercal  fishes.  At  this  age  the  fish  has  more  than  doubled  its  former  length ; 
the  mouth,  gills,  and  abdominal  viscera  are  visible :  and  it  manifests  a  desire  to  take  food  by 
nibbling  at  the  unhatched  eggs,  and  pieces  of  meat  placed  in  the  vessel  containing;  them.  Its 
color  is  now  materially  changed,  being  of  darkish  gray  on  its  back  and  upper  portions  of  its 
side.  The  sack  suspended  from  the  abdomen  at  this  time  becomes  smaller  and  less  globular 
in  form,  being  more  contracted  anteriorly  and  posteriorly.  The  habits  of  the  little  creature 
are  also  much  changed,  as  it  now  swims  smartly,  and  endeavors  to  hide  itself  whenever 
disturbed. 

Owing  to  imperfections  in  our  arrangements  where  we  placed  the  eggs  for  hatching,  accu- 
mulations of  sediment  buried  them  up,  destroying  them  by  hundreds ;  this  accumulation  was 
much  more  fatal  when  the  embryo  fish  was  nearly  ready  to  make  its  exit  from  the  egg.  To 
avoid  their  further  destruction,  on  the  26th  of  January  we  brought  the  remaining  e.u 
our  office,  and  placed  them  in  a  glass  jar,  and  supplied  them  and  the  young  fish  with  fresh 
water  daily.  In  this  situation  they  have  remained  until  the  present  time,  the  young  fish 
making  their  appearance  from  day  to  day,  the  last  one  rupturing  its  oval  envelope  on  the 
10th  day  of  February.  I  have  seen  as  many  as  six  make  their  appearance  in  as  many 
minutes.  The  temperature  of  the  water  at  the  spring  was  42°  Fahrenheit.  Since  they  were 
brought  to  the  office,  the  water  in  which  they  have  been  kept  has  varied  from  42°  to  50°. 

This  experiment  has  afforded  us  one  of  the  finest  opportunities  to  be  de>ired  for  the  study 
of  embryology  ;  but  professional  duties  have  prevented  u^  from  making  as  minute  observations 
as  we  could  have  wished.  We  have,  however,  repeatedly  and  distinctly  seen  the  blood-cor- 
puscles in  the  returning  veins  enter  the  auricle  of  the  heart  and  then  pass  into  the  ventricles, 
and  from  tlieuee  into  the  aorta.  Altogether,  it  lias  afforded  us  one  of  the  most  j.le.-isiim;  and 
instructive  lessons  in  the  early  stages  of  animal  existence  that  we  have  ever  had.  Another 
fact,  in  which  all  are  interested,  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  :  Every  one  who  may  be  so 
fortunate  as  to  possess  a  spring  of  water  of  moderate  size  can  rear  this  charming  fish  in 
great  numbers,  and  the  streams  that  have  been  depopulated  by  the  untiring  zeal  of  the 
angler  can  be  replenished  with  a  little  trouble  and  at  a  small  expense. 

After  the  eggs  have  been  obtained  from  the  female  fish  and  impregnated,  it  is  necessary  to 
remove  them  to  a  suitable  place  for  incubation.  Messrs.  Ackley  and  Garlick  adopted  the 
following  plan: — At  the  head  of  a  spring  we  built  a  house  eight  feet  in  width  by  twelve  feet 
in  length.  We  placed  a  tank — made  of  two-inch  plank — four  feet  wide  by  eight  feet  long, 
and  two  feet  deep,  in  the  end  of  the  building  nearest  the  bank.  The  water  from  the  spring 
enters  the  tank  through  a  hole  near  the  top,  and  escapes  through  a  similar  hole  at  the  other 
end,  from  whence  it  is  received  into  a  series  of  ten  successive  boxes.  These  boxes  are 
eighteen  inches  long,  eight  inches  wide,  and  six  inches  deep,  and  are  so  arranged  that  the 
first  box  is  much  higher  in  the  series  than  the  last  one.  They  must  be  filled  with  clean  sand 
and  gravel  to  the  depth  of  about  two  inches,  the  sand  being  placed  at  the  bottom.  The  im- 
pregnated eggs  are  to  be  scattered  over  and  among  the  gravel,  care  being  taken  not  to  have 
them  in  piles  or  masses.  The  boxes  should  be  carefully  examined  every  few  days,  after  the 
eggs  have  been  deposited  in  them,  and  all  the  eggs  which  have  lost  their  vitality  should  at 
once  be  removed.  This  may  be  effected  with  a  pair  of  forceps  made  of  wire,  the  jaws  of 
which  should  be  flattened  a  little,  in  order  to  seize  the  egg  with  greater  facility.  The  eggs 
which  have  lost  their  vitality  may  very  readily  be  distinguished  from  the  others  by  their 
whiteness. 

It  is  very  desirable  that  pure,  clear  water  should  be  used,  in  order  to  avoid  a  deposition 
of  sediment,  which  is  very  destructive  to  the  eggs,  particularly  towards  the  close  of  the  term 
of  incubation.  When  sediment  is  found  to  be  accumulating,  the  water  should  be  agitated 


350  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

with  a  goose-quill  or  soft  brush,  moving  the  quill  or  brush  briskly  about  in  the  water,  and 
then  suffer  it  to  run  off.  Repeat  this  process  until  the  water  is  free  from  sediment,  and  runs 
off  clear ;  or  the  eggs  may  be  removed  into  a  vessel  filled  with  clean  water,  with  a  skimmer, 
there  to  remain  while  the  boxes  are  being  cleansed.  The  hatching-boxes  should  be  grated, 
on  that  side  from  which  the  water  escapes,  with  wire  cloth,  the  meshes  of  which  should  be 
sufficiently  fine  to  prevent  the  eggs,  or  the  young  fish,  when  they  make  their  appearance, 
from  passing  out.  A  very  neat  and  convenient  hatching  apparatus  is  the  flat  wicker-basket, 
the  interstices  of  which  are  fine  enough  to  prevent  the  eggs  from  passing  through.  These 
baskets  are  to  be  placed  in  running  water.  Care,  however,  must  be  taken,  as  well  as  with 
all  other  apparatus  for  the  same  purpose,  that  a  place  be  selected  where  the  current  of  the 
water  is  not  so  rapid  as  to  wash  or  pile  the  eggs  up  in  the  end  opposite  to  where  the  water 
enters.  Whenever  the  baskets  become  foul  by  sediment  or  vegetable  matter,  the  eggs  can  be 
transferred  to  a  clean  one,  and  the  basket  cleansed.  A  conduit  or  flume  must  be  con- 
structed, of  plank  or  boards,  to  contain  a  sufficient  depth  of  water,  in  which  the  baskets  are 
to  be  placed.  The  utmost  cleanliness  is  absolutely  necessary  during  the  whole  time  of  incu- 
bation ;  it  is  one  of  the  essentials  to  insure  success. 

The  method  adopted  by  Gehen  and  Remy  was  to  place  the  eggs  in  zinc  boxes  of  about  one 
foot  diameter,  with  a  lid  or  cover  on  them,  and  the  sides  of  each  box  being  pierced  full  of 
small  holes,  care  being  taken  to  have  the  edges  of  the  holes  very  smooth.  These  boxes,  then, 
were  partly  filled  with  sand  and  gravel,  and  then  placed  in  running  water.  They  partially 
buried  the  boxes  in  the  gravelly  bottom  of  the  streams,  and  there  examined  them  from  time 
to  time.  The  plan  adopted  by  M.  Costa,  at  the  College  of  France,  is  to  arrange  several  pa- 
rallel boxes,  in  the  form  of  steps,  on  each  side  of  the  principal  one,  which  is  placed  at  the  top 
of  the  series,  from  which  all  the  others  are  supplied  with  water,  the  top  one  being  supplied 
from  a  fountain,  and  the  supply  of  water  being  regulated  by  a  stop-cock.  In  this  case  the 
eggs  are  placed  on  willow  hurdles  instead  of  gravel. 

Whatever  plan  may  be  adopted,  great  care  and  watchfulness  are  essentially  necessary  to 
insure  success.  A  vegetable  parasite,  termed  by  naturalists  Byssus,  frequently  attaches 
itself  to  the  eggs,  and  destroys  them.  The  best  way  to  remedy  this  evil  is,  to  remove  very 
carefully  all  the  eggs  that  are  free  from  the  parasite,  and  throw  those  away  which  have  been 
attacked,  and  at  the  same  time  thoroughly  cleanse  the  boxes  or  baskets. 


Fish-breeding  in  France. 

IN  a  recent  visit  to  the  fish-hatching  establishment  of  M.  Coste,  in  Paris,  the  French 
Minister  of  Agriculture  reports  that  he  found  there  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  newly- 
hatched  fish,  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  which  had  only  just  been  brought  up  from 
the  establishment  at  Huniguen.  All  this  large  number  were  conveyed  to  Paris  at  the  same 
time,  and  without  a  perceptible  loss.  The  fish  comprised  common  trout,  trout  from  the 
lakes,  salmon  from  the  Rhine,  and  trout  from  the  Swiss  lakes. 

Growth  of  Fish. 

WHILE  Pisciculture  is  gaining  ground  in  every  country  in  modern,  Europe,  it  may  be 
amusing  to  our  readers  to  publish  certain  facts  within  our  own  knowledge  relative  to  the 
increase  in  size  of  fish  in  particular  waters  in  Belgium.  The  growth  of  the  salmon,  as 
proved  by  the  marked  fish  in  the  Scotch  fisheries,  is  notorious,  and  has  already  been  fully 
noticed.  In  four  months'  time,  it  has  been  proved  that  the  young  fry,  between  the  period  of 
their  leaving  their  native  rivers  for  the  sea  and  their  return,  have  increased  in  weight  varying 
from  three  to  seven  pounds.  Without  the  positive  proof  of  identity  by  marking,  this  would 
have  been  considered  wholly  chimerical.  We  have  now  to  notice  the  increase,  in  the 
waters  at  Boitsfort,  near  Brussels,  of  the  jack,  the  only  species  of  fresh-water  fish  which  has 
as  yet  been  put  to  the  test  in  regard  to  its  growth.  In  these  waters,  in  October,  in  1852, 
about  two  thousand  were  left  as  stock,  none  exceeding  two  pounds  in  weight,  the  fish 
thus  put  in  being  indigenous  to  the  water ;  these  fish  have  been  caught  the  present  month 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  351 

with  rod  and  line  as  high  as  six  pounds  each,  showing  an  excess  in  weight  of  four  pounds  in 
sixteen  months — a  rate  only  known  in  the  first  rivers  in  England.  But  the  most  extraor- 
dinary increase  has  been  in  the  fish  not  indigenous.  In  the  month  of  March  of  last  year,  a 
fresh  supply  of  jack  was  put  in  as  stock  from  a  neighboring  water,  the  largest  being  three 
pounds  in  weight ;  these  fish  were  marked  by  cutting  off  a  portion  of  their  tail  fin.  Two  of 
the  fish  thus  marked  were  caught  last  week,  one  weighing  eight  and  a  half  pounds,  another 
seven  and  a  half  pounds,  thus  showing  a  positive  increase  as  to  one  of  five  and  a  half 
pounds,  in  a  period  of  eleven  months,  taking  it  even  upon  the  assumption  that  the  fish  so 
caught  were  those  weighing  the  excess  of  weight  of  three  pounds  when  put  in,  and  of  which 
weight  there  were  but  few.  We  have  been  informed  that  in  these  waters  the  other  descrip- 
tion offish,  such  as  carp,  tench,  perch,  and  eels,  increase,  as  to  the  two  former,  alter  the  rate 
of  two  pounds  per  annum;  but  this  will  form  the  subject  of  future  experiment  by  marking, 
which  has  not  been  hitherto  done.  It  is  generally  known  that  change  of  water  from  that  in 
which  they  have  been  bred  is  most  productive  of  profit  to  fresh-water  fish ;  but  it  would  be 
incredible,  without  the  proof,  that  a  fish  of  three  pounds  could  add  five  and  a  half  pounds  to 
its  weight  within  the  period  of  a  year.  For  the  information  of  amateurs  in  the  i/t-ntle  art, 
the  lake  in  which  these  jack  are  is  of  about  ten  acres,  supplied  with  three  continuous  streams 
of  water  running  through  it.  No  fish  breed  in  it  but  roach,  jack,  perch,  and  eels,  the  cold- 
ness of  the  contributory  water  stopping  all  breeding  of  carp  and  tench  ;  the  supply  of  the 
latter  being  through  store-fish  of  from  three  ounces  to  half  a  pound,  which,  from  observa- 
tions made,  increase  in  the  ratio  before  mentioned. — Brussels  Herald. 

Transporting  Eggs  of  Fishes. 

IN  the  last  sitting  of  the  French  Societe  Zoologique  d* Acclimation,  M.  Millet  detailed  a 
series  of  experiments  he  had  lately  made  in  conveying  foe  undated  eggs.     The  result  was,  he 
•lint   the  eir.i:-.  when  wrapped   up  in  wet  cloths  and  placed  in  boxes  with  moss,  to  pre- 
vent  them  from  becoming  dry  and  being  jolted,  may  safely  be  conveyed  not  only  during 
twenty  or  thirty,  but  for  even  more  than  -  --ither  l»y  water,  railway,  or  diligence. 

He  added  that  he  had  now  in  his  possession  eggs  about  to  be  hatched,  which  have  been 
brought  from  the  most  distant  parts  of  Scotland  and  Germany,  and  even  from  America.  .M. 
Millet  stated  a  fact  which  was  much  more  curious — namely,  that  fecundated  eggs  of  different 
descriptions  of  salmon  and  trout  do  not  perish,  even  when  the  cloths  and  moss  in  which  they 
are  wrapped  become  frozen.  "He  had  even  been  able,"  he  said,  "to  observe,  by  means  of  a 
microscope,  that  a  fish  just  issuing  from  the  egg,  and  of  which  the  heart  was  seen  to  beat, 
was  not  inconvenienced  by  being  completely  frozen  up.  This  he  explained  by  the  fact  that 
the  animal  heat  of  the  fish,  even  in  the  embryo  state,  is  sufficient  to  preserve  around  it  a 
certain  quantity  of  moisture." 

Effects  of  Legislative  Enactments  in  Re-creating  Fisheries. 

THE  following  extract,  from  a  recent  report  of  the  "Inspectors  of  Irish  Fisheries,"  shows 
conclusively  the  good  effect  of  judicious  protective  enactments  in  re-creating  fisheries  in 
rivers  where  they  are  rapidly  dying  out : — In  illustration  of  the  benefits  of  a  steady  perseve- 
rance in  a  proper  system,  we  may  allude  to  the  Foyle — a  noble  river  in  the  North  of  Ireland, 
washing  the  walls  of  Londonderry — "where  the  produce  has  been  raised  from  an  average  of 
forty-three  tons  previous  to  1823,  to  a  steady  produce  of  nearly  two  hundred  tons,  including 
the  stake-weirs  in  the  estuary,  and  very  nearly  to  three  hundred  tons,  as  we  believe,  in  the 
year  1842."  The  inspectors  also  mention  the  effects  of  protection  in  the  case  of  the  small 
river  of  Newport,  county  Mayo.  In  three  years,  after  the  parliamentary  regulations  were 
introduced  and  enforced,  the  produce  of  this  river  was  raised  from  half  a  ton,  or,  at  the  ut- 
most, a  ton  every  season,  to  eight  tons  of  salmon  and  three  tons  of  white  trout,  for  the  season 
ending  the  third  year,  with  every  prospect  of  further  increase.  Another  fact,  bearing  upon 
this  point  in  our  own  country,  is,  that  by  the  enactment  of  certain  prohibitory  laws  as  to  the 
taking  of  the  fish  at  undue  seasons,  and  the  erection  of  insuperable  obstacles  to  the  ingress 


352  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

of  the  breeding  fish  and  the  regress  of  the  .W/K//.V,  as  the  young  fry  are  teelmu-ally  termed 
on  their  descent  to  the  sea,  the  supervisors  of  the  county  of  Oswego,  in  New  York,  have  suc- 
ceeded in  re-establishing  fisheries  in  the  waters  of  the  Salmon  River  and  its  tributaries, 
to  the  great  advantage  of  the  circumjacent  regions.  From  these  facts  it  is  clear  that,  by  the 
extension  of  similar  provisions  to  any  waters  wherein  sahnnn  have  formerly  existed,  bir 
now  extinct,  coupled  -with  measures  considerately  undertaken  for  repeopling  the  breeding 
streams  about  their  head  waters  with  young  fry,  all  and  every  one  of  our  eastern  Atlantic 
rivers  might  be  rendered  equally  prolific  with  those  noble  salmon  rivers,  the  St.  John,  the 
Miramichi,  the  llestigonche,  the  Nepisiquit,  and  others  llowing  into  the  bays  of  (.'haleurs 
and  Gaspe,  and  more  so  than  the  Foyle,  the  Tay,  the  Clyde,  the  Forth,  and  other  Scottish 
and  Irish  rivers,  even  in  their  improved  condition. 

On  the  Sterility  of  many  of  the  Varieties  of  the  Domestic  Fowl,  and  other 

Hybrid  Species. 

THE  following  is  a  paper  recently  read  before  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  by 
Dr.  KneeL-i nd,  of  Boston: — 

The  strange  mania  which  has  of  late  years  manifested  itself  for  unnatural  crosses  in  birds 
and  quadrupeds,  might,  if  properly  investigated,  and  with  an  eye  to  science  rather  than  to 
gain,  lead  to  many  interesting  facts  bearing  upon  hybridity.  I  do  not  refer  to  the  imposi- 
tions passed  upon  a  public  always  ready  to  be  cheated,  but  to  the  real,  bond  fide  crossings  of 
allied  and  remote  species.  There  was  a  time  when  most  naturalists  believed  that  all  our 
varieties  of  domestic  stock,  as  of  cattle,  sheep,  goats,  dogs,  fowls,  &c.,  were  derived,  each 
genus  respectively,  from  a  single  wild  original ;  and  that  man's  care,  or  rather  his  abuse, 
had  obtained  from  this  the  numerous  existing  varieties.  In  the  present  state  of  our  know- 
ledge, we  think  we  are  justified  in  saying  that  the  varieties  of  cattle,  of  the  dog,  &c.,  have 
been  produced  by  the  crossing,  natural  and  forced,  of  several  more  or  less  nearly-allied  spe- 
cies ;  for  instance,  who  shall  dare  to  decide  between  the  Asiatic  buifalo,  the  European  au- 
rochs, and  Cuvier's  extinct  species,  as  the  undoubted  wild  original  of  the  varieties  of  our 
cattle  ?  Whence  the  necessity  of  reducing  all  varieties  to  a  single  stock,  endowed  with  great 
powers  of  variation,  especially  when  there  are  several  wild  species,  each  equally  entitled  to 
be  considered  the  original  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  the  simplest  view  of  the  case  is  the  best — 
viz.  that,  these  varieties  are  the  result  of  the  mingling  of  many  species,  guided  by  the 
wants  or  caprices  of  man.  In  other  words,  I  believe  that  no  one  wild  original  can  lay  claim> 
to  the  origination  of  the  varieties  of  our  cattle,  of  our  sheep,  of  our  goats,  of  our  dogs,  of 
our  barn-yard  fowls ;  and,  to  carry  the  opinion  to  the  legitimate  consequences,  that  no  one 
species  of  man  can  lay  claim  to  the  paternity  of  all  the  human  varieties. 

The  reasons  for  this  opinion  have  been  often  stated,  and  need  not  be  repeated  here  ;  some 
new  observations  will  only  be  added  in  confirmation.  And  yet,  with  this  belief  in  the  di- 
versity of  origin  of  our  domesticated  animals  and  the  human  races,  it  seems  to  me  that 
hybridilji  is  a  true  test  of  specific  difference.  It  is  an  axiom  with  some,  that  different  species  will 
not  produce  fertile  offspring  ;  and  hence,  to  them,  the  fact  of  the  production  of  such  offspring 
proves  that  the  parents  belong  to  the  same  species.  On  the  contrary,  Dr.  Morton  makes 
different  degrees  of  hybridity,  the  offspring  being  more  prolific  according  to  the  nearness  of 
the  species ;  thus  making  hybridity  no  test  of  specific  difference.  Of  these  two  opposite 
opinions,  I  prefer  the  first.  By  a  hybrid  race,  I  do  not  understand  an  offspring  prolific  for  a  few 
generations,  and  then  gradually  dying  out,  or  feebly  supported  by  crossing  with  the  original 
stocks  ;  but  a  race  capable  of  propagating  itself,  without  deterioration,  or  without  any  :; 
ance  from  either  of  the  parent  stocks.  Such  a  race,  I  maintain,  the  world  has  never  seen, 
and  never  will  see,  under  the  present  laws  of  animated  nature.  You  may  take  any  part  of 
the  animal  scale,  from  a  barn-yard  monster  to  a  mulatto,  and  the  fact  is  the  same ;  they  can- 
not hold  their  own ;  they  must  and  do  return  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  primitive  stocks,  or 
must  die  out,  unless  crossed  by  the  pure  originating  blood. 

The  subject  which  suggested  these  remarks  is  the  sterility  and  deterioration  of  some  of  the 
highly-bred  varieties  of  our  domestic  fowls.     It  has  become  quite  a  general  source  of  com- 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  353 

plaint  by  many  farmers  in  this  section  of  the  country,  who,  in  times  past,  had  plenty  of  eggs, 
and  to  spare,  from  a  small  number  of  common  fowls,  that,  since  the  origin  of  the  mania 
which  has  happily  been  called  the  "  Hen  Fever,"  they  have  found  themselves,  with  their 
improved  gigantic  breeds,  unable  to  procure  any  thing  like  their  usual  supply  of  eggs  from 
the  same  number  of  birds ;  and  that  they  have  not  only  raised  the  birds  at  the  expense  of 
several  dollars  a  pound,  but  have  been  obliged  to  buy  eggs  for  family  use.  This  has  become 
such  a  source  of  annoyance  and  pecuniary  loss,  that  it  deserves  to  be  considered.  It  is  a 
natural  consequence  of  forcing  birds  from  different  countries  and  of  different  origins  to  pro- 
pagate a  hybrid  offspring,  for  this  very  reason  prone  to  degeneration,  which  is  increased  by  this 
impossibility  of  crossing  the  hybrids  by  the  supposed  pure  originals.  The  size  of  the  birds 
seems  to  be  obtained  in  this  case  at  the  expense  of  the  reproductive  powers.  The  admix- 
ture of  different  original  species,  and  breeding  "in  and  in,"  have  been  carried  beyond  the 
limits  fixed  by  nature,  and  deterioration  is  the  result. 

To  ascend  from  birds  to  man,  what  we  have  seen  in  our  domestic  fowls,  we  find  occurring 
again  in  the  mulatto  and  other  hybrid  human  races.  The  mulatto  is  often  triumphantly 
appealed  to  as  a  proof  that  hybrid  races  are  prolific  without  end.  Every  physician  who  has 
seen  much  practice  among  the  mulattoes  knows  that,  in  the  first  place,  they  are  far  less  pro- 
lific than  the  blacks  or  whites ;  the  statistics  of  New  York  State  and  City  confirm  this  fact 
of  daily  observation ;  and  in  the  second  place,  when  they  are  prolific,  the  progeny  is  frail, 
diseased,  short-lived,  rarely  arriving  at  robust  manhood  or  maturity.  Physicians  need  not 
be  told  of  the  comparatively  enormous  amount  of  scrofulous  and  deteriorated  constitutions 
found  among  these  hybrids. 

The  Colonization  Journal  furnishes  some  statistics  with  regard  to  the  colored  population  of 
New  York  City,  which  must  prove  painfully  interesting  to  all  reflecting  people.  The  late 
census  showed  that,  while  other  classes  of  our  population  in  all  parts  of  the  country  were 
increasing  in  an  enormous  ratio,  the  colored  were  decreasing.  In  the  State  of  New  York, 
in  1840,  there  were  fifty  thousand ;  in  1850,  only  forty-seven  thousand.  In  New  York  City, 
in  1840,  there  were  eighteen  thousand;  in  I860,  seventeen  thousand.  According  to  the 
New  York  City  Inspector's  report  for  the  four  months  ending  with  October,  1853 — 

1.  The  whites  present  marriages 2,230 

"    colored     "  "        16 

2.  The  whites      "       births 6,780 

"    colored     "  "     70 

3.  The  whites       "       deaths  about 6,000 

(exclusive  of  2,152  among  116,000  newly -arrived  emigrants,  and  others  unac- 

climated.) 
"    colored  exhibit  deaths 160 

giving  a  ratio  of  deaths  among  acclimated  whites  to  colored  persons  of  thirty-seven  to  one ; 
while  the  births  are  ninety-seven  whites  to  one  colored.  The  ratio  of  whites  to  colored  is  as 
follows : — 

Marriages,  140  to  1;  births,  97  to  1;  deaths,  37  to  1. 

According  to  the  ratio  of  the  population,  the  marriages  among  the  whites,  during  this  time, 
are  three  times  greater  than  among  the  colored ;  the  number  of  births  among  whites  is  twice 
as  great.  In  deaths,  the  colored  exceed  the  whites  not  only  according  to  ratio  of  population, 
but  show  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  deaths  to  seventy-six  births,  or  seven  deaths  to  three  births 
— more  than  two  to  one.  The  same  is  true  of  Boston,  so  far  as  the  census  returns  will  enable 
us  to  judge.  In  Shattuck's  census  of  1845,  it  appears  that  in  that  year  there  were  one  hundred 
and  forty-six  less  colored  persons  in  Boston  than  in  1840,  the  total  number  being  1842. 
From  the  same  work,  the  deaths  are  given  for  a  period  of  fifty  years,  from  1725  to  1775, 
showing  the  mortality  among  the  blacks  to  have  been  twice  that  among  the  whites. 
Of  late  years,  Boston,  probably,  does  not  differ  from  itself  in  former  times,  nor  from  New 
York  at  present.  In  the  Compendium  of  the  United  States  Census  for  1850,  p.  64,  it  is  said 
that  the  "declining  ratio  of  the  increase  of  the  free  colored  in  every  section  is  notable.  In 
New  England,  the  increase  is  now  almost  nothing ;"  in  the  South-west  and  the  Southern 
States,  the  increase  is  much  reduced  ;  it  is  only  in  the  North-west  that  there  is  any  increase, 
"indicating  a  large  emigration  to  that  quarter." 

23 


354  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

What  must  become  of  the  black  population  at  this  rate  in  a  few  years?  What  are  the 
causes  of  this  decay  ?  They  do  not  disregard  the  -laws  of  social  and  physical  well-being  any 
more  than,  if  they  do  as  much  as,  the  whites.  It  seems  to  me  one  of  the  necessary  conse- 
quences of  attempts  to  mix  races  ;  the  hybrids  cease  to  be  prolific ;  the  race  must  die  out  as 
mulatto  ;  it  must  either  keep  black  unmixed,  or  become  extinct.  Nobody  doubts  that  a 
mixed  offspring  may  be  produced  by  intermarriage  of  different  races — the  Griquas,  the 
Papuas,  the  Cafusos  of  Brazil,  so  elaborately  enumerated  by  Prichard,  sufficiently  prove 
this.  The  question  is,  whether  they  would  be  perpetuated  if  strictly  confined  to  intermar- 
riages among  themselves ;  from  the  facts  in  the  case  of  mulattoes,  we  say  unquestionably 
not.  The  same  is  true,  as  far  as  has  been  observed,  of  the  mixture  of  the  white  and  red 
races,  in  Mexico,  Central  and  South  America.  The  well-known  infrequency  of  mixed  off- 
spring between  the  European  and  Australian  races,  led  the  colonial  government  to  official 
inquiries,  and  to  the  result  that,  in  thirty-one  districts,  numbering  fifteen  thousand  inhabit- 
ants, the  half-breeds  did  not  exceed  two  hundred,  though  the  connection  of  the  two  races 
was  very  intimate. 

If  any  one  wishes  to  be  convinced  of  the  inferiority  and  tendency  to  disease  in  the  mu- 
latto race,  even  with  the  assistance  of  the  pure  blood  of  the  black  and  white  races,  he  need 
only  witness  what  I  did  recently — viz.  the  disembarkation,  from  a  steamboat,  of  a  colored 
pic-nic  party,  of  both  sexes,  of  all  ages,  from  the  infant  in  arms  to  the  aged,  and  of  all  hues, 
from  the  darkest  black  to  a  color  approaching  white.  There  was  no  old  mulatto,  though 
there  were  several  old  negroes;  many  fine-looking  mulattoes,  of  both  sexes,  evidently 
the  first  offspring  from  the  pure  races ;  then  came  the  youths  and  children,  and  here 
could  be  read  the  sad  truth  at  a  glance.  The  little  blacks  were  agile  and  healthy- 
looking  ;  the  little  mulattoes,  youths  and  young  ladies,  further  removed  from  the  pure  stocks, 
were  sickly,  feeble,  thin,  with  frightful  scars  and  skin-diseases,  and  scrofula  stamped  on 
every  feature  and  every  visible  part  of  the  body.  Here  was  hybridity  of  human  races,  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances  of  worldly  condition  and  social  position. 


Alpaca,  or  Peruvian  Sheep. 

THE  following  is  an  abstract  of  a  paper  by  Capt.  James  Pedersen,  read  before  the  United 
States  Agricultural  Society,  Washington,  February,  1854,  on  the  alpaca,  or  Peruvian  sheep: — 
It  is  well  known  that  for  several  years  past  various  attempts  have  been  made  by  those  inte- 
rested in  the  advancement  and  improvement  of  the  races  of  domestic  animals,  to  introduce  the 
llama,  alpaca  and  vecuna,  of  South  America  into  England  and  the  continent  of  Europe. 
Owing  to  the  extreme  care  of  the  Peruvian  government  at  all  times  against  allowing  those 
animals  to  be  exported,  most  of  the  attempts  made  have  been  unavailing.  A  few  specimens 
have,  however,  been  introduced  from  time  to  time,  and  in  almost  every  case  have  been  found 
to  thrive  and  adapt  themselves  to  the  changes  in  climate.  This  is  especially  the  case,  so  far 
as  regards  their  introduction  into  England.  It  is  therefore  reasonable  to  draw  the  inference 
that  if  the  removal  of  these  animals  from  their  native  mountains  to  the  comparatively  ntoist 
and  humid  climate  of  England  has  not  proved  injurious  to  them,  they  certainly  cannot  fail 
to  be  indifferent  to  a  change  to  the  Middle,  Western,  and  Northern  States  of  America. 

The  character  and  habits  of  these  animals  is  very  similar  to  that  of  our  own  sheep,  or  per- 
haps an  amalgamation  of  them  and  of  those  of  the  domestic  goat.  They  are  gregarious, 
excessively  gentle,  and  timid  to  a  degree.  One  valuable  quality  they  possess,  that  deserves 
especial  attention,  is,  that  they  require  neither  keeper  nor  fence,  or  at  most  one  of  the  slight- 
est description ;  for  wherever  they  are  driven,  there  will  they  remain  for  hours,  or  for  days 
even,  without  wandering  more  than  a  few  yards  from  the  spot* 

To  those  who  are  not  aware  of  the  extreme  difficulty  that  there  always  has  been  to  obtain 
these  animals,  owing  to  the  jealousy  of  the  Peruvians  to  their  being  exported,  it  may  appear 
extraordinary  that  efforts  on  a  large  scale  have  not  been  long  since  made  to  introduce  them. 
From  time  immemorial  the  llama  has  borne  an  inestimable  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  southern  Pacific  coasts.  They  have  found  in  them  combined  the  beast  of  bur- 
den for  the  transit  of  ore  from  the  mines  of  Andes  to  the  seaboard,  the  raw  material  for 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  355 

clothing  in  their  wool,  and  wholesome  nourishment  in  their  flesh.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
Egyptians  of  old,  the  value  of  the  animal  clothed  it  centuries  ago  with  the  character  of 
sanctity.  And  thence  arose  and  have  been  perpetuated  prejudices  which  superstition  has 
nurtured  into  fixed  principles.  So  that  in  the  present  day  the  Peruvian  associates  the  idea 
of  personal  misfortune,  if  not  sacrilege,  with  the  separation  of  his  favorite  llama  from  his 
native  home.  The  mild  temper  and  perfect  domestication  of  these  animals  have  led  to  the 
establishment  of  an  attachment  between  the  Peruvian  and  his  flock  of  sheep  analogous  to 
that  existing  between  the  Arabian  and  his  horse.  But  the  difficulties  in  procuring  the 
animals  are  not  dependent  upon  national  prejudice  only.  The  laws  of  the  country  preclude  the 
export  of  them,  and  so  stringently  are  they  enforced  that  I  have  ascertained  upon  undoubted 
authority  that  repeated  but  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been  made  by  the  resident  ministers 
from  European  courts  at  Lima,  in  their  official  character,  to  obtain  them.  And  the  same 
result  attended  an  application  made  some  time  since  by  our  minister,  Mr.  J.  Randolph  Clay, 
who  was  directed,  at  the  instance  of  the  New  York  Agricultural  Society,  officially  to  apply  for 
permission  to  obtain  them. 

An  incident  has  been  discovered,  also,  which  deserves  mention,  as  evincing  the  strong  pre- 
judice alluded  to  above,  which  is  this — namely,  that  in  several  instances  in  which  these  ani- 
mals have  been  purchased  by  individuals  for  export  in  some  indirect  way,  it  has  been  after- 
wards ascertained  that  the  llamas  had  been  in  some  way  injured  so  as  to  insure  their  early 
death  after  leaving  the  country.  And  I  regret  to  say  that  in  my  own  attempt  recently 
made,  I  have  found  that  one  of  my  animals  had  been  thus  treated.  As  an  evidence  of  the 
high  esteem  in  which  these  alpacas  are  regarded  as  an  addition  to  the  domesticated  animals, 
I  may  mention  that  in  my  searches  in  Peru  to  obtain  them,  I  met  with  an  individual  who  is 
at  this  very  time  stationed  upon  a  rancho  on  the  border,  but  without  the  boundary  of  the 
country,  where  he  is  rearing  them  for  the  purpose  of  their  export  to  Australia.  And  I  found 
from  him  that  he  has  made  arrangements  with  the  government  in  Australia  for  the  sale  of 
all  the  alpacas  that  he  sends  there  at  the  rate  of  £60  a  head,  without,  however,  being 
restricted  from  finding  a  better  market  for  them  if  he  can  do  so;  the  sole  object  of  the  govern- 
ment being  to  procure  the  introduction  of  the  animals  into  the  country. 

These  animals  are  found  in  all  parts  of  South  America  upon  the  Pacific  coast,  from  the 
equator  to  about  the  twenty-fifth  degree  of  south  latitude,  inhabiting  principally  the  moun- 
tainous ranges,  frequently  at  the  height  of  twelve  to  fourteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  and  in  the  region  of  continual  mist  and  snow.  It  is  not,  however,  in  these  in- 
temperate regions  alone  that  they  find  a  congenial  abode ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  found 
to  prosper  equally  on  the  middle  elevations  of  the  Andes,  where  in  the  summer  the  clouds 
accumulated  from  the  evaporations  of  the  sea  are  blown  over  and  burst  in  torrents  of  which 
we  can  form  but  a  faint  idea.  No  change  of  temperature  appears,  however,  to  affect  these 
interesting  animals;  and  when  to  these  considerations  is  added  the  circumstance  that  in 
temper  and  docility  they  combine  the  intelligent  vivacity  of  the  deer  tribe  with  the  meek 
and  confiding  innocence  of  our  own  sheep,  it  appears  impossible  to  conceive  an  animal  better 
adapted,  in  every  point  of  view,  to  form  a  valuable  addition  to  our  farms  and  homesteads. 
Such  an  animal  would  live  and  thrive  where  sheep  would  starve. 

It  is  of  course  as  a  wool-producing  animal  that  the  alpaca  is  esteemed  in  Europe,  and  in 
which  its  value  would  consist,  if  introduced  into  this  country.  And  there  are  large  tracts 
of  unprofitable  mountainous  country  in  the  Western  States  that  are  admirably  adapted  to  its 
habits. 

The  following  comments  on  the  character  of  the  alpaca  wool,  and  the  hardiness  of  the  ani- 
mal, are  taken  from  a  recent  publication  by  Mr.  Walton,  of  Scotland.  He  says: 

"There  are  instances  of  alpaca  wool  measuring  thirty  inches  long;  frequently  it  is  seen 
twenty  inches,  and  it  averages  from  eight  to  twelve.  In  the  samples  there  appeared  to  be  no 
under  wool — no  closer  and  intermediate  covering.  There  is,  in  the  mass,  what  is  technically 
called  a  trueness ;  that  is,  an  equal  growth,  and  an  exemption  from  shaggy  portions,  accom- 
panied by  a  soundness,  by  which  is  meant  the  general  strength  of  the  fibre — properties,  cer- 
tainly of  the  first  import  to  the  manufacturer.  In  consequence  of  this  characteristic  dispo- 
sition, alpaca  wool  breaks  less  in  the  act  of  combing,  is  freer  from  shreds,  spins  easily,  and, 


356  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

not  being  so  harsh  or  so  stubborn,  does  not  injure  the  machinery  so  much.  The  thread  spun 
with  it  is  also  finer  and  truer.  In  the  manufacture  of  fine  goods,  it  is  agreed  that  the  pile 
cannot  be  too  soft  or  too  silky,  provided  the  strength  of  the  fibre  is  not  impaired.  As  well 
as  I  could,  I  have  compared  the  strength  of  a  filament  of  alpaca  with  those  of  other  wools, 
and  found  it  the  strongest;  and  as  it  is  devoid  of  that  irregularity  of  surface,  (the  knots  and 
joints  which  some  persons  liken  to  those  of  a  bamboo  cane,)  the  cloth  made  from  it  must  con- 
sequently be  less  harsh  to  the  touch.  Another  advantage  consists  in  the  greater  weight  of 
the  fleece,  for  it  ranges  from  ten  to  twelve  pounds ;  whereas  that  of  our  full-grown  sheep 
seldom  exceeds  eight  pounds,  and  in  the  small  breeds  from  four  pounds,  downwards.  From 
the  larger  size  of  the  animals,  and  the  increased  surface  consequently  covered,  the  alpaca 
necessarily  yields  most  wool ;  and  it  has  already  been  ascertained  that  on  British  pasture  the 
weight  improves.  At  the  Royal  English  Agricultural  Show,  held  at  Liverpool  in  July,  1844, 
a  sample  of  black  wool  was  exhibited,  taken  from  an  alpaca  belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Derby's 
flock,  the  staple  of  which  appeared  to  be  about  a  foot  long,  when  his  lordship's  farm-agent 
expressed  his  conviction  that  the  same  animal  had  then  seventeen  pounds  upon  its  back. 

"Another  material  question  is,  Could  the  alpaca  live  in  our  country?  Although  delicate  in 
appearance,  the  alpaca  is  perhaps  one  of  the  hardiest  animals  of  the  creation.  Nature  has 
provided  him  with  a  thick  skin  and  a  warm  fleece,  and  as  he  never  perspires,  like  the  ordi- 
nary sheep,  he  is  not  so  susceptible  of  cold. 

"Another  great  advantage  in  the  alpaca  is,  that  he  is  not  liable  to  the  many  diseases  inci- 
dental to  common  sheep,  and  which  have  so  often  raged  like  a  pestilence  among  the  tenants 
of  the  Scotch  hills.  In  Peru,  where  the  circumstances  are  as  near  as  possible  alike,  the 
llama  and  alpaca  are  not  hurt  by  changes  of  diet  incidental  to  the  seasons." 

Best  Sheep  for  New  England. 

THE  following  article,  the  result  of  carefully-conducted  experiments,  is  communicated  to 
the  Albany  Cultivator  by  Lawrence  Smith,  of  Middlefield,  Mass. : — 

It  is  the  general  opinion  among  farmers  that  large  animals  will  consume  as  much  more 
food  than  small  ones  as  their  comparative  weights  differ.  Should  this  argument  prove  true 
with  two  animals  of  the  same  species,  (which  I  think  is  very  doubtful,)  it  would  be  a  still 
greater  absurdity  to  suppose  that  the  consuming  powers  could  be  determined  by  the  weight  of 
so  different  species  as  the  New  Oxford  and  Merino.  These  two  breeds  have  been  trained  for 
different  purposes — one,  for  its  thick  coat  of  fine  wool,  without  regarding  its  fattening  pro- 
pensities ;  the  other,  for  a  heavy  carcass,  without  so  much  attention  to  the  quality  of  its  wool. 
I  think,  however,  that  according  to  food  consumed,  there  is  no  breed  of  sheep  which  will  pro- 
duce more  worth  of  wool  than  the  New  Oxford.  A  good  flock  will 'average  8  pounds  easily, 
and  will  readily  sell  for  80  cents  per  pound. 

The  experiments  between  these  two  breeds  have  been  very  carefully  and  accurately  con- 
ducted, in  the  following  manner:  Selected  ten  Merino  ewes,  four  years  of  age,  in  perfect 
health ;  also,  at  the  same  time,  selected  eight  New  Oxford  ewes  about  the  same  age :  had 
them  placed  in  comfortable  quarters,  and  well  watered.  Commenced  with  each  lot  at  the 
same  time ;  weighed  an  equal  amount  of  hay  for  each  from  the  same  place  in  the  mow, 
and  continued  the  experiment  for  seven  successive  days,  giving  them  hay  enough  so  as  to 
have  them  leave  a  little  every  day.  That  which  was  left  was  weighed  and  credited  to  each 
flock.  The  following  result  has  been  obtained: — 

10  Merino  ewes,  weighing  769  pounds,  consumed  in  seven  days 160  pounds  hay. 

8  New  Oxford  ewes,  weighing  1068  pounds,  consumed  in  the  same  time 140       "        " 

From  this  experiment  we  learn  that  9  New  Oxford  ewes,  with  an  aggregate  weight  of 
1201  pounds,  consume  no  more  food  than  10  Merino  ewes,  weighing  769  pounds.  The  rela- 
tive profits  of  these  two  breeds  may  be  set  down  as  follows : — 

For  the  ten  Merino  ewes,  50  pounds  wool,  at  40  cents  per  pound $20.00 

8  lambs,  at  $1.50  each 12.00 

$32.00 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  357 

9  New  Oxford  ewes  will  shear  63  pounds  wool,  at  30  cents  per  pound $18.90 

14  lambs,  at  $3  each 42.00 

$60.90 

In  this  statement  I  have  given  the  highest  figures  we  have  been  able  to  realize  from  Merino 
ewes  that  have  been  carefully  bred  for  a  long  course  of  years.  Few  sheep  in  this  country 
will  come  up  to  it. 

In  figuring  up  the  profits  from  the  Oxford  ewes  and  lambs,  I  have  endeavored  to  set  the 
amount  low  enough  to  insure  equal  results  to  any  farmer  who  possesses  a  soil  of  medium 
quality.  In  the  richest  grazing  districts,  the  profits  would  greatly  exceed  the  sum  I  have  set. 
There  are  many  instances  of  these  lambs  attaining  to  over  one  hundred  pounds'  weight  on 
nothing  but  the  milk  which  the  dam  afforded  and  common  grass  pasture.  The  largest  lamb 
in  our  flock  last  season  (which  was  very  dry)  weighed  104  pounds  at  7  months  of  age. 

The  scarcity  of  these  sheep  in  this  country,  and  the  high  prices  at  which  they  are  held, 
prevents  the  possibility  of  stocking  our  farms  very  plentifully  with  them  at  present.  The 
best  way  for  a  general  introduction  of  this  blood,  at  a  cheap  rate,  is  to  cross  them  on  to  our 
Merino  ewes.  This  cross  produces  lambs  but  very  little  larger  than  the  Merino.  The  experi- 
ment with  farmers  in  this  section  has  proved  very  satisfactory.  The  lambs  are  extremely 
hardy.  They  will  thrive  on  less  milk,  are  more  quiet  in  their  habits,  the  size  is  greatly  in- 
creased, and  the  mutton  is  superior  in  quality. 

These  half-blood  ewe  lambs  should  all  be  saved,  and  when  old  enough,  coupied  again  with 
a  full-blood  buck,  having  no  relationship ;  and  by  repeating  this  process,  always  breeding 
towards  the  thorough-bred  Oxford,  a  beautiful  flock  of  sheep  can  be  obtained  at  a  moderate 
cost. 

These  sheep  possess  qualities  and  attractions  which  entitle  them  to  the  highest  rank  among 
our  domestic  animals.  They  are  just  suited  to  farms  of  moderate  extent.  The  owner  can 
realize  from  a  few  of  them  a  very  handsome  income,  nearly  all  ewes  of  good  size  bearing 
twins.  Their  great  square  forms  and  snow-white  fleeces  form  a  pleasing  contrast  with  the 
green  pastures  on  which  they  feed. 

They  are  orderly  to  a  fault,  never  having  caused  me  the  least  trouble.  They  are  always 
found  in  the  pasture,  if  the  fence  is  passable.  They  can  be  managed  by  any  young  child,  being 
fond  of  society  and  the  caresses  of  the  master.  I  had  supposed,  before  I  commenced  breed- 
ing these  sheep,  that  they  were  rather  dainty  in  their  feeding  habits,  and  would  require  the 
best  of  keeping  in  order  to  make  them  thrive.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  They  rather 
choose  the  coarser  weeds  and  brakes,  a  part  of  the  time,  to  the  best  of  hay. 

Introduction  of  the  Angora  Goat  into  England. 

IN  1852,  Mr.  Salt,  the  eminent  English  manufacturer,  imported  into  England  a  number  of 
Angora  goats,  with  the  intention  of  naturalizing  the  same  in  that  country.  The  experiment 
has  been  highly  successful,  and  at  the  present  time  Mr.  Salt  has  a  numerous  flock  of  angoras, 
which  have  been  bred  in  the  vicinity  of  Bradford.  The  animals  only  require  to  be  kept  from 
wet,  and  cold  does  not  seem  to  injure  them.  The  hair  is  of  a  beautiful  quality,  and  thus  far 
has  not  degenerated.  It  is  known  in  commerce  as  the  "  mohair." 

Mules. 

MR.  R.  COOKRELL,  an  extensive  planter  in  Tennessee,  in  a  communication  to  the  Nashville 
Banner,  gives  the  following  information  respecting  the  mule : — 

"  The  mule  is  the  great  field-laborer  in  the  commanding  staples  of  the  South — cotton, 
sugar,  and  rice ;  and  as  he  is  one  of  the  annual  exports  of  Tennessee,  and  as  he  will  continue 
to  be  so,  he  is  destined  to  hold  even  a  higher  position  than  heretofore  among  the  live-stock  of 
the  State.  The  large,  heavy-boned  mule,  produced  from  overgrown  jacks  of  excessive  heavy 
bone  or  improper  tampering,  are  generally  lazy,  or  soon  become  so  by  labor,  and  become 
very  slow ;  their  driver  may  force  them  on,  but  in  a  few  steps  they  take  their  slow,  natural 
gait  again.  Such  mules  are  therefore  almost  worthless,  and  should  not  be  bred  if  it  can  be 


358  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OP  AGRICULTURE. 

avoided.  The  most  perfect  mules  are  not  to  be  expected  from  the  excessively  large,  coarse- 
boned  jacks,  or  excessive  high  feeding,  but  from  the  laws  of  nature  carried  out  to  the  greatest 
perfection  by  skilful  breeding  and  feeding. 

"An  error  has  existed  for  many  years,  and  still  exists,  concerning  the  size  of  mules.  Size 
has  been  made  a  measure  of  value  in  the  mule,  almost  regardless  of  form  and  spirit,  and  so 
it  has  been  in  their  sire,  the  jack. 

"I  have  been  employing  a  mule  team  for  twenty-five  years  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton  in 
Mississippi,  and  my  team  now  numbers  one  hundred.  In  this  time  I  have  used  every  variety 
of  the  mule  (except  the  most  inferior  kind)  that  has  ever  been  grown.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  planting  operations,  I  adopted  the  prevalent  error  that  size  was  the  measure 
of  value,  and  pursued  it  for  many  years,  much  to  my  prejudice.  By  long  trials,  and  by  com- 
paring the  relative  performances  and  lastingness  of  the  large  team  which  I  have  used,  aided  by 
observation  and  reflection,  I  am  fully  satisfied  that  the  medium-sized  mules,  full  of  spirit  and 
action,  with  a  neat,  firm  leg,  and  a  round  body,  with  his  levers  Bet  right  for  easy  motion,  his 
head  and  ears  up,  ready  to  move  at  the  word,  is  the  animal  of  most  value  of  his  kind." 

Improved  Cattle  for  the^Dairy. 

THE  following  is  an  abstract  of  a  communication  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Ohio 
State  Board  of  Agriculture,  by  George  Vail,  Esq.,  of  Troy,  New  York,  and  published  in  the 
Ohio  Farmer,  on  the  most  approved  cattle  for  dairy  purposes.  Mr.  V.  is  well  known  as  one 
of  the  earliest  importers  and  most  careful  breeders  in  the  United  States : — For  a  number  of 
years  he  imported  and  bred  Shorthorns  exclusively ;  but  as  his  farm  was  not  well  adapted  to 
grazing,  and  after  fully  proving  what  might  be  done  with  that  class  of  cattle,  he  sold  his 
herd  in  1852.  Being  partial  to  improved  stock,  he  has,  since  his  sale,  been  getting  by  im- 
portation, and  selection  in  this  country,  a  small  and  excellent  herd  of  Devons.  He  says : 
"This  breed  of  cattle  is  my  choice  next  to  Durhams.  So  far  as  I  have  tried  them,  I  am  of 
the  opinion  that  when  placed  in  localities  where  pasture  is  abundant,  they  may  prove  profit- 
able to  the  breeder.  The  sprightly  action,  uniform  color,  and  fine  symmetry  of  the  Devons, 
added  to  their  intrinsic  value,  will  render  them  popular  when  they  become  known." 

Mr.  V.,  in  his  communication,  says : — "You  ask  if  for  the  small  farmer  either  of  the  im- 
proved breeds  of  cattle  will  meet  the  public  expectation,  when  we  breed  for  milk  and  fatten- 
ing qualities  in  the.  same  animal,  or  whether  a  cross  with  the  Holderness,  or  other  breeds, 
would  improve  their  qualities  for  all  uses  ?  In  answering  this  question,  I  will  premise  by 
saying  I  am  aware  that  many  Durhams  have  been  bred  with  special  reference  to  their  aptitude 
to  take  on  flesh,  without  much  regard  to  their  milking  qualities ;  consequently,  many  of  these 
are  unfitted  for  the  dairy.  There  are,  however,  families  or  tribes  of  Durhams  possessing 
superior  dairy  qualities,  and  when  no  longer  useful  as  milkers,  on  account  of  age  or  other 
causes,  may  be  turned  off,  and  will  then  take  on  flesh  about  as  rapidly  as  those  which  are 
bred  exclusively  for  the  butcher.  If  I  am  correct  in  this  opinion,  then  I  am  prepared  to 
hazard  the  assertion,  that  no  useful  result  can  be  arrived  at  by  crossing  the  Shorthorn  cow 
with  any  other  breed,  with  the  prospect  of  improving  upon  the  dairy  qualities  of  the  best 
milking  families  or  tribes  of  Shorthorns  which  may  be  procured  in  this  country.  That  there 
are  tribes  of  such  Shorthorns,  that  are  not  inferior  to  the  best  native  dairy-stock  in  the 
country,  I  think  there  cannot  be  a  doubt.  If  so,  then  it  is  obvious  that  it  would  be  a  waste 
of  time  to  attempt  to  rear  a  new  breed  of  cattle  for  dairy  purposes :  as  such  experiments 
would  occupy  many  years  to  test  their  utility,  it  is  believed  that  no  practical  breeder  would 
attempt  it. 

"  I  now  proceed  to  show  that  there  are  specimens  among  Shorthorns  of  this  country  which 
are  superior  to  most  if  not  all  of  the  breeds  of  this  country  for  dairy  purposes.  In  1844, 
the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society  offered  a  premium  for  the  largest  quantity  of  but- 
ter, to  be  the  product  of  six  cows,  of  any  breed,  in  thirty  consecutive  days,  the  cows  to  be 
kept  upon  grass  pasture  or  green  fodder,  and  not  to  be  allowed  slops  or  other  feed  for  thirty 
days  previous  to  and  during  the  trial.  In  order  to  test  the  dairy  qualities  of  the  Shorthorns, 
compared  with  other  breeds,  and  thus  give  the  great  dairy  interests  of  the  country  an  oppor- 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  359 

tunity  to  form  a  judgment  of  the  relative  merits  of  the  different  breeds  of  cattle  for  dairy 
purposes,  I  put  six  Shorthorns  on  trial,  and  kept  them  on  grass  alone,  and  the  result  was, 
they  produced,  in  thirty  days,  262  Ibs.  and  9  oz.  of  butter,  it  being  an  average  of  43  Ibs.  12 
oz.  to  each  cow.  To  ascertain  the  quantity  of  milk  the  six  cows  gave,  I  carefully  weighed 
and  measured  the  milk  drawn  from  them  in  one  day,  and  the  result  was  a  weight  of  265  Ibs. 
10  oz.,  and  measured  184  quarts,  wine  measure,  averaging  22J  quarts  per  day.  It  is  proper 
to  state  that  I  had  twelve  cows,  from  which  I  took  the  six  for  trial.  This  statement  may  be 
found  recorded  in  full  in  the  Transactions  of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  1844, 
page  215.  I  had  one  cow,  'Young  Willey,'  that  produced  in  seven  days  13  J  Ibs.  of  butter. 
I  sold  a  two-year  old  heifer,  called  'Ruby,'  daughter  of  the  above,  to  S.  P.  Chapman,  of 
Madison  county,  N.  Y.  He  put  his  heifer  on  trial,  when  five  or  six  years  old,  to  compete  for 
a  premium  offered  by  the  Society  above  named,  for  the  largest  quantity  of  butter  made  from 
one  cow  in  ten  days  in  June,  and  ten  days  in  August,  1850,  to  be  fed  on  grass  pasture  only. 
She  produced  a  fraction  over  forty  pounds  of  butter  in  these  twenty  days,  and  was  awarded 
the  first  premium.  Another  cow  I  called  'Eunice  1st.'  I  had  her  milk,  the  produce  of  one 
day,  measured,  and  the  result  was  thirty-two  quarts,  wine  measure.  Eunice  2d  produced  in 
one  day  thirty-four  and  a  half  quarts  of  milk,  and  there  had  previously  been  made  from  her 
milk  nineteen  and  a  half  pounds  of  butter  in  seven  days.  Beside  the  tribes  of  which  the 
above  were  members,  I  had  others  of  superior  milking  qualities,  which  I  could  refer  to;  and 
I  doubt  not  there  could  be  selected  from  the  numerous  herd  of  Shorthorns  in  this  country 
equally  good  milkers  with  those  referred  to. 

"I  do  not  desire  to  mislead  any  one  in  this  matter,  and  therefore  it  is  proper  to  say,  that 
although  it  is  a  generally  received  maxim  in  cattle-breeding  that  'like  begets  like,'  yet  there 
may,  and  probably  will  be,  individual  exceptions  to  this  rule,  relative  to  the  milking  qualities 
of  the  progeny  of  every  animal  bred  from  such  cows.  My  experience  is,  that  it  is  rare  that 
a  failure  will  occur,  when  uniform  good  milkers  are  bred  to  a  male  descended  from  an  equally 
good  milking  stock.  Hence  it  will  be  seen  that  the  selection  of  the  male  is  all-important 
when  milking  qualities  are  sought.  I  entertain  the  opinion  that  cows,  heifers,  or  steers, 
reared  from  cows  possessing  fine  milking  qualities,  will,  when  needed  for  the  shambles,  put 
on  flesh  as  fast,  and  with  as  little  expense,  as  those  not  in  possession  of  good  capacities  for 
milk.  The  milking  and  fattening  qualities  of  the  Shorthorns  (and  those  two  qualities  con- 
stitute the  value  of  this  or  any  other  breed)  are  to  be  found  in  great  perfection  in  most  of 
the  herds  of  the  country,  in  separate  animals.  By  commingling  these,  there  could  be  pre- 
sented to  the  country  a  breed  of  animals  of  great  value. 

"In  conclusion,  I  remark,  that  it  seems  to  me  that  there  is  another  good  reason  for  not 
attempting  to  improve  by  crossing,  as  the  Shorthorns  are  a  well-established  breed,  perfected 
by  a  long  course  of  scientific  breeding,  with  pedigrees  for  many  generations  recorded  in  the 
herd-book,  which  will  always  prove  a  great  convenience  to  such  as  may  keep  and  breed  the 
Shorthorn  for  dairy  purposes." 

Management  of  Dairy  Stock. 

•At  the  request  of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  Mr.  Horsfall,  a  gentleman 
of  great  celebrity  and  success  as  a  dairy  farmer,  furnished,  in  May  last,  a  paper  respecting 
the  methods  pursued  by  him  for  the  feeding  and  management  of  cows  for  dairy  purposes. 
The  following  abstract  of  this  valuable  paper,  prepared  for  the  N.  Y.  Country  Gentleman  from 
the  publications  of  the  Society,  gives  the  essential  features  of  Mr.  Horsfall' s  plans  and  opera- 
tions : — Mr.  H.  commences  his  report  of  his  mode  of  management  with  his  dairy  stock,  by 
saying  that  he  had  found  it  stated  on  good  authority  that  store  cattle  of  a  fair  size  maintain 
their  weight  and  condition  for  a  length  of  time  when  supplied  daily  with  120  Ibs.  of  Swedish 
turnips  and  a  small  portion  of  straw,  and  that  the  experience  of  a  district  in  Yorkshire,  where 
meadow  hay  is  the  staple  food  during  winter,  shows  that  such  cattle  maintain  their  condition 
on  33  Ibs.  of  such  hay  each,  per  day.  These  respective  quantities  of  turnips  and  of  hay  cor- 
respond very  closely  in  their  nutritive  properties,  containing  a  very  similar  amount  of  albu- 
minous matter,  starch,  sugar,  and  phosphoric  acid. 


360  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

These  same  quantities  of  food,  or  their  equivalents,  if  supplied  to  cows  in  milk,  and  of  the 
same  size,  will  be  found  insufficient,  as  the  cows  will  lose  perceptibly  in  condition.  This  is 
easily  explained  when  we  find  their  milk  rich  in  substances  which  serve  for  their  support 
when  in  store  condition,  but  going  to  the  formation  of  milk  when  kept  for  dairy  purposes. 
Even  the  accumulated  stores  of  flesh  and  fat  on  a  milch  cow  seem  to  be  drawn  upon,  and 
converted  into  components  of  milk,  caseine,  or  butter.  Dairymen  near  large  towns,  where 
fodder  is  higher  than  in  rural  districts,  and  where  the  dairy  produce  is  disposed  of  in- new 
milk,  take  advantage  of  the  fact  just  stated.  They  prefer  altogether  cows  in  high  condition 
when  they  purchase  them,  finding  that  their  stores  of  flesh  and  fat  will  serve  to  be  converted 
into  milk  at  a  cheaper  rate  than  by  purchasing  fodder.  They  supply  their  cows  with  sloppy 
food,  more  adapted  to  induce  quantity  than  quality ;  and  when  the  cow  has  lost  greatly  in 
condition,  and  is  no  longer  profitable,  she  is  sold  to  purchasers  in  farming  districts,  where 
food  is  cheaper,  to  be  fattened  again  for  dairy  purposes  or  for  the  butcher. 

But  when  cows  are  kept  mainly  for  the  production  of  butter,  for  which  poor  milk  is  not 
adapted,  the  food  of  .such  cows  must  be  that  which  is  best  adapted  for  an  abundant  supply 
of  the  product  wanted.  With  a  view  to  determine  the  kind  of  food  best  adapted  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  best  quality  of  butter,  Mr.  H.  was  led  to  give  attention  to  the  chemical  com- 
position of  milk.  From  several  analyses,  he  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  taking  a  full 
yield  of  milk,  four  gallons  a  day,  which  will  weigh  upwards  of  40  Ibs.,  there  will  be,  on  an 
average,  of  dry  or  solid  material,  5-20  Ibs.,  consisting  of 

Pounds. 

Pure  caseine 2-00 

Butter 1-25 

Sugar 1-75 

Phosphate  of  lime 0-09 

Chloride  of  potassa,  and  other  mineral  ingredients 0*11 

^20 

In  endeavoring  to  supply  abundant  material  for  these,  by  furnishing  their  elements  in  the 
food,  Mr.  H.  found  that  turnips  are  objectionable  on  account  of  their  flavor,  which  has  led 
him  to  use  them  but  very  little  for  his  dairy  stock,  and  to  use,  in  moderate  quantities,  instead 
of  them,  cabbage,  kohl  rabi,  and  mangel-wurzel.  If  hay  alone  were  to  be  used  to  supply 
the  constituents  of  a  full  yield  of  milk,  it  would  require  an  addition  to  the  quantity  needed 
for  bare  maintenance  so  large  th,at  no  cow  could  be  induced  to  consume  it. 

Finding  that  he  could  not  use  hay  and  turnips  in  such  a  way  as  to  keep  his  dairy  cows  in 
good  condition,  and  also  to  furnish  them  with  an  ample  supply  of  the  elements  of  milk  for 
the  production  of  butter,  Mr.  H.  sought  the  aid  of  such  substances  as  are  rich  in  albumen, 
oil,  and  phosphate  of  lime,  paying  regard  to  their  comparative  cost  with  a,  view  to  profit. 
He  thinks  that  nitrogenous  and  other  substances  have  a  higher  value  for  special  than  for 
general  purposes,  and  that  this  adaption  of  materials,  characterized  by  peculiar  properties, 
has  not  yet  gained  the  attention  to  which  it  is  entitled.  After  repeated  trials  to  ascertain 
the  kind  of  food  best  adapted  to  produce  a  full  supply  of  milk  rich  in  butter,  in  addition  to 
keeping  his  cows  in  good  condition,  Mr.  H.  has  adopted  the  plan  which  follows,  and  which 
we  give  in  his  own  words: — 

"My  food  for  milch  cows,  after  having  undergone  various  modifications,  has  for  two  sea- 
sons consisted  of  bean  straw,  oat  straw,  and  shells  of  oats,  in  equal  proportion,  rape-cake,  5 
Ibs.,  and  bran,  2  Ibs.  per  day,  for  each  cow.  These  materials  are  blended  together,  moistened, 
and  well  steamed.  They  are  supplied  three  times,  ad  libitum,  per  day,  in  a  warm  state. 
The  attendant  is  allowed  1  Ib.  to  1J  Ib.  per  cow,  according  to  circumstances,  of  bean  meal, 
which  he  is  charged  to  give  to  each  cow  in  proportion  to  the  yield  of  milk ;  those  in  full  milk 
getting  2  Ibs.  each  per  day,  others  but  little.  It  is  mixed  with  the  steamed  food  on  its  being 
dealt  out,  separately ;  when  this  is  eaten  up,  green  food,  consisting  of  cabbages  from  October 
to  December,  kohl  rabi  till  February,  and  mangel  till  grass-time.  With  a  view  to  nicety  of 
flavor,  I  limit  the  supply  of  green  food  to  from  30  to  35  Ibs.  per  day  each.  After  each  feed, 
4  Ibs.  of  meadow  hay,  or  12  Ibs.  per  day,  are  given  to  each  cow.  They  are  allowed  water 
twice  per  day  to  the  extent  they  will  drink." 

As  some  of  the  materials  used  by  Mr.  H.  are  not  in  common  use  as  food,  he  annexes  some 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  361 

remarks  on  what  he  regards  as  their  distinctive  properties : — Bean  straw,  uncooked,  is  dry 
and  unpalatable,  but  by  the  process  of  steaming  it  becomes  soft  and  pulpy,  emitting  an  agree- 
able odor,  and  imparting  flavor  and  relish  to  the  mess.  It  should  be  cut  on  the  short  side 
of  ripeness,  which  it  may  be  without  interfering  with  the  plumpness  of  the  bean.  In  albu- 
minous matter,  which  is  especially  valuable  for  milch  cows,  bean  straw  has  nearly  double 
the  proportion  contained  in  meadow  hay.  Bran  also  undergoes  a  great  improvement  in  its 
flavor  by  steaming,  and  it  is  probably  improved  in  its  capacity  of  being  readily  converted  into 
nutriment.  Bran  contains  about  14  per  cent,  of  albumen,  and  is  peculiarly  rich  in  phos- 
phoric acid,  nearly  two  per  cent,  of  its  whole  substance  being  of  this  material.  The  proper- 
ties of  rape-cake  are  such  as  will  cause  it  to  be  more  highly  valued  than  it  has  ever  hitherto 
been  for  dairy  purposes,  if  the  opinion  of  Mr.  H.  in  regard  to  it  be  not  altogether  too  high. 
It  contains  nearly  30  per  cent,  of  albumen,  and  is  rich  in  phosphates,  and  also  in  oil.  The 
objection  made  by  some  to  it  on  account  of  its  flavor,  Mr.  H.  has  overcome  by  his  mode  of 
preparing  it  by  steaming,  &c.  The  cattle  do  not  refuse  it,  and  the  flavor  is  not  at  all  per- 
ceptible in  the  milk  or  butter.  During  the  month  of  May,  Mr.  H.  turns  out  his  cows  on  a 
rich  pasture,  housing  them  at  night,  and  supplying  them  with  a  mess  of  the  steamed  mixture 
and  a  little  hay,  morning  and  evening.  From  June  to  October  mown  grass  is  given  instead 
of  hay,  in  addition  to  what  they  get  in  the  pasture,  and  also  two  feeds  of  the  steamed  mix- 
ture. This  is  continued  till  October,  when  the  cows  are  again  wholly  housed.  With  such 
treatment,  Mr.  H.'s  cows  usually  give  from  12  to  16  quarts  (imperial)  of  milk  per  day,  and 
keep  in  good  condition  at  the  same  time  for  about  8  months  after  calving.  Then  they 
usually  fall  below  12  quarts,  and  gain  several  pounds  every  week  in  fat  and  flesh.  Another 
advantage  or  element  of  profit  is  the  richness  of  his  manure  from  cows  so  fed.  His  pasture 
lands  are  yearly  improved,  and  not  impoverished.  The  average  amount  of  butter  from  every 
16  quarts  of  milk  is  25  ounces. 

On  the  Fattening  of  Cattle. 

THE  following  is  the  substance  of  a  prize  essay  on  the  fattening  of  cattle,  by  George  Debits, 
published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society: — 

"The  first  point,"  he  says,  "is  to  have  a  good  sort  of  bullock  to  begin  upon.  I  do 
not  recommend  any  particular  breed  to  the  depreciation  of  all  others,  because  different 
localities  require  different  descriptions  of  animals ;  but  caution  breeders  that  it  is  right  to 
select  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  breed  they  intend  purchasing,  and  warn  them  par- 
ticularly never  to  purchase  a  coarse,  ill-made,  bad-bred  animal,  because  they  may  fancy  it 
is  cheap.  A  man  has  never  got  so  bad  a  bargain  as  when  he  has,  as  the  saying  is,  '  got  too 
much  for  money.' 

"The  first  criterion  for  judging  of  the  disposition  of  the  beast  to  fatten  quickly,  in  my 
opinion,  is  that  peculiar,  soft,  supple  feel  of  the  skin  which  is  commonly  called  handling  well. 
This  is  generally  accompanied  by  hair  of  a  soft,  fine  quality,  in  great  plenty.  The  eye  should 
be  full  and  clear,  and  the  head  well  formed ;  the  shoulders  not  upright,  but  lying  well  back ; 
the  chest  full;  the  ribs  deep,  and  well  arched  out;  the  flanks  well  down ;  the  hips  nearly 
level  with  backbone,  and  in  proportion  to  the  rest  of  the  carcass  as  to  width ;  the  rumps  wide, 
and  not  too  low  down,  appearing  as  if,  when  fat,  the  tail  ends  would  be  level,  (but  this  the 
butchers  in  my  neighborhood  are  in  the  habit  of  calling  the  fool's  point;)  the  purse  should  be 
of  full  size  and  soft  to  the  touch,  (this  I  consider  a  material  point;)  the  twist  good;  and  the 
legs  short  and  small  in  proportion  to  the  carcass,  as  the  oflfal  will  be  light  in  proportion  to 
the  leg-bone. 

"Next  observe  the  temper  of  the  animal;  in  selecting  from  a  considerable  drove,  you  will 
often  find  beasts  possessing  many  of  these  good  points,  yet  in  a  lower  condition  than  some 
of  the  animals  of  worse  appearance.  Consider  well  whether  this  may  not  arise  from  the 
masterful  disposition  of  the  ill-made  one,  and  whether,  when  put  to  fatten  where  every  beast 
may  eat  his  share  of  food  without  disturbance,  the  good-bred  one  will  not  soon  surpass  his 
more  masterful  neighbor.  If  you  observe  a  beast  that  is  constantly  watching  an  opportunity 
of  goring  any  other  that  comes  in  his  way,  leave  him  behind,  even  if  he  is  much  heavier  than 


362  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

those  you  select;  he  may  be  a  great  trouble  to  you;  and  although  the  jobber  may  think  you 
have  selected  them  badly,  he  will  sell  them  according  to  what  they  are  worth  at  the  time,  and 
the  present  weight  is  the  great  point  with  him.  For  this  reason,  always  select  the  animals 
before  purchasing,  rather  than  agree  to  give  a  certain  price  per  head  to  pick  where  you  like 
from  the  drove. 

"I  think  the  quality  of  an  animal  is  of  more  consequence  than  his  form  for  common  fatten- 
ing purposes,  but  have  both  good  if  you  can.  But  if  you  are  thinking  of  fattening  an  animal 
to  show  for  a  prize,  be  sure  to  have  his  form  as  perfect  as  possible,  for  all  the  flesh  you  may 
lay  on  him  will  not  hide  any  great  defect  in  his  form ;  also  ascertain,  if  possible,  how  .the  ani- 
mal is  descended:  ten  to  one,  but  the  progeny  becomes  similar  to  the  progenitor.  But  this  is 
generally  a  most  unprofitable  affair,  and  I  strongly  recommend  all  young  farmers  to  leave  it 
in  the  hands  of  those  gentry  who  can  afford  the  loss,  many  of  whom  there  -are  in  the  country, 
and  they  deserve  our  best  thanks  for  their  patriotism,  for  it  certainly  shows  the  capabilities 
of  different  breeds,  and  thereby  enables  the  observing  farmer  to  profit  by  the  experience  of 
others.  Never  buy  any  animals  that  are  excessively  poor;  they  will  consume  a  great  deal 
of  food  before  they  are  got  into  health  enough  to  fatten;  for,  depend  upon  it,  unless  your 
animals  are  well-bought,  fatting  cattle  will  never  pay  enough  to  leave  the  manure  clear  profit, 
which  it  ought  to  do,  although  I  fear  with  the  majority  of  farmers  it  is  far  otherwise. 

"Summer  Grazing. — I  shall  say  but  little  with  respect  to  summer  grazing,  as  the  wording  of 
the  Society's  advertis^nent  appears  to  apply  more  particularly  to  winter  fattening;  merely 
remarking  that  the  fences  should  always  be  kept  thoroughly  good,  a  weak  place  being 
strengthened  before  it  becomes  a  gap — prevention,  in  this  case,  like  many  others,  being  better 
than  cure ;  that  the  bullocks  should  be  well  supplied  with  water,  and  have  plenty  of  shade ; 
never  allow  them  to  be  frightened  by  dogs,  etc. ;  treat  them  kindly,  and  they  will  soon  cease 
to  fear  your  presence ;  do  not  let  a  day  pass,  if  you  can  help  it,  without  seeing  them.  There 
is  an  old  saying  which  ought  to  be  impressed  on  every  farmer's  memory — it  has  been  of  great 
service  to  me  in  the  course  of  my  life;  it  is:  'The  master's  eye  grazeth  the  ox.'  A  friend 
of  mine  has  lately  adopted  a  plan,  which  under  the  same  ^circumstances  I  should  strongly 
recommend ;  it  is  that  of  giving  a  small  quantity  of  oil-cake  to  animals  grazing,  for  the  sake 
of  improving  an  ordinary  pasture,  and  its  effects  are  astonishing.  The  pastures  I  allude  to 
are  small,  and  one  or  two  bullocks  more  than  they  are  calculated  to  carry  are  put  into  each ; 
the  lot  are  then  allowed  four  pounds  of  cake  per  day  per  head;  this,  at  a  cost  of  about  two 
shillings  per  head  per  week,  which  I  believe  the  stock  well  paid  for,  has  entirely  altered  the 
face  of  pastures  from  what  they  were  three  years  ago,  when  the  plan  was  first  adopted  by 
him,  and  I  believe  without  any  loss  to  himself. 

"  Winter  Feeding. — I  now  come  to  the  point  of  winter  feeding.  First,  as  to  the  places  in 
which  they  are  kept,  I  unhesitatingly  give  my  opinion  in  favor  of  stall-feeding,  for  all  the 
common  purposes  of  grazing,  but  not  for  young  beasts  that  are  to  be  summered  again,  or  for 
prize  oxen ;  the  former  should  have  small  well-sheltered  yards,  with  good  sheds ;  if  the  fences 
are  so  high  that  they  cannot  see  over,  it  is  much  the  better ;  and  the  latter,  loose  boxes,  with 
plenty  of  room  for  them  to  walk  about,  because  they  have  to  be  kept  up  for  such  a  long 
period,  that,  if  no  exercise  were  taken,  the  health  might  suffer.  It  is  the  abuse  of  stall- 
feeding  that  'has  got  it  into  disrepute  with  some  people,  and  the  not  treading  down  straw 
enough  with  others.  This  last  I  hold  to  be  an  advantage,  instead  of  a  disadvantage ;  for, 
depend  upon  it,  it  is  not  the  size  of  the  dunghill,  but  the  quality  of  the  manure,  that  causes 
the  farmer's  stack-yard  to  be  well  filled.  If  managed  well,  I  contend  that  there  is  no  plan  so 
good  as  stall-feeding.  The  fattening-house  may  be  of  any  size  or  shape,  but  it  is  necessary 
that  there  should  be  underground  drains,  with  gratings,  to  carry  off  the  urine  into  the  liquid- 
manure  tank ;  shutters  behind  the  bullocks,  to  regulate  the  heat,  and  a  wide  passage  at  their 
heads  to  feed  them  and  clean  their  mangers.  The  advantages  I  conceive  to  be,  the  quantity 
of  litter  required  being  smaller,  therefore  the  muck  being  made  better,  the  temperature  being 
more  easily  regulated,  and  every  bullock  being  allowed  to  eat  his  share  in  peace.  The  disad- 
vantage of  the  animal  not  being  able  to  rub  himself  as  well,  I  consider  fully  done  away  with 
by  the  rough  brush  which  I  recommend  using ;  and  although  theorists  may  fancy  the  health 
of  the  animal  likely  to  suffer,  I  have  never  found  it  so  in  practice. 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  363 

"Now  with  respect  to  their  food,  so  much  does  this  vary,  I  shall  simply  give  the  plan  I 
recoinmeudj  leaving  my  readers  to  follow  it  if  they  like,  and  improve  upon  it  whenever 
they  can. 

",I  think  in  many  instances  stall-feeding  is  not  commenced  early  enough  in  the  autumn. 
As  soon  as  the  weather  becomes  damp,  and  the  days  shorten  much,  say  some  time  in  October, 
the  grass  in  my  neighborhood  loses  its  feeding  properties,  and  then  the  sooner  your  bullocks 
are  put  up  the  better.  For  this  purpose,  I  recommend  having  some  of  the  large  forward 
descriptions  of  turnips  provided ;  perhaps  the  'red  tankard,'  although  watery,  and  soon  becom- 
ing of  little  value,  are  at  this  very  early  season  the  best  of  any,  from  their  early  maturity ; 
these  are  sown  in  April,  at  the  rate  of  an  acre  to  every  eight  bullocks,  which  will  last  them 
three  or  four  weeks,  according  to  the  crop,  and  leave  a  light  fold  to  begin  the  sheep  upon;  at 
the  end  of  which  time  the  forward  Swedes  are  ready  to  begin.  During  this  period  I  give 
them  little  or  no  oil-cake,  if  they  are  only  in  moderate  condition ;  but  they  have  half  a  stone 
of  bran  a  day,  mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of  hay  or  straw  chaff.  Some  persons  may 
fancy  this  food  is  of  too  loosening  a  nature,  but  I  can  assure  them,  from  several  years' 
experience,  that  although  bran  is  loosening  itself,  yet  it  has  the  effect  of  preventing  the 
watery  white  turnip  from  purging  too  much.  Although  the  bullocks  do  not  gain  much  in 
weight  during  this  time,  yet  I  am  satisfied  they  go  on  faster  afterwards ;  the  reason  of  which 
is,  I  suspect,  that  their  bodies  are  more  prepared  for  the  artificial  state  they  have  to  live  in 
for  the  next  few  months.  Early  in  November  the  food  must  be  changed  to  Swedes,  cake, 
etc. — the  quantities  of  each  must  vary  according  to  circumstances;  the  following  I  consider 
a  good  allowance  where  Swedes  are  not  scarce ;  if  they  are,  more  oil-cake  must  be  given 
instead  of  a  part  of  them,  or  if  very  plentiful,  they  may  be  allowed  even  more:  the  morn- 
ing's bait,  one  bushel  of  Swedes,  well  cleaned  from  dirt  and  cut  small,  given  a  few  at  a  time ; 
then,  the  refuse  pieces  being  well  cleaned  out,  a  dry  bait  consisting  of  two  pounds  of  oil-cake, 
three  pounds  of  bran,  and  a  little  hay  chaff.  While  they  are  feeding,  the  manure  and  wet 
litter  must  be  well  cleared  away,  and  any  which  may  be  on  the  bullocks  taken  off,  the  floor 
swept  clean,  and  plenty  of  fresh  litter  put  in ;  then  have  every  bullock  well  brushed  with 
what  is  called  a  dandy-brush,  being  a  brush  made  of  whalebone,  for  taking  the  rough  dirt  off 
of  horses.  (Let  no  slovenly  farmer  fancy  this  to  be  a  whim  of  mine;  depend  upon  it,  the 
bullocks  are  kept  in  much  better  health  and  greater  comfort  for  it.)  They  must  now  be  left 
quiet;  they  will  soon  lie  down  and  rest,  and  chew  the  cud  till  after  dinner,  when  another 
bushel  of  Swedes  is  given  as  before,  in  small  quantities,  followed  by  a  similar  dry  bait  of 
cake,  bran,  and  hay  chaff,  but  with  the  addition  of  three  pounds  of  bean  meal ;  this  is  left 
with  them  at  night.  Be  careful  that  the  shutters  are  opened  or  closed  according  to  the 
weather,  so  as  to  maintain  an  even,  warm  temperature,  but  not  hot  enough  to  make  them 
perspire,  if  it  can  be  avoided.  Be  also  careful  that  the  mangers  are  well  cleaned  out  between 
every  bait.  I  have  mine  cleaned  at  the  commencement  of  the  season,  and  as  often  afterwards 
as  I  think  necessary,  with  scalding-water  and  the  scrubbing-brush. 

"After  a  month  or  so  the  cake  may  be  increased,  and,  if  it  is  thought  more  convenient, 
the  Swedes  may  be  changed  for  mangel-wurzel.  Many  persons  object  to  using  mangel 
until  the  spring ;  they  certainly  are  more  valuable  than  Swedes  in  the  spring,  and  therefore 
should  always  be  used  last.  Never  change  from  mangel-wurzel  to  Swedes,  after  you  have 
once  began  them,  or  the  bullocks  will  not  go  on  so  fast ;  but  if,  from  having  a  bad  crop  of 
Swedes,  or  from  any  other  cause,  you  want  to  begin  mangel  early,  you  have  only  to  lay 
them  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  week  or  two  to  wither,  and  they  may  be  used  as  early  in  the 
season  as  is  required. 

"It  will  be  observed  that  cleanliness,  warmth,  and  quiet  are  the  great  points  I  insist  upon, 
of  course  coupled  with  good  feeding ;  but  very  many  tons  of  oil-cake  are  annually  wasted, 
because  the  comfort  of  the  animals  is  not  more  attended  to. 

"Before  I  conclude,  I  wish  to  give  these  recommendations  respecting  selling  the  bullocks 
when  fat :  Do  not  determine  upon  parting  with  them  exactly  at  a  given  time ;  but  if  a  butcher 
wants  to  buy  a  part  of  them  a  few  weeks  before  you  think  they  are  ready,  calculate  how 
they  are  paying  for  what  they  have  eaten ;  and,  if  you  feel  satisfied  on  that  head,  do  not  run 
the  hazard  of  getting  a  bad  sale  by  refusing  a  good  offer,  or  perchance  the  opportunity  may 


364  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

not  return.  Sell  them  to  butchers  at  home,  if  you  can.  Always  estimate  the  weight  and 
value  of  your  bullocks  the  day  before  any  one  is  coming  to  buy  them ;  and,  after  letting  the 
butcher  handle  and  examine  them  well,  let  them  out  into  a  yard  for  him  to  see ;  they  will 
always  show  better  than  when  tied  up." 


Improving  Stock. 

THERE  is  one  circumstance  relative  to  the  Introduction  of  new  breeds  which  must  not  be 
passed  over  in  silence,  because  no  farmer  can  neglect  it  without  a  certain  loss.  Every  kind 
of  pasture  is  fitted  to  raise  animals  to  a  particular  size ;  when  beasts  of  a  larger  size  are 
brought  in  than  the  quality  of  the  food  is  calculated  to  support,  these  animals,  whether  cows, 
horses,  sheep,  or  any  other  kind,  will  degenerate  apace,  and  never  prove  useful  until  they 
come  down  to  that  standard  or  size  adapted  to  their  situation  and  suited  to  their  food.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  a  smaller  breed  than  ordinary  is  brought  in,  they  continue  to  increase 
in  bulk  until  they  come  up  to  the  pitch  which  is  suited  to  their  nourishment.  But  there  is 
this  remarkable  difference  between  the  two  progressions  in  respect  to  profit — that  in  the  retro- 
grade process,  where  animals  are  brought  from  rich  pastures  and  a  comfortable  situation  to 
the  reverse,  they  are  in  every  instance  worse  than  the  indigenous  breed  ;  whereas,  the  ani- 
mals which  are  brought  from  worse  to  better,  continue  to  improve  until  they  arrive  at  that 
perfection  which  the  change  in  their  situation  is  calculated  to  produce.  These  causes  may 
not  immediately  have  their  full  effect,  but  in  a  few  years  they  certainly  and  evidently  will. 
He  makes,  for  this  reason*  a  much  safer  experiment  who  brings  cattle  from  worse  to  better, 
than  he  who  brings  them  from  better  to  worse. — Agricultural  Report,  Perth  Society,  England. 

Judging  Animals. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  "  Mark  Lane  Express"  (England)  makes  the  following  remarks  on 
the  method  of  judging  and  estimating  the  value  of  animals.  He  says — The  difficulties  which 
are  often  experienced  by  the  most  competent  judges  in  deciding  between  two  really  first-rate 
animals  of  a  first-rate  sort,  are  greater  than  the  majority  of  people  who  have  never  acted  in 
the  capacity  of  judge  have  any  idea  of. 

I  will  take  an  instance  of  two  first-rate  Shorthorn  bulls,  neither  of  them  having  a  faulty 
point.  Judge  A.  says — "What  a  superb  back  No.  1  has !"  B.  says — "But  look  at  the  depth 
of  carcass  in  No.  2."  "  But  the  length  of  the  quarter  in  No.  1 !"  continues  A. ;  and  in  return 
B.  draws  attention  to  the  silky  texture  of  the  skin  of  No.  2.  The  question  is  here  put  to 
Judge  C.,  who  should  decide  the  case ;  but  he  has  to  balance  in  his  mind  whether  a  superior 
back  is  more  to  be  considered  than  an  extraordinary  depth  of  carcass ;  and,  again,  is  a  first- 
rate  quality  of  hide  equivalent  to  an  unusual  length  of  quarter  ?  And  thus  points,  without 
having  some  definite  value  attached  to  them,  might  be  compared  one  against  another  ad 
infinitum,  without  ever  coming  to  a  satisfactory  conclusion. 

Now,  what  I  wish  to  see  is,  a  definite  value  affixed  to  every  point  in  the  perfect  animal, 
and  when  such  cases  of  nicety  as  I  allude  to  do  occur,  let  the  judges  take  point  by  point, 
and  compare  value  in  numbers,  and  then  the  animal  commanding  the  highest  amount  would 
be  the  one  selected.  If  the  perfect  animal  were  50,  the  component  parts  might  be  something 

as  follows: 

Bull.      Sheep.      Boar. 

General  appearance 8  10 

Back  (length  and  width) ; 8  10  8 

Chest 645 

Width  of  hips  and  loin... 545 

Depth  (rotundity  of  carcass) 545 

Quarters 533 

Head v 449 

Hide  (or  wool) 452 

Bone 3  2 

Shortness  of  legs ._2         _1 

50          50          50 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  365 

Blanketing  Cows. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  Rural  Intelligencer,  who  has  been  travelling  through  Holland, 
says  that  "great  care  is  there  taken  of  their  cows,  both  in  winter  and  in  summer.  In  a 
lowery,  wet  day,  you  will  see  the  cows  in  the  field  covered  with  blankets ;  aye,  even  more 
commonly  than  a  horse  is  blanketed  here  in  the  winter.  This  care  is  well  repaid  by  a  greater 
flow  of  milk  and  a  less  consumption  of  forage." 

Hereditary  Diseases  of  Cattle. 

MR.  FINLAY  DUN,  in  a  recent  prize  essay  on  this  subject,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  England,  mentions  as  the  most  important  hereditary  diseases  of  cattle — 
diarrhoea,  rheumatism,  scrofula,  consumption,  dysentery,  malignant  tumors,  and  the  affec- 
tions depending  on  the  plethoric  state  of  the  body.  The  characters  which  cattle  should  pos- 
sess in  order  to  perpetuate  in  their  offspring  a  healthy  and  vigorous  constitution,  he  gives — 
among  others  the  following : — 

"The  head  small;  muzzle  fine  and  tapering;  nostrils  large  and  open;  the  eyes  full  and 
lustrous ;  ears  small,,  and  not  too  thick ;  the  head  well  set  on  the  neck ;  the  distance  between 
the  ears  and  the  angle  of  the  jaw  short,  but  the  width  behind  the  ears  considerable,  (no  dairy 
cow  should  have  a  short,  thick  neck ;)  the  chest  wide  and  deep ;  the  girth,  taken  immediately 
behind  the  shoulder,  should  closely  correspond  with  the  length  from  behind  the  ears  to  the 
rise  of  the  tail ;  the  carcass  of  a  barrel  shape,  for  a  thin,  flat-ribbed  animal  eats  largely, 
thrives  badly,  and  is  usually  liable  to  diarrhoea ;  there  should  be  little  space  between  the 
prominence  of  the  hip  and  the  last  rib ;  the  quarter  large ;  the  measurement  from  the  promi- 
nence of  the  haunch  backwards  to  the  rise  of  the  tail,  and  downwards  to  the  hock,  as  great  as 
possible;  the  lower  part  of  the  haunch  thick  and  broad;  the  hide  thick  and  pliant;  small- 
ness  of  bone  is  a  sure  indication  of  early  maturity  and  aptitude  for  fattening.  These,  among 
other  characters  and  qualities  enumerated  by  Mr.  Dun,  indicate  the  possession  of  a  vigorous 
and  healthy  constitution  and  freedom  from  all  inherent  disease." 

New  Food  for  Sheep. 

A  FOREIGN  correspondent  of  the  Agricultural  Gazette  furnishes  the  following  information 
respecting  the  use  of  the  horse-chestnut  as  a  suitable  food  for  sheep.  He  says :  While  I  was 
at  Geneva,  I  observed  every  one  collecting  carefully  the  fruit  of  the  horse-chestnut,  and  on 
inquiry  I  learnt  that  the  butchers  and  holders  of  grazing-stock  bought  it  readily  at  a  certain 
price  per  busheL  I  inquired  of  my  butcher,  and  he  told  me  it  was  given  to  those  sheep  in 
particular  that  were  fattening.  The  horse-chestnuts  were  well  crushed — something  in  the 
way,  so  I  understood,  that  apples  are  previous  to  cider  being  made.  They  are  crushed  or 
cut  up  in  a  machine  kept  solely  in  Switzerland  for  that  purpose ;  then  about  two  pounds' 
weight  is  given  to  each  sheep,  morning  and  evening.  It  must  be  portioned  out  to  she^p,  as 
too  much  would  disagree  with  them,  being  of  a  very  heating  nature.  The  butcher  told  me 
that  it  gave  an  excellent,  rich  flavor  to  the  meat.  The  Geneva  mutton  is  noted  for  being  as 
highly  flavored  as  any  in  England  or  Wales. 

Corn  and  Cob  Meal. 

THE  grinding  of  corn  and  cobs  together,  which  we  have  heard  ridiculed  very  much  by 
some  formerly,  has  now  become  an  everyday  occurrence,  farmers  being  convinced  that  the 
cob  contains  too  much  nutriment  to  be  thrown  away. 

Our  experience  heretofore  in  regard  to  its  use  is  this :  For  those  animals  that  chew  the 
cud  it  is  a  most  excellent  provender ;  but  for  those  that  do  not,  it  is  not  so  valuable.  Thus, 
for  oxen,  cows,  and  sheep,  it  is  a  capital  feed.  These  animals,  after  what  they  swallow  in 
the  warm  vat,  called  the  first  stomach  or  paunch,  have  the  faculty  of  throwing  it  up  again  in 
small  portions  called  cud,  and  chewing  it  over  in  a  leisurely  manner  until  it  is  ground  very 
fine ;  and  then  after  being  thus  thoroughly  mingled  with  the  saliva,  swallowing  it  again  into 


366  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

another  stomach,  where  all  its  nutritive  matter  is  extracted  by  the  proper  organs  created  for 
that  purpose.  The  horse  and  the  hog,  having  no  such  organs  to  re-chew,  do  not  derive  so  much 
benefit  from  the  ground  cob  as  the  animals  above  named.  Hens  derive  more  benefit  from 
corn  and  cob  meal  than  they  do  from  corn  meal  alone.  lu  fowls  of  this  class  there  is  an 
apparatus  analagous  to  animals  that  chew-  the  cud.  ihrst,  they  take  dry  food  into  their 
crops;  here  it  becomes  soaked  as  if  it  were  in  a  warm  vat;  .from  this  it  passes  into  the  giz- 
zard, which,  furnished  with  gravel-stones,  acts  the  part  of.  grinding  fine,  by  aid  of  the  strong 
muscles  of  that  organ,  whatever  passes  into  it.  Here  the  particles  of  the  cob  meal,  thoroughly 
pulverized,  and  mingled  with  the  gastric  juices,  become  dissolved,  and  form  nutrition  for 
the  body. 

We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  corn  and  cob  meal  is  not  good  provender  for  horses  and  hogs, 
but  that  they  do  not  derive  so  much  benefit  from  pound  for  pound,  or  bushel  for  bushel,  as 
oxen,  cows,  etc.  do. — Maine  farmer. 

Period  of  Human  Life. 

M.  FLOURENS,  the  distinguished  French  physiologist,  has  recently  published  a  book,  in 
which  he  announces  that  the  normal  period  of  the  life  of  man  is  one  hundred  years.  The 
grounds  on  which  he  comes  to  this  new  philosophic  conclusion  may  be  briefly  stated :  It  is, 
we  believe,  a  fact  in  natural  history  that  the  length  of  each  animal's  life  is  in  exact  propor- 
tion to  the  period  he  is  in  growing.  Buffon  was  aware  of  this  truth,  and  his  observa- 
tions led  him  to  conclude  that  the  life  in  different  species  of  animals  is  six  or  seven  times  as 
long  as  the  period  of  growth.  M.  Flourens,  from  his  own  observations  and  those  of  his  pre- 
decessors, is  of  opinion  that  it  may  be  more  safely  taken  at  five  times.  When  Buffon  wrote, 
the  precise  period  at  which  animals  leave  off  growing,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  the  precise 
circumstance  which  indicates  that  the  growth  has  ceased,  was  not  known.  M.  Flourens  has 
ascertained  that  period,  and  thereon  lies  his  present  theory.  "It  consists,"  says  he,  "in 
the  union  of  the  bones  to  their  epiphyses.  As  long  as  the  bones  are  not  united  to  their 
epiphyses,  the  animal  grows ;  as  soon  as  the  bones  are  united  to  the  epiphyses,  the  animal 
ceases  to  grow."  Now,  in  man  the  union  of  the  bones  and  the  epiphyses  takes  place,  accord- 
ing to  M.  Flourens,  at  the  age  of  twenty ;  and,  consequently,  he  proclaims  that  the  natural 
duration  of  life  is  five  times  twenty  years.  "  It  is  now  fifteen  years  ago,"  he  says,  "  since  I 
commenced  researches  into  the  physiological  law  of  the  duration  of  life,  both  in  man  and  in 
some  of  pur  domestic  animals,  and  I  have  arrived  at  the  result  that  the  normal  duration  of 
man's  life  is  one  century.  Yes,  a  century's  life  is  what  Providence  meant  to  give  us."  Ap- 
plied to  domestic  animals,  M.  Flourens's  theory  has,  he  tells  us,  been  proved  correct.  "  The 
union  of  the  bones  with  the  epiphyses,"  he  says,  "  takes  place  in  the  camel  at  eight  years  of 
age,  and  he  lives  forty  years ;  in  the  horse  at  five  years,  and  he  lives  twenty-five  years ;  in 
the  ox  at  four  years,  and  he  lives  from  fifteen  to  twenty  years  ;  in  the  dog  at  two  years,  and 
he  lives  from  ten  to  twelve  years ;  and  in  the  lion  at  four  years,  and  he  lives  twenty."  As  a 
necessary  consequence  of  the  prolongation  of  life  to  which  M.  Flourens  assures  man  he  is 
entitled,  he  modifies  very  considerably  his  different  ages.  "I  prolong  the  duration  of 
infancy,"  he  says,  "up  to  ten  years,  because  it  is  from  nine  to  ten  that  the  second  dentition 
is  terminated.  I  prolong  adolescence  up  to  twenty  years,  because  it  is  at  that  age  that  the 
development  of  the  bones  ceases,  and  consequently  the  increase  of  the  body  in  length.  I 
prolong  youth  up  to  the  age  of  forty,  because  it  is  only  at  that  age  that  the  increase  of  the 
body  in  bulk  terminates.  After  forty  the  body  does  not  grow,  properly  speaking  ;  the  aug- 
mentation of  its  volume,  which  then  takes  place,  is  not  a  veritable  organic  development,  but 
a  simple  accumulation  of  fat.  After  the  growth,  or  more  exactly  speaking,  the  development 
in  length  and  bulk  has  terminated,  man  enters  into  what  I  call  the  period  of  invigoration — 
that  is,  when  all  our  parts  become  more  complete  and  firmer,  our  functions  more  assured, 
and  the  whole  organism  more  perfect.  This  period  lasts  to  sixty-five  or  severity  years ;  and 
then  begins  old  age,  which  lasts  for  thirty  years."  But  though  M.  Flourens  thus  lengthens 
man's  days,  he  warns  him,  more  than  once,  that  the  prolongation  of  them  can  only  be  obtained 
on  one  rigorous  condition — "  that  of  good  conduct,  of  existence  always  occupied — of  labor,  of 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  367 

study,  of  moderation,  of  sobriety  in  all  things."  To  those  who  may  be  disposed  to  ask  why 
it  is  that  of  men  destined  to  live  a  hundred  years,  so  few  do  so,  M.  Flourens  answers  tri- 
umphantly— "  With  our  manners,  our  passions,  our  torments,  man  does  not  die,  he  kills  him- 
self!" And  he  speaks  at  great  length  of  Cornaro,  of  Lessius,  and  mentions  Parr  and  others 
to  show  that  by  prudence,  and  above  all,  sobriety,  life  can  easily  be  extended  to  a  century 


On  Horse-flesh  for  Food. 

M.  ST.  HILAIRE,  the  President  of  the  Society  for  Acclimation  of  Foreign  Animals  in 
France,  has  recently  published  a  communication  demonstrating  the  advantages  of  horse- 
flesh for  food.  After  speaking  of  the  predilection  of  the  ancient  Germans  for  horse-flesh,  he 
has  inquired  into  the  aversion  now  so  general.  Both  the  Scandinavians  and  Germans  kept 
in  a  sacred  pasture  a  race  of  white  horses  for  sacrifices  to  Odin,  and  after  the  sacrifice  they 
boiled  them  for  a  feast.  This  is  no  doubt  the  origin  of  the  hippophagy,  which  continued 
among  these  people  until  driven  out  as,  a  part  of  paganism  by  the  spread  of  Christianity. 
Yet  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Pope  Gregory  III.  and  his  successors,  the  use  of  horse-flesh 
continued  for  a  long  time  in  Scandinavia.  The  race  of  white  horses  is  still  found  pure  in 
the  stables  of  Fredericksberg,  belonging  to  the  king  of  Denmark. 

The  nomadic  tribes  of  Asia  still  retain  their  relish  for  horse-flesh,  although  they  have  an 
abundance  of  cattle  and  sheep.  Among  the  people  of  Europe,  who  have  anew  taken  up  the 
use  of  horse-flesh,  the  Danes  were  the  first.  During  the  siege  at  Copenhagen,  in  1807,  it 
was  authorized  by  the  government,  and  since  then  it  has  continued  to  be  eaten.  In  the 
capital  of  Denmark,  there  is  a  butcher's  stall  for  selling  horse-flesh  alone,  licensed  by  the 
government.  At  times  it  has  been  introduced  into  Paris.  During  the  scarcity  at  the  time 
of  the  Revolution,  the  greater  part  of  the  meat  eaten  for  six  months  was  from  slaughtered 
horses,  and  no  inconvenience  resulted  from  it.  Along  the  Rhine,  in  Catalonia,  and  in  the 
Maritime  Alps,  the  celebrated  Larrey  many  times  had  recourse  to  this  article  of  food  for  his 
wounded  soldiers.  He  depended  on  it  mainly  at  the  siege  of  Alexandria,  and  owed  to  it,  in 
a  great  degree,  the  cure  of  the  sick.  From  these  facts,  and  a  multitude  of  others  he 
enumerates,  M.  J.  Geoffroy  St.  Hilaire  concludes  that  horses  may  be  used  as  wholesome, 
economical,  and  nutritious  food. 


The  Successful  Features  of  Bee-Culture. 

THE  essential  features  of  successful  bee-culture  are  the  following: — 1.  bees  'should  be 
placed  in  a  good  hive— one  which  will  bear  exposure  to  the  weather ;  2.  the  keeper  should 
be  able  at  any  time  to  inspect  their  condition ;  3.  they  should  be  allowed  to  swarm ;  4.  they 
should  be  protected  from  the  encroachments  of  the' bee-moth ;  5.  the  hive  should  be  suffi- 
ciently ventilated,  especially  in  winter ;  6.  no  bees  should  ever  be  destroyed ;  7.  the  keeper 
should  be  able  to  avail  himself  of  all  the  labor  which  they  can  perform  ^  8.  he  should  ascer- 
tain and  note  their  weight  of  stock  in  autumn  and  spring ;  9.  bees  which  occupy  a  good  hive 
(and  they  should  be  put  into  no .  other)  should  rarely  be  dislodged.  These  are  by  no  means 
all  the  important  features  of  a  good  system  of  bee-culture.  But  these  I  regard  as  indis- 
pensable ;  others  are  comparatively  of  minor  importance  or  incidental.  Without  each  of 
these,  any  system  which  may  be  adopted  must  present  glaring  defects,  and  must  prove  un- 
profitable in  proportion  as  such  defects  are  found  to  exist. — DR.  HENRY  EDDY,  (Journal  of 
the  United  States  Agricultural  Society.) 


The  New  Silk- Worm,  Bombyx  Cynthia. 

DURING  the  past  year,  considerable  attention  has  been  given  in  Europe  to  a  new  variety 
of  silk- worm  recently  introduced  from  the  East  Indies,  and  known  as  the  Bombyx  cynthia. 
Various  attempts  had  been  made  to  introduce  this  worm  into  Piedmont,  Italy,  from  Calcutta ; 
but  in  every  case  the  eggs  failed  to  arrive  in  a  living  state.  It  was  then  thought  that  the 


368 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


chances  of  success  in  propagation  were  best  at  Malta,  where  the  plant  known  as  Palma 
Christi  is  abundant,  and  where  it  would  be  a  great  acquisition  to  the  poor  but  industrious 
population  of  that  island,  in  which  expensive  attempts  to  introduce  the  mulberry  have 
wholly  failed  on  account  of  the  poverty  of  the  soil.  In  Carrying  out  the  new  plan  proposed, 
Sir  William  Reed,  the  governor  of  Malta,  lent  his  aid,  and,  after  a  series  of  trials  and 
failures  continued  for  more  than  two  years,  a  successful  result  was  attained.  From  Malta, 
eggs  have  since  been  sent  to  Piedmont  and  Southern  Italy,  Egypt,  and  most  parts  of  the 
Mediterranean. 

Mr.  G.  W.  Kendall,  in  writing  to  the  New  Orleans  Picayune,  from  Paris,  gives  the  following 
additional  information  respecting  this  new  silk-worm.  He  says :  It  appears  this  new  species 
of  silk-worm  (which  is  a  native  of  China)  can  live  in  Europe,  and  can  thrive  not  only  on  the 
leaves  of  the  Palma  Christi,  but  on  lettuce,  and  weeping  willow,  and  even  wild  endive,  and 
reproduces  itself  several  times  in  the  course  of  the  year.  The  name  given  to  this  new 
species  of  the  silk-worm  is  the  Bombyx  cynthia.  Everybody  is  familiar  enough  with  the  silk- 
worm (thanks  to  the  morus-multicaulis  fever  !)  to  know  that  the  silk  in  which  the  worm  en- 
tombs himself  is  composed  of  an  uninterrupted  thread,  which,  in  turn,  consists  of  twin  tubes 
laid  parallel  by  the  worm  in  the  act  of  spinning,  and  glued  together  by  a  kind  of  varnish 

which  covers  their  whole  surface.  (This  appear- 
ance of  a  silk-thread,  as  seen  under  a  microscope, 
is  well  exhibited  in  the  annexed  engraving.)  The 
numerous  windings  of  the  cocoon-threads  are  also 
connected  with  a  gum  which  is  easily  dissolved, 
allowing  the  silk  to  be  readily  wound  upon  reels, 
provided  the  worm  is  not  allowed  to  pass  through 
its  chrysalis  state,  (which  is  prevented  by  ex- 
posing the  chrysalis  to  a  high  degree  of  tempera- 
ture.) The  chrysalis  pierces  the  cocoon,  the  silk 
_cannot  be  wound,  and  it  is  used  as  floss,  and  is 
carded  (as  cotton,  which,  from  the  shortness  of 
its  fibres,  cannot  be  spun  until  it  has  been  carded) 
before  it  is  employed. 

The  cocoon  of  the  Bombyx  cynthia  is  not  en- 
tirely closed,  and  the  chrysalis,  after  becoming  a  butterfly,  may  escape  from  its  prison  with- 
out injuring  the  value  of  the  silk ;  consequently,  if  the  cocoon  of  the  Bombyx  cynthia  can 
be  wound,  the  silk-grower  will  not  be  forced  to  sacrifice  the  grub  to  save  the  cocoon.  This 
reserved  aperture  is  defended  against  dangerous  curiosity  in  a  very  singular  manner.  On 
the  side  of  the  grub,  and  through  which  it  must  come  out,  the  cocoon  is  terminated  in  a  sort 
of  point,  which  is  formed  by  the  convergence  of  a  crown  of  stiff,  continuous  threads  running 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  prolong  the  side  of  the  cocoon,  which  renders  this  passage  impass- 
able from  the  outside ;  while  it  is  easily  traversed  by  the  imprisoned  grub,  which,  as  soon 
as  he  is  transformed,  is  engaged  in  a  sort  of  a  hopper,  (like  a  mill-hopper,)  the  sides  of 
which  are  stretched  wider  as  it  moves  farther  on,  at  the  same  time  that  the  "hopper" 
exerts,  by  its  elasticity,  a  pressure  favorable  to  development  of  the  butterfly's  newly-acquired 
and  large  wings.  The  stiff  threads  which  constitute  the  point  of  the  cocoon  are  doubled, 
glued,  and  folded  on  each  other,  so  as  to  remain  unbroken,  in  such  a  way  that  the  cocoon 
remains  in  its  integrity  after  the  hatching  and  the  flight  of  the  butterfly.  It  is  not  yet 
known  whether  the  cocoon  can  be  wound ;  it  is  certain  that  Alcan's  process  (boiling)  is  in- 
effectual to  dissolve  the  gum  which  unites  the  thread;  but  experiments  made  with  an 
alkali  and  water  appear  to  succeed.  I  think  the  cultivation  of  this  worm  may  be  pursued 
with  the  greatest  advantage  in  all  our  sea-board  Southern  States. 


Silk  in  California. 

AT  a  meeting  of  the  California  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  April  30,  1855,  Dr.  Behr 
exhibited  a  specimen  of  native  silk,  the  product  of  the  Gaturnia  ceanotha,  which  he  con- 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  369 

sidered  would  be  equal  to  any  of  the  cultivated  species  of  the  silk-worm,  should  proper  at- 
tention be  devoted  to  it.  He  had  found  the  caterpillar  principally  on  the  ceanothus ;  hence 
he  had  applied  to  it  this  specific  name.  The  Chinese  produce  their  silk  from  the  Gatumia 
atlas,  to  which  species  this  is  doubtlessly  superior.  Dr.  Behr  presented  drawings  of  the 
worm  in  three  different  stages  of  its  growth. 


On  the  Orange  Insects. 

AT  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  the  following  paper  on  the 
insect  so  destructive  of  late  years  to  the  orange-trees  of  Florida,  compiled  from  the  notes  of 
the  late  Dr.  Burnett,  was  read  by  Dr.  A.  A.  JzJould : — 

Dr.  Gould  observed,  that  during  the  winter  of  1853-4,  the  last  which  Dr.  Burnett  spent  in 
Florida,  he  undertook,  among  other  researches,  to  investigate  the  structure  and  natural  his- 
tory of  the  orange  insect.  This  is  a  minute  insect  of  the  Coccus  tribe,  which,  within  a  few 
years,  has  so  invaded  the  orange-groves  as  almost  totally  to  destroy  them.  The  essay 
commenced  by  him  was  left  in  a  very  imperfect  state ;  and  it  is  conjectured  that  he  had 
prepared  other  materials,  so  as  to  illustrate  his  paper  with  delineations  in  detail,  but  which 
are  either  in  other  hands  or  have  been  lost. 

For  the  execution  of  his  purpose,  Dr.  Burnett  visited  a  place  called  Mandarin,  formerly 
of  considerable  wealth,  where,  it  is  said,  twenty  vessels  might  at  once  be  sometimes  seen 
loading,  but  now  in  ruins.  In  1837-8,  Mr.  Robertson  carried  to  that  place  from  New  York 
two  .small  orange-trees,  about  two  feet  in  height,  bearing  fruit  about  the  size  of  an  egg, 
with  the  insect  upon  them.  The  first  year  it  was  not  known  what  they  were,  but  in  three 
years  they  had  spread  over  the  whole  point.  The  annual  yield  at  this  time  was  about 
1,600,000  oranges,  worth  about  $10  a  thousand.  The  orange-growers  reported  that  the 
orange  insect  would  spread  during  July  and  August  to  the  prickly  ash.  Dr.  Burnett  did 
not  observe  this,  but  noticed  the  same  insect  on  the  lemon. 

The  insect  has  eight  segments,  besides  the  triangular  head-piece.  The  females  are  from 
z'sth  to  z'ffth  of  an  inch  in  length.  They  usually  contain  from  eight  to  fifteen  eggs,  the 
development  of  which  continues  all  winter.  The  males  are  from  g^th  to  B'ffth  of  an  inch  in 
length,  and  are  winged.  The  wings  lie  over  each  other  horizontally  on  the  back  when  at 
rest.  They  are  two  only,  but  behind  them  are  halteres,  consisting  of  a  single  joint,  with  a 
process  curved  like  a  shepherd's  crook.  The  wings  consist,  as  usual,  of  flattened  cells. 
The  legs  have  the  middle  pair  shortest;  tarsus,  one-jointed;  abdomen,  rounded,  (eight- 
jointed,  )  with  a  teat-like  process  at  the  end,  from  which  extends  a  long  stile,  composed  of 
two  semi-canals.  The  mouth  and  oral  apparatus  is  rudimentary,,  though  the  antennae  are 
ten-jointed  and  highly  developed.  The  internal  organs  of  nutrition  are  deficient  or  rudi- 
mentary in  this  respect,  corresponding  with  the  oral  parts.  The  eyes  are  four,  two  on  each 
side;  the  eye  proper  is  oval,  situated  laterally,  and  consisting  of  a  solid  body,  TiWth  of  an 
inch  in  diameter,  perfectly  structureless,  imbedded  in  a  dark-red  pigment,  and  covered  with 
a  thin  cornea.  The  accessory  eyes  are  anterior  and  lateral  from  the  others,  and  of  the  same 
structure.  The  young,  when  excluded,  are  not  fully  formed,  but  remain  under  the  shield 
of  the  mother  until  developed  and  able  to  crawl  away ;  but  as  she  may  move  along  during 
oviposition,  the  embryos  may  be  found  behind  or  around  her.  The  fact,  that  one  side  of  a 
leaf  is  frequently  found  covered  with  the  scales  of  males  almost  exclusively,  would  seem  to 
favor  the  idea  that  they  are  produced  as  a  distinct  brood ;  and  another  fact,  also,  that  among 
a  hundred  specimens,  old  and  young,  examined  during  the  winter,  almost  all  were  females, 
and  only,  by  chance,  was  one  male  found  to  be  near. 

On  the  Protection  of  the  Plum-Tree. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  Country  Gentleman,  writing  from  Western  Massachusetts,  gives 
the  following  details  of  his  successful  experience  in  cultivating  the  plum.  He  says:  I 
attribute  my  success  mainly  to  an  hereditary  strain  of  Yankee  principle,  producing  a  strong 

24 


370  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

propensity  to  use  a  jackknife.  My  trees  are  mostly  grafted  on  to  suckers  of  the  native  or 
wild  plum,  near  or  at  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  scions  take  well  in  such  stocks,  and 
grow  strong,  frequently  from  four  to  seven  feet  in  a  season.  In  the  spring  of  the  first  year, 
I  cut  back  to  two  or  two  and  a-half  feet,  and  each  spring  following  from  one-third  to  seven- 
eighths  of  the  last  year's  growth.  This  causes  them  to  grow  stocky,  with  low,  bushy  heads, 
and  to  set  thickly  with  fruit-spurs.  I  have  trees  in  different  varieties  of  soil :  some  in  cul- 
tivated, some  in  grass  land.  All  do  well.  I  manure  with  what  is  most  convenient,  without 
regard  to  kind  or  quantity. 

The  great  enemy  of  the  plum-tree  is  the  black  knot.  Now  comes  the  grand  question — 
Black  knot,  what  is  it  ?  Is  it  a  disease  or  the  work  of  an  insect  ?  I  will  endeavor  to 
answer  these  questions  according  to  my  observations.  I  consider  it  to  be  the  work  of  an 
insect,  with  which  I  have  no  personal  acquaintance  except  in  the  maggot  state. 

From  frequent  observation,  combined  with  practice,  I  find  that  June  is  the  time  to  look 
for  the  enemy.  There  are  no  black  knots  then  of  this  year's  growth,  but  simply  swellings 
upon  the  branches.  Now  use  your  jackknife,  and  you  are  sure  of  your  foe.  When  these 
swellings  first  commence,  so  as  easily  to  be  found,  the  insect  is  the  exact  color  of  the  excres- 
cence, and  so  small  as  usually  to  escape  detection.  Nevertheless  he  is  there.  From  the 
middle  of  June  to  the  1st  of  July  they  are  easily  found,  generally  two  in  a  knot,  varying 
from  one-twentieth  to  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  length — the  largest,  in  the  mean  time,  are 
leaving  their  cells.  I  have  found  them  near  by,  sheltered  by  the  rough  bark,  covering 
themselves  with  a  thin  silk-like  web.  To  all  who  wish  to  raise  plums,  I  would  say,  here  lies 
the  secret.  Cut  green  knots  instead  of  black  ones.  By  following  this  practice,  I  have 
succeeded  in  raising  very  fine  trees — not  a  black  knot  is  ever  seen  on  them.  A  swelling  is 
occasionally  found,  but  it  is  taken  in  time  to  secure  the  maggot.  By  this  means  the  insects 
are  reduced  to  that  degree  that  my  trees  never  suffer  thereby.  I  have  trees  from  four  to 
six  years  from  the  graft,  from  eight  to  ten  feet  high,  with  large,  spreading  heads,  bearing 
the  first  season  from  one  to  more  than  two  bushels  per  tree  of  most  splendid  fruit. 

In  regard  to  the  curculio,  the  following  is  my  experience :  Among  all  the  remedies  here- 
tofore published,  only  one  has  secured  the  design  intended.  I  do  not  say  that  most  or  any 
of  them  are  "humbugs,"  but  that  the  curculio  is  a  "hum-bug"  in  spite  of  them.  I  have 
tested,  and  I  think  fairly,  lime,  ashes,  plaster,  sulphur,  cotton — all  without  avail.  I  do  not 
doubt  the  sincerity  of  those  giving  the  above  remedies,  but  think  they  must  have  been 
deceived ;  that  the  curculio  was  not  there  at  all,  or  in  numbers  so  small  as  not  seriously  to 
effect  damage.  It  requires  but  little  observation  to  convince  any  one  that  insects  of  all 
descriptions  migrate  from  place  to  place,  overrunning  one  vicinity,  and  vacating  another  in 
close  proximity,  or  even  one  or  more  trees  of  a  garden,  while  others  are  not  infested  at 
all.  I  know  not  what  any  one  has,  or  what  else  may  be,  discovered,  but  so  far  with  me 
jarring  is  the  only  remedy  that  has  had  the  desired  effect.  Either  the  curculio  here  is  not 
so  sensitive  or  not  so  well  behaved  as  in  other  places,  for  he  seems  determined  to  yield  to 
nothing  but  death.  Therefore  I  would  advise  those  who  wish  to  be  sure  of  their  plums,  to 
commence  as  soon  as  they  are  fairly  set,  jarring  on  to  sheets,  and  killing,  once  a  day  (at 
noon)  for  two  weeks.  This  has  with  me  secured  a  bountiful  crop. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  New  York  Farmers'  Club,  Prof.  Mapes  stated  that  he  practised 
this  year  jarring  off  the  plums  in  the  early  part  of  the  season  that  were  bitten,  all  of  which 
were  burned ;  and  thus  he  so  far  destroyed  the  curculio  that  he  has  had  large  quantities  of 
the  finest  plums. 

Dr.  Underbill  stated,  that  he  planted  his  plum-trees  in  such  a  manner  that  they  hang 
over  water,  and  was  not  troubled  with  curculio  in  the  slightest  degree.  "  Upon  150  trees 
thus  planted,  I  have  never  found  a  single  curculio.  The  trees  are  set  in  the  bank  of  an 
artificial  pond,  at  an  angle  of  45°." 

Dr.  Underbill  further  stated,  that  his  plan  to  get  rid  of  the  trouble  of  caterpillars  "is  to  cut 
down  every  wild  cherry-tree  about  my  place.  Some  preserve  these  trees  for  the  worms  to 
breed  upon.  It  is  an  error.  They  are  the  great  breeding  places  of  all  caterpillars  that  are 
destructive  to  fruit.  My  opinion  is,  that  every  wild  cherry-tree  should  be  exterminated." 

Mr.  Henry  Croft,  of  the  Toronto  Horticultural  Society,  recommends  the  use  of  sulphu- 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  371 

retted  hydrogen,  as  evolved  from  the  hydrosulphide  of  ammonium,  as  a  preventative  against 
the  attacks  of  the  curculio.  So  far  as  it  has  been  tried,  it  appears  to  act  as  a  complete 
remedy.  It  is  applied  as  follows :  A  few  ounce  phials,  with  open  mouths,  suspended  from 
the  limbs  of  the  tree,  are  filled  with  the  liquid  hydrosulphide  diluted  with  water ;  in  a  very 
few  days,  as  the  strength  of  the  solution  diminishes  by  exhalation,  add  an  additional  quan- 
tity of  liquid.  Hydrosulphide  of  ammonium,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  is  exceedingly 
cheap.  A  solution  of  hydrosulphuric  acid,  which  is  still  cheaper,  would  undoubtedly 
answer  the  same  purpose. — Editor. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Horticulturist  states  that  the  plan  of  covering  the  ground  beneath 
the  trees  with  fresh  horse-manure  when  the  fruit  is  beginning  to  form,  has  successfully  pre- 
vented the  attacks  of  the  curculio.  I  have  been  told  of  others,  he  says,  who  have  succeeded 
in  saving  their  plums,  by  hanging  bottles  of  pyroligneous  acid,  creosote,  chloride  of  lime, 
etc.  in  the  trees.  From  this  we  are  led  to  infer  that  strong,  pungent  odors  are  not  agree- 
able to  the  apparently  sensitive  olfactories  of  the  insect.  The  only  difficulty  that  appears 
here  is,  that  preparations  of  this  character  are  very  volatile  in  their  nature,  and  soon  become 
exhausted,  and  it  is  troublesome  and  expensive  to  renew  them  often.  This  objection,  how- 
ever, I  think  is  obviated  in  the  following  plan,  which  has  proved  eminently  successful  the 
past  season.  It  is  this:  As  soon  as  the  fruit  is  as  large  as  peas,  take  a  common  paint- 
brush or  any  other  brush,  or  a  woollen  rag,  and  some  fish-oil,  and  cover  all  of  the  principal 
branches  and  trunk  of  the  tree  with  the  oil. 

The  Horticulturist  also  states,  that  Mr.  John  Brush,  of  Brooklyn,  has  saved  the  plums  on 
a  number  of  trees,  the  present  season,  by  binding  bunches  of  tansy  upon  the  limbs  in  seve- 
ral places.  The  fruit  upon  the  treea  thus  treated  ripened  to  perfection,  while  that  near  by, 
not  thus  protected,  was  entirely  destroyed  by  the  insects. 

At  a  recent  pomologioal  meeting  at  Cincinnati,  Mr.  Kelly  stated  that  several  fruit-growers 
in  that  vicinity  had  tried  the  following  recipe  for  preventing  the  destruction  of  plums  by 
the  curculio,  with  great  success.  It  is  also  an  effectual  remedy  for  mildew  on  grapes : 

Put  half  a  pound  of  sulphur  and  one  pound  of  fresh  lime  into  a  tight  barrel;  then  fill  up 
with  boiling  water,  and  cover  closely  for  ten  or  twelve  days,  when  it  will  be  fit  for  use.  This 
forms  hydrosulphite  of  lime,  and  has  an  unpleasant  odor  which  is  offensive  to  insects,  but 
the  liquid  is  not  injurious  to  vegetation.  It  is  used  by  sprinkling  the  trees  or  vines  with  a 
garden-engine  or  syringe,  repeating  the  application  every  three  or  four  days,  or  oftener  if 
showers  occur  to  wash  off  the  material. — Ohio  Cultivator. 

Description  of  the  Curculio. — We  make  the  following  extract  from  the  report  of  Mr.  Town- 
send  Glover  on  the  curculio,  which  will  be  published  in  the  forthcoming  agricultural  report 
of  the  Patent  Office : 

"The  plum-weevil,  or  curculio,  (Rhynchcenus  nenuphar,}  is  one  of  the  most  destructive 
insects  that  the  horticulturist  has  to  fear,  not  to  plums  alone,  but  to  cherries,  nectarines,  and 
apples,  which  are  indiscriminately  attacked ;  and  in  the  more  Southern  States  peaches  also 
suffer  much  from  the  larvae  of  a  weevil  of  this  kind,  of  similar  habits  and  shape,  if  not  iden- 
tically the  same.  The  perfect  curculio  is  about  two-tenths  of  an  inch  in  length,  of  a  dark 
brown  color,  with  a  spot  of  yellowish  white  on  the  hind  part  of  each  wing-case.  The  head 
is  furnished  with  a  long  curved  snout  or  bill,  with  which  it  is  enabled  to  bore  into  the  unripe 
fruit  by  means  of  jaws  placed  at  the  end  of  this  bill.  The  wing-cases,  which  are  ridged, 
uneven,  and  humped,  cover  two  transparent  wings,  by  which  the  perfect  weevil  is  enabled 
to  fly  from  tree  to  tree ;  but  when  these  wing-cases  are  closed,  the  back  appears  without  any 
suture  or  division,  which  has  led  to  the  very  erroneous  idea  among  farmers  that  the  insect 
cannot  fly.  When  disturbed  or  shaken  from  the  tree,  it  is  so  similar  in  appearance  to  a 
dried  bud  that  it  can  scarcely  be  distinguished,  especially  when  feigning  death,  which  it 
always  does  when  alarmed.  As  soon  as  the  plums  are  of  the  size  of  peas,  the  weevil  com- 
mences the  work  of  destruction  by  making  a  semicircular  cut  through  the  skin  with  her 
long,  curved  snout,  in  the  apex  of  which  curve  she  deposits  a  single  egg.  She  then  goes  to 
another  plum,  which  is  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  until  she  has  exhausted  her  whole  stock 
of  eggs.  The  grubs,  which  are  hatched  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  immediately  eat  their  way 
to  the  stone  in  an  oblique  direction,  where  they  remain  gnawing  the  interior  until  the  fruit  is 


372  THE  YEAK-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

weakened  and  diseased,  and  by  this  treatment  falls  from  the  tree.  The  grub,  which  is  a  small, 
yellowish,  footless,  white  maggot,  then  leaves  the  fallen  fruit,  enters  the  earth,  changes  into 
a  pupa,  and  in  the  first  brood  comes  to  the  surface  again,  in  about  three  weeks,  as  a  perfect 
weevil,  to  propagate  its  species  and  destroy  more  fruit.  .Jt  has  not  yet  been  decided  whether 
the  latest  generation  of  the  weevil  remains  in  the  ground  all  winter  in  the  grub,  or  in  the 
pupa  state.  Dr.  E.  Sanborn,  of  Andover,  Massachusetts,  asserts,  however,  that  the  grubs, 
after  having  entered  the  earth,  return  to  the  surface  in  about  six  weeks  as  perfect  weevils,  which 
must  remain  hidden  in  crevices  until  spring.  The  most  popular  opinion  is  that  they  remain 
in  the  larva  or  pupa  state.  The  worm  or  grub  is  often  found  in  the  knots  or  excrescences 
which  disfigure  and  destroy  plum-trees,  and  has  been  wrongfully  accused  of  being  the*  cause 
of  these  swellings ;  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  weevil,  finding  in  the  young  knots  an 
acid  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  unripe  fruit,  merely  deposits  its  eggs  therein  as  the 
nearest  substitute  for  the  real  plum. 

"Some  of  the  remedies  recommended  for  preventing  the  ravages  of  these  insects  are 
absurd,  such  'as  tying  cotton  round  the  trees  in  order  to  prevent  them  from  ascending,  when 
it  is  known  that  they  are  furnished  with  wings,  and  fly  from  tree  to  tree  with  the  greatest 
ease.  Among  the  remedies  at  present  in  use,  one  is  to  cover  the  fruit  with  a  coating  of 
whitewash,  mixed  with  a  little  glue,  applied  by  means  of  a  syringe ;  another  is  to  spread  a 
sheet  upon  the  ground  under  the  tree,  and  then  jar  the  principal  branches  suddenly  with  a 
mallet  covered  with  cloth,  so  as  not  to  bruise  the  bark,  when  the  perfect  insects  will  fall 
into  the  sheet  and  feign  death,  and  may  be  gathered  and  destroyed.  Hogs  are  sometimes 
turned  into  plum- orchards,  where,  by  eating  the  fallen  and  diseased  fruit,  they  materially 
lessen  the  evil.  Coops  of  chickens  are  placed  under  the  trees,  and  the  branches  often  shaken; 
the  insects  fall,  and  are  eagerly  seized  and  devoured.  All  fallen  fruit  should  be  gathered  up 
several  times  in  the  course  of  the  season  and  burned,  or  given  to  hogs,  or  destroyed  in  some 
other  way.  By  so  doing,  thousands  of  the  grubs  which  have  not  yet  left  the  plums  are 
destroyed ;  but,  as  yet,  no  thoroughly  practical  remedy  has  been  made  public,  and  the  above 
are  merely  mentioned  as  being  useful  in  small  gardens  containing  only  a  few  trees." 


Camphor  vs.  Pea-Bags. 

A  CORRESPONDENT  of  the  "Horticulturist"  says: 

"Four  years  ago,  ,last  spring,  iny  seed-peas  were  more  than  half  destroyed  by  bugs,  the 
largest  and  best  varieties  being  most  injured.  The  summer  following,  I  had  boxes  made, 
one  for  each  variety,  with  a  cover ;  and  when  the  peas  were  gathered,  I  put  into  each  box 
with  two  quarts  of  peas,  from  six  to  eight  bits  of  gum-camphor  the  size  of  a  large  pea,  and 
mixed  them  together,  and  closed  the  box.  The  next  spring  there  was  not  a  pea  injured.  I 
have  pursued  the  same  course  every  year  since,  and  have  not  had  one  pea  affected  by 
bugs." 

The  Wheat-Weevil. 

Ax  a  recent  meeting  of  the  N.  Y.  State  Agricultural  Society,  the  following  remarks  relative 
to  the  wheat-weevil,  were  made  by  Dr.  Fitch,  of  N.  Y. : — 

It  appears  that  this  insect  has  long  been  known  in  England,  but  is  not  found  in  France.  It 
appears  strange  that  they  should  have  found  their  way  across  the  Atlantic,  and  not  across  the 
Channel.  They  were  found  in  Vermont  in  1820.  It  has  since  extended,  with  the  strides  of  a 
giant,  over  the  country.  Last  year  it  reached  Indiana,  and  did  great  damage  to  the  wheat 
crop.  It  is  estimated  that  the  injury  done  the  wheat  crop  in  New  York  State  the  past  year, 
at  $2.18  per  bushel,  exceeds  fifteen  million  dollars. 

No  doubt  when  we  know  the  habits,  etc.  of  the  whe, at-weevil,  we  shall  be  able  to  destroy  it. 
The  insect  deposits  its  eggs  the  last  of  May.  Just  before  harvest  some  of  the  insects  leave 
the  ears  of  wheat  and  descend  into  the  ground.  The  others  remain  in  the  grain  and  may  be 
easily  destroyed.  If  we  could  discover  some  means  of  destroying  those  which  are  in  the 
ground,  we  might  hope  soon  to  stay  the  ravages  of  this  insect.  In  Great  Britain  the  wheat- 
weevil  is  kept  in  check  by  a  parasitic  insect.  This  parasite  is  not  found  in  this  country.  We 


AGRICULTURAL  ZOOLOGY.  373 

x  „  • 

have  imported  the  weevil,  but  not  its  destroyer.  Can  we  not  bring  this  parasite  across  the 
Atlantic  ?  This  certainly  appears  to  be  the  most  feasible  plan  of  destroying  the  weevil.  The 
lecturer  then  expressed  his  intention  of  endeavoring  to  obtain  this  parasitic  insect.  '  We  trust 
he  may  succeed. 

How  to  clean  Animals  and  Plants  of  Vermin. 

M.  RASPAIL,  the  eminent  French  chemist,  gives  an  account  of  a  plan  for  destroying  vermin 
on  animals,  and  also  on  trees  and  plants.  The  process  he  recommends  is  to  make  a  solution 
of  aloes,  (one  gramme  of  that  gum  to  a  litre  of  water,)  and  by  means  of  a  long. brush  to 
wash  over  the  trunks  and  branches  of  trees  with  this  solution,  which  will  speedily,  he  says, 
destroy  all  the  vermin  on  them,  and  effectually  prevent  others  from  approaching.  In  order 
to  clean  sheep  or  animals  with  long  hair,  they  must  either  be  bathed  with  this  solution,  or 
be  well  washed  with  it.  The  writer  mentions  several  trials  which  he  made  of  the  solution 
with  the  most  complete  success,  and  very  strongly  recommends  it  to  general  use. 

Mr.  E.  S.  Mygott,  in  the  "Germantown  Telegraph,"  recommends  an  infusion  of  quassia, 
applied  cold,  as  a  means  of  freeing  plants  and  trees  of  lice  and  other  insects. 


The  Apple-Borer. 

THE  impression  has  been  prevalent,  especially  at  the  West,  that  little  need  be  feared  from 
the  apple-borer.  And  for  this  reason  among  others,  this  apparently  insignificant  insect  has 
been  stealing  a  march  on  us  which  has  resulted  in  great  damage.  We  learn  from  different 
quarters  that  its  ravages  have  been  terrible.  If  these  things  are  so,  our  readers  will  permit 
us  to  make  a  few  remarks  on  the  natural  history  of  the  borer,  and  on  some  other  matters 
which  may  throw  light  on  the  best  mode  of  resisting  its  attacks : — 

What  is  the  borer? — The  borer  is  the  larva  or  grub  which  is  hatched  from  the  egg  of  a 
beetle,  belonging  to  the  family  of  Buprestidse  or  Buprestians.  The  beetle  itself  is  about 
half  an  inch  long,  with  brown  and  white  stripes,  and  flies  at  night. 

When  does  it  lay  its  eggs? — In  the  latter  part  of  May,  and  first  part  of  July,  it  pierces  the 
bark  of  the  tree  with  its  spear,  and  deposits  its  eggs  under  the  bark.  This  it  does  near  the 
root  of  the  tree,  in  perhaps  the  greater  number  of  cases,  especially  in  small  trees.  Indeed, 
some  writers,  whose  observations  seem  to  have  been  confined  to  one  or  two  classes  of  opera- 
tions performed  by  the  beetle,  state  that  it  deposits  its  eggs  only  at  the  root  of  the  tree.  This 
is  a  mistake.  We  have  dug  them  within  the  last  few  weeks  from  all  parts  of  the  trunk,  from 
the  ground  to  the  branches ;  they  seem  to  have  a  special  liking  for  those  parts  of  the  tree 
which  are  decayed.  On  the  south-west  side  of  the  tree,  where  the  sun  has  scorched  the  bark 
or  the  wood  beneath,  also  where  the  bark  has  been  bruised  by  cattle  or  in  any  other  way, 
also  where  the  tree  is  naturally  weak  and  shows  signs  of  early  withering  and  death — wherever 
any  or  all  of  these  inducements  are  offered,  the  beetle  seems  quite  ready  to  accept  the  invita- 
tion and  make  its  investment.  Let  no  one  imagine,  therefore,  that  his  trees  are  free  from  the 
borer,  because  he  finds  none  about  the  roots;  let  him  examine  all  parts  of  the  trunk  carefully, 
and  especially  the  weak,  wounded,  or  decayed  parts.  He  may  find  them  in  any  of  these  por- 
tions of  the  tree. 

Appearance  of  the  grub,  and  way  of  doing  its  work. — The  egg  seems  to  be  hatched  by  the 
natural  warmth  of  the  season.  The  appearance  of  the  grub  is  the  following :  It  is  whitish  in 
color,  with  large  head  and  body,  whose  diameter  is  about  half  that  of  the  head,  and  whose 
length  is  about  four  times  that  of  the  head ;  its  general  shape  resembles  that  of  a  tadpole. 
We  have  seen  them  of  different  sizes,  from  half  an  inch  to  more  than  an  inch  long.  Their 
ravages  are  committed  in  getting  their  food,  which  is  the  inner  bark  of  the  tree  and  the  ten- 
der wood.  Sometimes  they  feed  on  the  solid  wood,  especially  in  small  trees.  They  are  fur- 
nished with  a  strong  pair  of  jaws,  with  which  they  eat  their  way  along,  leaving  behind  them 
a  thin  track  of  powder,  like  sawdust ;  they  may  be  easily  followed  by  these  signs  when  they 
confine  their  operations  to  the  surface-wood.  They  may  remain  in  the  tree  several  years  be- 
fore they  emerge  in  the  form  of  the  beetle ;  for  it  is  in  the  tree  that  they  get  their  entire 


874  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

growth.  In  small  trees  they  often  penetrate  to  the  very  heart  of  the  trunk,  and  seem  to  bur- 
row there  for  the  winter. 

How  have  they  found  their  way  to  our  orchards? — They  seem  to  follow  the  progress  of  improve- 
ment, and  to  keep  pace  with  the  planting  of  trees  and  strubbery  of  all  kinds.  They  appear 
to  go  from  the  older  portions  of  the  country  to  the  more  newly-improved  regions,  making  a 
few  miles'  progress  every  year ;  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  they  can  spread  quite  rapidly 
by  the  transportation  of  young  trees  from  distant  nurseries.  It  behooves  us  to  look  well  to 
the  trees  we  buy ;  we  do  not  know  certainly  that  nurserymen  can  detect  the  presence  of  the 
grub  in  all  cases,  but  we  think  it  can  be  ascertained  whether  the  tree  has  been  stung. 

How  shall  we  resist  the  borer ?-^-In  all  ways;  no  one  thing  will  do  the  whole  work;  under 
the  head  of  prevention,  we  would  suggest  several  things : 

1.  Buy  none  but  sound  trees ;  sound,  we  mean,  in  every  sense ;  trees  of  vigorous  growth, 
of  fine  roots,  of  unbroken  bark,  and  that  never  have  been  stung  by  the  beetle. 

2.  After  setting  the  trees  out  carefully,  protect  them  from  the  attacks  of  the  beetle  by 
washing  them  with  the  following  preparation :  To  two  quarts  of  soft-soap  add  half  a  pound 
of  sulphur,  and  dilute  the  mass  till  it  is  as  thin  as  paint,  by  pouring  in  strong  tobacco-water. 
The  tobacco-water  may  be  prepared  by  breaking  up  fine  two  ounces  of  strong  tobacco,  and 
pouring  on  two  or  three  quarts  of  soft  warm  water,  and  letting  it  stand  two  or  three  days 
before  the  wash  is  made ;  apply  the  wash  with  an  old  broom  freely  to  the  trunk  and  lower 
branches,  after  the  rough  bark  has  been  scraped  off.     Make  one  application  about  the  middle 
of  May,  and  another  about  the  first  of  June.     It  is  said  the  beetle  will  not  touch  a  tree  that 
has  thus  been  treated. 

3.  Before  the  weather  becomes  very  hot,  we  think  the  trees  should  be  well  whitewashed  with 
lime,  or  protected  from  the  sun  by  a  board  or  by  wrapping  a  wisp  of  straw  or  hay  round  the 
portions  most  exposed  to  the  heat.     White  does  not  absorb  heat  as  darker  colors  do.     If  the 
trees  are  whitewashed,  or  one  of  the  other  covers  for  the  young  trees  are  used,  very  few,  we 
think,  will  be  injured ;  always  supposing  that  the  preventives  mentioned  first  are  faithfully 
employed. 

4.  A  little  circle  of  ashes  should  be  placed  at  the  root  of  the  tree  close  around  the  collar. 
This,  it  is  believed,  will  prevent  the  beetle  from  disturbing  the  tree  at  that  point,  if  it  be  done 
early  enough  in  the  season. 

How  shall  we  destroy  the  borers  we  have  ? — In  the  case  of  trees  that  have  been  seriously  in- 
jured, we  can  say  nothing  better  than  that  they  should  be  pulled  up,  root  and  branch,  and 
the  part  that  contains  the  grubs  destroyed.  If  they  have  been  but  little  hurt,  the  grubs  should 
be  carefully  extracted  and  killed,  and  the  wounds  covered  with  grafting-wax  or  shell-lac,  and 
the  tree  washed  as  above  suggested.  If  young  trees  have  been  much  punctured,  we  believe 
they  had  better  be  destroyed  at  once.  It  will  be  of  little  use  to  try  to  save  them ;  and  if  they 
do  live,  they  would  be  weak  and  nearly  worthless.  We  repeat  that  the  trees  already  infested 
should  be  treated  with  the  wash  mentioned  above,  after  the  grubs  have  been  taken  out.  This 
would,  it  is  hoped,  prevent  their  return. — Ohio  Farmer. 

Prevention  of  the  Weevil. 

THE  following  plan  for  the  prevention  of  the  weevil  is  said  to  be  adopted  with  success  by 
farmers  in  Vermont:  The  season  after  it  makes  its  appearance,  they  go  through  their  wheat- 
fields  about  the  time  the  wheat  is  heading,  immediately  after  a  shower,  or  while  the  dew  is 
on  it,  and  scatter  newly-slaked  lime  broadcast,  so  that  it  will  adhere  to  the  heads  and  stems 
of  the  grain.  They  use  about  a  bushel  to  the  acre.  Good  lime  should  be  secured,  and 
slaked  by  sprinkling  a  little  water  over  it,  so  as  to  retain  all  its  strength.  A  paddle  may  be 
used  in  scattering  it.  The  remedy  has,  it  is  said,  been  so  effectually  tried,  as  to  leave  no 
doubt  of  its  success.  The  "Akron  Beacon"  (Ohio)  also  states  that  the  plan  has  proved  an 
efficient  remedy,  during  the  past  season,  in  the  county  of  Muskingum,  Ohio. 


The  Agricultural  Productions  of  the  United  States  for  the  year  1855. 

Ix  preparing  the  following  estimates  of  the  various  agricultural  productions  of  the  United 
States  for  the  year  1865,  the  information  given  has  been  obtained  from  many  different 
sources.  While  the  estimates  of  those  best  qualified  to  judge  concerning  the  specific  quanti- 
ties produced  differ  to  a  wide  extent,  all  authorities  agree  that  the  harvest,  taken  as  a  whole, 
has  been  one  of  unparalleled  abundance  in  all  sections  of  our  country. 

Statistics  of  the  Wheat  Crop  for  1855. — The  lowest  estimate  published  of  the  wheat  crop  of 
1855  is  that  of  the  Cincinnati  Price  Current,  which  computes  the  aggregate  of  the  fourteen 
leading  wheat-growing  States  at  one  hundred  and  fourteen  millions  five  hundred  thou- 
sand bushels.  The  next  important  estimate,  published  in  the  New  York  Herald,  computes 
the  aggregate  of  the  whole  country  at  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  millions  five  hundred 
and  seventy-two  thousand  bushels ;  and  is  less  than  that  of  the  New  Tork  Courier  and 
Enquirer,  which  estimates  a  maximum  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions.  The  esti- 
mates, however,  which  seem  to  us  as  most  reliable,  are  those  published  in  the  New  York  Times, 
by  Charles  Cist,  Esq.,  well  known  for  his  statistical  information  and  correct  judgment.  Mr. 
Cist,  after  the  most  careful  study  and  examination  of  the  subject,  gives  as  his  opinion  that 
the  wheat  crop  of  1855,  in  the  United  States,  will  reach,  at  the  very  least,  the  enormous 
amount  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  millions  of  bushels.  The  wheat  crop  of  1839 — census 
of  1840 — was  an  ordinary  crop,  and  a  product  of  eighty-four  millions  eight  hundred  and 
twenty-three  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-two  bushels.  That  of  1849 — census  of  1850 
— a  deficient  crop,  yielded  one  hundred  millions  four  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  forty-four  bushels.  How  great  that  deficiency  was  in  one  State  (Ohio) 
may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that,  under  a  greatly-increased  breadth  of  cultivation,  the  crop 
of  1849  fell  short  of  that  of  1839  more  than  two  millions  of  bushels. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  returns  of  the  wheat  crop  in  the  fourteen  leading  wheat- 
growing  States,  as  given  by  the  census  of  1850,  and  the  comparative  estimates  of  the  Cin- 
cinnati Price  Current,  the  New  York  Herald,  and  Mr.  Cist  in  the  New  York  Times  : — 

Cincinnati 

Census  Reports.    Price  Current.  Herald.  Cist. 

1850.  1855.  1855.  1855. 

Ohio 14,487,000 16,000,000 25,000,000 40,000,000 

Pennsylvania 15,367,000 18,000,000 21,000,000 18,000,000 

Virginia 11,212,000 12,000,000 15,000,000 13,000,000 

New  York 13,121,000 15,000,000 16,000,000 15,000,000 

Alabama... 294,000 500,000 700,000 1,500,000 

Illinois 9,494,000 13,000,000 23,000,000 20,000,000 

Indiana 6,214,000 10,000,000 19,000,000 15,000,000 

Iowa 1,530,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 5,000,000 

Kentucky 2,142,000 3,000,000 3,500,000 6,000,000 

Maryland 4,494,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 5,500,000 

Michigan 4,925,000 6,000,000 7,000,000......  9,000,000 

Missouri 2,981,000 4,000,000 5,500,000 6,000,000 

Tennessee 1,619,000 3,500,000 4,000,000 6,000,000 

Wisconsin 4,286,000 7,000,000 9,000,000 11,000,000 

Total , 92,086,000       114,500,000       156,700,000       171,000,000 

*8,382,000  11,872,000         14,000,000 

Total 100,468,000  168,572,000      185,000,000 


*  Add  for  other  States  and  Territories. 

375 


376  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

The  following  table  gives  the  production  of  wheat  in  the  other  States  and  Territories, 
according  to  the  census  of  1850,  and  according  to  the  estimates  of  the  Herald  for  1856  :— 

Bushels  of  Wheat. 
1850.  1855. 

Arkansas...'. .?. 199,000 300,000 

California 17,000  150,000 

District  of  Columbia 17,000  20,000 

Connecticut v 41,000  .»;...     50,000 

Delaware 482,000  550,000 

Florida 1,000  2,000 

Georgia 1,088,000  1,200,000 

Louisiana —  — : 

Maine , 296,000  400,000 

Massachusetts * 31,000  50,000 

Mississippi -.    137,000  .. 200,000 

New  Hampshire 185,000  200,000 

New  Jersey 1,601,000  2,000,000 

North  Carolina 2,130,000  2,500,000 

Rhode  Island.. —  

South  Carolina 1,066,000  1,200,000 

Texas 41,000  100,000 

Vermont 535.000  650,000 

Minnesota 1,000  500,000 

New  Mexico 196,000  400,000 

Oregon 211,000  500,000 

Utah 107,000  500,000 

Kansas —  200,000 

Nebraska —  200,000 

Total 8,382,000  11,872,000 

Fourteen  States  in  previous  table .92,086,000          156,700,000 

Grand  total 100,468,000          168,572,000 

In  comparing  the  estimates  as  given  by  Mr.  Cist  with  those  of  the  New  York  Herald,  and 
also  with  those  of  the  New  York  Courier  and  Enquirer,  (leaving  out  of  consideration  those 
of  the  Cincinnati  Price  Current,  as  far  below  the  truth,)  it  will  be  seen  that  the  principal 
element  of  difference  consists  in  the  estimate  placed  upon  the  crop  of  Ohio.  Making  this  the 
same  for  each  estimate,  and  the  aggregates  differ  but  little.  In  regard  to  the  estimate  of 
Mr.  Cist,  he  says :  I  consider  Kentucky,  Alabama,  and  Tennessee  entitled  to  the  estimate 
given  by  me,  not  less  on  account  of  the  favorable  season,  but  because,  in  1839,  they  yielded 
respectively  four  millions  eight  hundred  and  three  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-two, 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight  thousand  and  fifty-two,  and  four  millions  five  hundred  and 
sixty-nine  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-two.  For  the  old  States  of  Maryland,  Virginia, 
New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  which  have  formerly  been  the  principal  sources  of  supply  for 
wheat,  my  estimate  is  not  greatly  above  that  of  the  Price  Current,  and  is  less  than  that  of 
the  Herald.  It  is  in  the  great  wheat-growing  States  of 'Ohio,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Michi- 
gan, Wisconsin,  and  Missouri,  which,  great  as  is  their  aggregate,  has  far  from  developed 
their  productive  capacity,  that  the  great  difference  between  my  estimate  and  that  of  most 
others  consists.  And  my  estimates  of  those  States  differ  little  in  the  aggregate,  except  as 
relates  to  Ohio,  from  those  of  the  Herald.  Our  difference  upon  Ohio,  and  his  short  allowance 
for  California  and  Texas,  would  about  make  up  the  difference  of  our  general  aggregate. 
And  now  for  Ohio.  My  estimate  of  its  wheat  crop,  for  1855,  of  forty  millions,  will,  doubtless, 
startle  many  persons,  and  discredit  my  judgment  with  yet  more.  Why  I  should  exceed  by 
150  per  cent,  on  this  point  the  figures  of  other  business  men  in  our  City  and  State,  is  well 
calculated  to  inspire  suspicion,  surprise,  and  distrust.  The  wheat  crop  of  Ohio  was,  in 

Bushels.  Bushels. 


1839 16,571,661 

1847 16,800,000 

1848 > 20,000,000 


1850 28,769,137 

1851 25,309,225 

1852 22,962,774 


1849 14,487,351 

The  figures  for  1839  and  1849  are  taken  from  the  United  States  Census  of  1840  and  1850. 
Those  for  1847  and  1848  will  be  found  in  the  Patent  Office  Agricultural  Reports  for  those 
years.  The  figures  for  the  three  later  years  are  taken  from  the  official  returns  in  the  office 
of  the  auditor  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  The  exhibit  of  1850,  although  the  largest  on  the  list,  is 


AGRICULTURAL  STATISTICS.  377 

short  fourteen  counties,  which  neglected  their  return.  These  counties,  calculating  on  the 
basis  of  their  product  of  1851,  produced  in  1850,  2,978,116  bushels,  making  the  true  aggre- 
gate of  that  year  31,747,255.  With  our  increase  in  ground  opened  and  sowed  in  wheat  for 
the  pa§t  five  years,  the  stimulus  of  high  prices  in  prospect  under  foreign  demand,  and  the 
great  productiveness  of  the  season  itself,  I  am  persuaded  that  I  do  not  put  the  increase  of 
the  present  crop  too  high  at  8,252,745  bushels — which  would  give  the  aggregate  I  claim  for 
Ohio,  of  forty  millions. 

The  truth  is,  that  all  the  important  facts  as  regards  the  quantity  of  wheat  this  year,  lie  in 
a  narrow  compass.  The  seven  States  I  have  referred  to  furnish  largely  more  than  half  the 
entire  wheat  crop  of  the  country,  while  their  surplus  is  nearly  the  entire  surplus  of  the  United 
States — the  residue  of  the  States  affording  little  more  than  the  home  supply  throughout  them- 
selves. Hence,  if  we  know  the  increased  crop  of  these  States,  we  substantially  know  what 
the  aggregate  increase  of  the  whole  crop  is.  Upon  the  question  "What  will  be  the  surplus 
of  the  wheat  crop  in  the  United  States  for  1855?"  Mr.  Cist  adds  the  following  remarks,  which 
will  be  found  to  contain  important  and  valuable  information: — "This  question  is  not  one  of 
ready  solution,  because  that  surplus  is  as  elastic  as  India-rubber.  It  depends  entirely  on 
circumstances.  If  Europe  wants  whsat  or  flour  from  us,  and  is  obliged  to  pay,  as  lately, 
high  prices,  it  is  difficult  to  limit  our  surplus.  Unless  her  harvests  fail  to  an  extraordinary 
degree,  we  have  enough  to  supply  all  her  wants.  Paradoxical  as  it  appears,  the  more  she 
wants  the  more  we  have  to  spare,  and  the  less  she  wants  the  less  we  shall  have  for  export. 
If  she  wants  none,  we  shall  have  none  for  export.  The  surplus  will,  in  that  case,  be  used 
freely  at  home,  and  beyond  that  use,  what  is  not  required  for  seed  will  be  stored  away  for 
the  next  season's  sale  for  home  or  foreign  consumption.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  high  prices 
rule,  less  wheat  will  be  used  at  home.  Indian  corn,  potatoes,  &c.  will  take  its  place  exten- 
sively, and  the  shipments  of  wheat  and  flour  to  Europe  of  this  year's  crop  surpass  for  quan- 
tity all  precedent.  For  the  purpose  of  illustrating  my  views,  I  submit  a  table  of  our  annual 
product  of  wheat  since  1839,  together  with  our  exports  of  the  article  from  same  date : — 

United  State*  Crop,  and  Export  of  Wheat  for  a  Series  of  Years. 

Export*.  Ekports. 


Year.       Crop.  Itush.-ls. 

1840 84,833,263  11,198,098 

1841 98,980,727  8,447,670 

1842 102,317,240  7,235,998 

1843 100,310,356  6,025,546 

1844 95,697,000 7,751,787 

1845 106,548,000 6,365,866 

1S46 94,455,412  13,268,175 

1847 118,330,155  12,309,972 

1848 114,245,000 26,312,431 


Year.       Crop.  Bushels. 

1849......  126,364,000  10,366,417 

1850 104,799,250  '. 8,656,982 

1851 110,032,394 13,948,499 

1852 117,511,501 18,680,686 

1853 121,136,048 18,958,993 

1854 132,023,690  27,000,000 

1855......  110,170,000  2,000,000 

1856 185,000,000  (?)  


"The  years  given  above  are  taken  of  the  export,  not  of  the  growth,  being  of  course  one 
year  later — the  fiscal  year  of  the  United  States  ending  June  30.  Thus,  for  example :  the 
crop  of  110,170,000  bushels,  set  down  against  1855,  refers  to  that  harvested  in  1854;  and 
the  2,000,000  bushels  exported  in  1855,  or  up  to  June,  1855,  is  from  the  crop  harvested  in 
1854. 

"The  export  figures  for  1854  and  1855  are  obviously  approximations  merely;  and  although 
I  would  not  hold  myself  responsible  for  the  absolute  accuracy  of  the  export  returns,  I  doubt 
not  that  they  are  substantially  correct.  They  prove  two  or  three  important  facts.  It  is 
obvious  by  this  table  that  the  quantity  of  wheat  exported  from  the  United  States  is  entirely 
independent  of  the  amount  of  the  existing  crop.  Thus,  the  exports  of  1848  and  1854  are  in 
quantity  double  those  of  1847  and  1849,  although  the  product  of  the  first-named  years  did 
not  exceed  those  of  the  last  two.  The  exports  of  1840  and  1846  also  doubled  those  of  1843 
and  1845,  although  their  crop  was  not  as  abundant  by  fifteen  per  cent.  The  exports  of  1852 
and  1853,  on  a  crop  of  less  than  239,000,000  bushels  for  both  years,  were  more  than 
37,500,000  bushels,  while  the  exports  of  1842  and  1844,  on  a  crop  of  nearly  200,000,000 
bushels,  hardly  reached  fifteen  millions.  In  all  those  years  it  was  the  foreign  demand,  stimu- 
lating high  prices  here,  which  enhanced  the  export,  as  it  was  the  absence  of  that  cause  which 
diminished  the  exports  of  others.  If  the  foreign  demand  did  not  enlarge  the  export  of  1855, 


378  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

it  was  not  because  the  wheat  crop  had  failed  to  any  great  extent,  but  because  the  drought 
of  1854  had  so  cut  short  the  supply  of  corn,  potatoes,  &c.,  as  to  compel  a  larger  use  of  wheat 
than  would  otherwise  have  taken  place. >? 

Accepting  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Cist  as  the  correct  one^we  have  as  the  value  of  the  wheat 
crop  of  1855,  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  bushel,  an  aggregate  of  more  than  two  hundred 
and  thirty-one  millions  of  dollars.  k. 

Statistics  of  the  Crop  of  Indian  Corn  for  1855, — Abundant  as  has  been  the  crop  of  wheat  in 
the  United  States  for  1855,  it  is  but  one  iten*  of  our  agricultural  productions,  and  not  the 
largest.  The  great  staple  crop  of  the  United  States  is  Indian  corn,  which,  during  the  past 
season,  has  furnished  the  largest  crop  ever  gathered.  The  amount,  according  to  Mr.  Cist, 
cannot  be  less  than  1,000,000,000  of  bushels,  and  may  exceed  these  figures  by  20  per  cent. 
By  the  census  returns,  the  corn  crop  of  1839  was  377,531,875  bushels;  that  of  1849, 
592,071,104,  showing  an  actual  increase  in  ten  years  of  214,539,229  bushels,  or  58  per  cent. 

From  returns  made  to  the  auditor's  office  of  Ohio,  we  have  the  following  statistics  of  the 
corn  crop  in  that  State  for  1851,  '52,  and  '53: — 

Years.  Acres  sown.  Bushels  gathered.  No.  hushels  per  acre. 

1851 „ 1,664,427 61,171,282  „.  36-7 

1852 1,730,188 58,165,517  33'6 

1853 1,836,493 73,436,090  40-0 

The  exports  of  corn  from  this  country,  including  corn  meal,  at  different  periods,  have  been  as 
follows : — 

In  1837 951,276  bushels. 

"   1846...,. .... 3,326,068        " 

"   1849 15,283,154        " 

«  1850.... 7,892,302        " 

"   1851 4,444,921        " 

"   1854 20,000,000        " 

The  value  of  the  corn  crop  of  1855  may  be  safely  estimated  at  $400,000,000. 

Oat  Crop  of  1855. — The  estimate  of  the  oat  crop  of  the  United  States  for  1855  has  been 
given  b^  Mr.  Cist  as  at  least  400,000,000  bushels. 

Rye  Crop  of  1855. — According  to  the  census  returns  of  1840,  the  product  of  the  United 
States  was  18,645,567  bushels;  of  1850,  14,188,813  bushels, — showing  a  decrease  of 
4,456,744  bushels.  During  the  year  ending  June  1,  1850,  there  were  consumed  of  rye 
about  2,144,000  bushels  in  the  manufacture  of  malt  and  spirituous  liquors.  The  amount  of 
rye  cultivated  in  the  United  States  in  1853  was  about  14,000,000  bushels.  The  estimate 
for  1855  may  be  safely  fixed  at  from  16,000,000  to  18,000,000  bushels.  Some  authorities 
estimate  as  high  as  20,000,000.  The  diminution  of  this  crop  for  the  last  twelve  or  fifteen 
years  may  be  attributed  in  the  main  to  a  corresponding  decline  in  the  demand  for  the  pur- 
poses of  distillation,  to  which  a  large  portion  of  this  grain  had  annually  been  applied. 

Rice  Crop  of  1855. — The  rice  crop  of  1840  was  returned  by  the  census  at  80,841,422  Ibs.; 
of  1850,  215,313,497  Ibs.  The  crop  of  1855  cannot  be  less  than  that  of  1853,  which  was 
estimated  at  250,000,000,  and  in  all  probability  exceeds  it. 

Barley  Crop  of  1855. — The  annual  production  of  this  grain,  according  to  the  census  of 
1840,  was  4,161,504  bushels;  in  1850,  5,167,015  bushels;  estimate  for  1853,  6,590,000;  for 
1855,  7,500,000  bushels. 

Potato  Crop  for  1855. — The  potato  crop  of  the  United  States,  according  to  the  census  of 
1840,  was  108,298,060  bushels;  of  1850,  104,056,044  bushels,  of  which  38,268,148  bushels 
were  sweet — showing  a  decrease  of  4,232,016  bushels.  This  deficiency  in  the  crop  of  1849, 
as  compared  with  that  of  1889,  is  attributed  to  the  discouragement  caused  by  the  disease. 
The  crop  of  1853  has  been  estimated  at  106,000,000  bushels.  The  season  of  1855  has  been 
more  favorable  for  the  potato  than  that  of  any  previous  year  for  a  considerable  period,  and 
the  quantity  planted  during  the  past  year  has  also  been  unusually  large.  We  estimate  the 
crop  as  at  least  115,000,000  bushels. 

Peas  and  Beans  for  1855. — The  amount  of  peas  and  beans  produced  in  the  United  States, 
according  to  the  census  of  1850,  was  9,219,901  bushels.  The  amount  raised  in  1853, 
exclusive  of  the  production  of  market-gardeners,  was  estimated  at  9,300,000  bushels.  Our 
estimate  for  1855  is  9,400,000  bushels. 


AGRICULTURAL  STATISTICS.  379 

Production  of  Sugar  in  1855. — According  to  the  census  returns  of  1840,  the  amount  of 
cane-sugar  produced  in  the  United  States  was  119,995,104  Ibs.;  of  1850,  247,577,000  Ibs., 
showing  an  increase  of  127,581,896  Ibs.,  besides  12,700,896  gallons  of  molasses.  It  was 
estimated  that,  in  1815,  the  cane-sugar  made  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  alone  amounted 
to  10,000,000  Ibs.;  in  1850,  it  had  reached  the  enormous  quantity  of  226,000,000  Ibs., 
besides  upwards  of  12,000,000  gallons  of  molasses.  The  amount  of  cane  and  maple-sugar 
made  in  the  United  States  in  1853-54  was  estimated  at  545,000,000  Ibs.,  besides  14,000,000 
gallons  of  molasses  and  syrup.  The  sugar  crop  of  1855-56  will  not  exceed  that  of  1853-54. 
The  production  of  maple-sugar  in  the  United  States  for  1855  was  not  far  from  27,000,000 
Ibs.  The  total  consumption  of  sugar  in  the  United  States  for  1854,  cane  and  maple,  has 
been  estimated  at  732,000,000  Ibs. 

Hemp  Crop  of  1855. — The  crop  of  hemp  in  the  United  States  for  the  past  season  has  been 
below  the  average.  The  production  of  1854  was  22,000  tons,  while  that  of  1855  will  not, 
it  is  said,  exceed  16,000  tons.  One  reason  for  the  diminished  crop  is  to  be  found  in  the 
scarcity  of  seed.  Early  in  the  present  season,  an  agent  of  the  hemp-growers  of  the  West 
procured  in  Europe  several  thousand  bushels  of  choice  seed,  which  will  tend  to  improve  the 
character  of  our  domestic  hemp— possibly  diminish  the  risk  of  future  failures  of  the  crop. 

Concerning  the  flax  crop,  no  reliable  data  can  be  obtained.  There  is  reason  to  believe, 
however,  that  the  production  is  increasing  yearly.  The  importations  of  Manilla  hemp  for 
the  last  few  years  have  been  as  follows:  1851,  71,566  bales;  1852,110,258;  1853,  102,292. 
The  imports  for  the  first  six  months  of  1855  were  27,142  bales. 

Cotton  Crop  c/1855. — The  cotton  crop  of  1855-56  is  variously  estimated  at  from  3,200,000 
to  3,500,000  bales.  The  crop  grown  last  year  (1854)  was  a  small  one,  amounting  to 
2,847,339  bales  against  2,930,027  in  1853,  and  3,262,582  bales  in  1852.*  An  unusually 
early  frost  in  the  cotton  districts,  on  the  7th,  8th,  and  9th  of  October,  in  South  Carolina, 
will  undoubtedly  diminish  the  crop  to  some  extent,  but  more  cotton  than  usual  has  been 
planted  during  the  last  season,  and  the  weather  has  also  been  generally  favorable.  It  has 
been  found  that  the  magnitude  of  the  crop  has  generally  corresponded  with  the  date  at 
which  the  plants  produce  their  first  blooms  in  spring  and  the  advent  of  frost  in  autumn. 
It  is  clear  that  the  blooms  or  blossoms  might  appear  in  Louisiana  and  Florida  several  weeks 
before  their  appearance  in  Carolina  or  the  upper  sections  of  the  cotton  region.  By  close 
observation,  it  has  been  ascertained  that,  taking  the  average  period  at  which  blooms  usually 
appear,  it  extends  from  the  last  week  in  May  to  the  15th  of  June;  hence,  the  nearer  tho 
blooming  approaches  the,  one  or  the  other  of  these  periods,  in  connection  with  early  or  late 
frost,  will  be  the  yield  of  the  crop.  Early  blooms  and  late  frosts  produce  large  crops.  Late 
blooms  and  early  frost,  on  the  contrary,  produce  short  crops,  or  such  is  the  theory.  The 
growth  of  one  year's  crop  is  included  in  the  statistics  up  to  the  1st  of  September  of  the  fol- 
lowing year.  Hence  an  early  frost  in  1852  would  appear  in  the  statistics  of  1853.  In 
examining  a  table  extending  over  a  period  of  nineteen  years,  we  find  the  earliest  notice  of 
a  killing  frost  on  the  7th  of  October,  1838,  when  the  crop  was  only  1,350,100  bales.  The 
latest  date  at  which  it  appeared  was  on  the  10th  of  December,  1848,  when  the  crop  was 
2,000,000  to  2,100,000.  In  1851,  no  frost  occurred  until  after  the  full  maturity  of  the  plant 
to  injure  it,  when  the  crop  was  2,355,000.  For  the  nineteen  years,  we  find  an  average 
occurrence  of  frost  to  be  during  the  last  week  in  October  and  the  first  few  days  of  November. 

Wine  Production  c/1855. — The  estimated  production  of  wine  for  1855  varies  from  600,000 
to  750,000  gallons.f 

Hay  and  Grass  Crop  of  1855. — According  to  the  census  of  1840-,  the  hay  crop  of  the  United 
States  was  10,248,108  tons ;  in  1850,  13,888,642  tons.  The  crop  of  1855  has  been  estimated 
at  15,000,000,  which,  at  $10  per  ton,  would  amount  to  $150,000,000. 

The  above  estimate  does  not  include  the  value  of  the  grass  crop  appropriated  for  pas- 
turage, which  equals  at  least  in  value  the  hay  crop,  giving  an  aggregate  value  for  the  entire 
grass  crop  of  $300,000,000. 

*  See  Statistics,  pp.  238,  239.  t  See  Statistics,  pp.  71,  75. 


380  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Pork  Trade  of  the  West,  1854-55. 

THE  Cincinnati  Price  Current  furnishes  the  following  estimate  of  the  pork  trade  of  the 
West  for  1854-65: — The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  hogs  packed  in  the  principal 
pork-raising  districts  during  the  packing  season  of  1853-54,  and  1864-56: 


1853-54.  1854-55. 


Ohio 718,650  671,165 

Tennessee 50,880  6,000 

Indiana 601,820  505,830 

Kentucky 502,925  337,799 


1863-54.  4.       1864-55. 

Illinois 344,047  413,916 

Missouri 130,025 128,261 

Wisconsin 59,900 39,272 

Detroit,  Mich 7,500 5,000 


Iowa 48,060  .........  102,131  |  Buffalo,  N.  Y 8,000  15,000 

Grand  total 2,473,807  2,124,404 

Showing  a  deficiency  in  1854-55  of  463,066  hogs. 

The  average  weight  of  the  hogs  packed  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  Tennessee,  in 
1853-54,  was  208  Ibs. ;  in  1854-65,  192£  Ibs.  In  other  States,  the  average  in  the  same  years 
was  218  Ibs.  Taking  these  figures  as  the  average,  the  crop,  reduced  to  pounds,  compares 
as  follows: — 

1853-54.  1854-55. 

Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  Tennessee 391,926,200  273,502,845 

OtherStates 128,515,796  153,486,980 

520,445,996  426,989,825 

Showing  a  deficiency  of  103,457,171  Ibs.,  being  a  trifle  over  20  per  cent.  The  increase  in 
pounds  last  year  over  the  preceding  year's  crop  was  22£  per  cent.  The  product  of  this 
season  is,  therefore,  20  per  cent,  less  than  that  of  1853-64,  and  2  J  per  cent,  greater  than  that 
of  1852-63. 

According  to  the  census  returns  of  1840,  there  were  in  the  United  States  26,301,293  swine; 
of  1850,  there  were  30,354,213 ;  showing  an  increase  of  4,052,920.  The  present  number  may 
be  estimated  at  32,000,000,  which,  at  $5  each,  would  be  worth  $160,000,000. 

The  average  annual  production  of  lard  in  the  United  States  is  estimated  at  ninety-six  mil- 
lions of  pounds.  Of  this  amount,  twenty  millions  are  shipped  •  from  Cincinnati.  England 
and  Cuba  take  more  lard  of  us  than  all  the  rest  of  the  world.  Each  of  these  countries  buy 
over  eight  millions  of  pounds. 

Commerce  in  Animals,  and  Consumption  of  Animal  Food. 

HERETOFORE  we  have  known  very  nearly  the  number  of  animals  raised  in  the  United 
States,  but  we  have  not  known  the  number  and  weight  of  animals  actually  consumed  in  the 
country.  But  this  fact  is  very  desirable,  and  will  prove  very  useful.  It  is  well  known  that 
the  cattle,  as  well  as  the  hog  trade,  furnishes  a  very  large  portion  of  the  exchanges  of  the 
country,  and  hence  the  question  of  how  much,  where,  and  when  animal  food  is  consumed, 
has  a  direct  relation  to  the  financial  as  well  as  commercial  concerns  of  the  country.  The 
progress  of  statistics,  however,  gradually  furnishes  the  materials  to  show  this  and  all  similar 
problems.  The  great  difficulty  is  to  find  a  unit  of  measurement  for  the  consumption  of  cattle 
and  hogs.  In  the  cattle  trade,  we  know  that  the  great  cities  of  the  country  are  the  main 
purchasers  of  cattle,  insomuch  that  what  enters  into  general  commerce  is  a  very  small  amount 
of  what  is  consumed  in  the  large  towns.  With  hogs  it  is  something  different,  for  an  immense 
amount  of  pork  and  lard  enter  into  general  commerce  for  exportation,  especially  to  southern 
latitudes,  and  for  the  navies  and  armies  of  the  world. 

At  present  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  the  supply  and  consumption  of  cattle  and  sheep  as 
food ;  in  other  words,  beef  and  mutton.  For  the  consumption  of  beef  we  want  a  unit.  It 
might  have  been  furnished  by  the  statistics  of  Smithfield  Market,  London,  but  we  are  not 
aware  that  they  have  been  kept  and  recorded.  The  New  York  market,  however,  is  a  still 
better  test,  for  the  whole  of  our  population  are  meat-eaters.  The  aggregate  number  of 
cattle,  sheep,  and  calves  consumed  in  New  York  City,  including  Brooklyn,  is  as  follows: 
cattle,  154,000;  sheep  and  lambs,  470,000.  We  know  very  nearly  the  average  weight  of 
these  animals,  and  the  population  by  whom  they  are  consumed.  The  average  weight  of  the 


AGBICULTUKAL  STATISTICS.  381 

cattle  may  be  taken  at  750  pounds,  and  of  the  sheep  and  calves,  80  pounds.  The  population 
of  New  York  and  suburbs  in  1854  was  about  750,000.  Here,  then,  we  have  the  elements  for 
the  solution  of  the  general  problem.  Three-fourths  of  the  cattle,  &c.  consumed  in  New  York 
came  from  the  West,  beginning  with  the  Valley  of  the  Alleghany  in  New  York  and  Pennsyl- 
vania. Averaging  the  value  of  cattle  at  $70  each,  and  the  sheep  and  calves  at  $5.50,  at  the 
place  where  first  sold,  we  have  as  their  aggregate  value  the  sum  of  $13,365,000. 

But  in  respect  to  the  general  consumption  of  cattle  in  this  country,  the  consumption  of  New 
York  shows  that  each  1000  persons  in  civic  population  consume  205  cattle  and  533  sheep  per 
annum.  This  gives  us  the  consumption  of  the  population  of  the  principal  large  towns  and 
cities  in  the  United  States,  amounting  to  3,938,656,  as  eight  hundred  thousand  beeves,  and 
two  and  a  half  millions  of  sheep  and  lambs.  At  an  average  of  $50  each  for  the  beeves,  and 
$3  each  for  the  sheep,  which  is  not  too  much,  we  have  the  following  result: — 

Value  of  800,000  beeves $40,000,000 

Value  of  2,500,000  sheep  and  lambs 7,500,000 

Let  us  now  add  to  this  the  hogs  of  commerce — 

3,000,000  at  i8 24,000,000 

Total M $71,500,000 

If,  now,  we  add  to  this  aggregate  the  pickled  beef,  the  salt,  barrels,  and  labor  used  in  pack- 
ing pork,  and,  finally,  the  value  of  wool  sold  from  sheep,  we  find  the  commerce  in  animals 
amounting  in  value  to  full  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars, — an  amount  greater  than  the  entire 
cotton  crop.  Two-thirds  of  this  entire  product  comes  from  the  States  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Ohio  ;  and  we  shall  not  be  beyond  the  mark  in  saying  that  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky 
create  an  exchange  on  the  Atlantic  States  equal  to  twenty  millions  of  dollars  per  annum, 
derived  from  the  commerce  in  animals. 

In  reference  to  the  average  weight  consumed,  if  the  above  number  of  beeves,  sheep,  and 
hogs  be  reduced  to  their  aggregate  weight,  and  then  divided  by  four  millions,  (the  aggregate 
of  town  or  city  population,)  the  result  will  be  about  16  ounces  to  each  individual  per  diem. 
Now,  the  daily  ration  of  solid  meat  allowed  in  the  British  navy  is  12  ounces,  which  may  be 
taken  as  the  average  for  adults.  The  excess  of  quantity  found  in  the  above  calculation  will 
be  fully  accounted  for  by  exportation  to  other  countries,  and  by  the  consumption  of  towns  of 
less  than  5000  inhabitants.  The  general  accuracy  of  the  above  calculation  is,  therefore, 
sufficiently  proved,  and  the  magnitude  of  the  result  furnishes  another  illustration  of  the  value 
of  internal  commerce. — Condensed  from  the  Cincinnati  Price  Current. 


ON  MATTERS  PERTAINING  TO    AGRICULTURE,   PUBLISHED    IN   THE  UNITED 
STATES  DURING   THE  YEAR  1854-65.* 


ALLEN,  JOHN  FISKE.  Victoria  Regia,  or  the  Great  Water-Lily  of  America,  with  a  Brief 
Account  of  its  Discovery  and  Introduction  into  Cultivation ;  with  Illustrations  by  WILLIAM 
SHARP,  from  Specimens  grown  at  Salem,  Massachusetts.  Boston :  Dutton  &  Wentworth. 

ALLEN,  LEWIS  F.  The  American  Herd-Book;  containing  Pedigrees  of  Shorthorn  Cattle, 
with  Introductory  Notes.  Buffalo :  Thomas  &  Lathrops.  This  work,  of  650  pages,  con- 
tains two  thousand  seven  hundred  full  pedigrees,  besides  the  produce  of  cows  which  are 
registered,  and  upwards  of  fifty  portraits  of  living  animals.  Price  to  subscribers,  $5 ;  to 
non-subscribers,  $6. 

Annual  Register  for  1856,  Illustrated.  Price,  25  cents,  paper;  50  cents,  bound.  Luther 
Tucker  &  Sons,  Albany,  New  York. 

BEMENT,  C.  N.  The  Rabbit  Fancier :  a  Treatise  upon  the  Breeding,  Rearing,  Feeding,  and 
General  Management  of  Rabbits.  1  vol.  12mo,  pp.  102.  Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

CHANDLER,  J.  N.     Scientific  Exposition  of  the  Cause  and  Cure  of  the  Potato  Rot. 

CHARLTON,  WILLIAM.     The  Cold  Grapery.     12mo,  pp.  95.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

CONGDON,  J.  W.  Analytical  Class-Book  of  Botany,  illustrated  by  a  Compendious  Flora  of 
the  Northern  States.  Pp.  228.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

Cotton  is  King;  or,  The  Culture  of  Cotton.     Moore,  Wilstach,  Keys  &  Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

DANA,  SAMUEL  L.     Muck  Manual.     New  and  enlarged  edition.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

DARBY,  PROFESSOR  JOHN.  Botany  of  the  Southern  States.  In  Two  Parts.  Part  I.  Structural 
and  Physiological  Botany  and  Vegetable  Products.  Part  II.  Description  of  Southern 
Plants,  arranged  on  the  Natural  System.  Preceded  by  a  Linnsean  and  a  Dichotomous 
Analysis.  A.  S.  Barnes  &  Co.,  New  York. 

DEGRAN,  J.  W.     Address  before  the  Brooklyn  (New  York)  Horticultural  Society. 

DOWNING' s  Landscape  Gardening.     New  edition.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York.     Price,  $3.50. 

EMMONS,  E.,  M.D.     Agriculture  of  New  York.     Vol.  V.     4to.     State  publication. 

FLINT,  CHARLES  L.  The  Agriculture  of  Massachusetts,  as  shown  in  the  returns  of  the  Agri- 
cultural Societies  for  1854. 

Fox,  CHARLES.  The  American  Text-Book  of  Practical  and  Scientific  Agriculture.  Elwood 
&  Co., f  Detroit. 

Fruit,  Flower,  and  Kitchen-Gardener's  Companion.  By  PATRICK  NEIL,  F.R.S.E.  Adapted 
to  the  United  States,  from  the  fourth  edition,  revised  and  improved  by  the  Author.  Edited 
by  G.  EMERSON,  M.D.  With  Notes  and  Additions  by  R.  G.  PARDEE,  Author  of  "Manual 
of  the  Strawberry  Culture."  With  Illustrations.  Price,  $1.  Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

FRYATT,  H.  N.  Agriculture:  its  Essentials  and  Non-Essentials.  8vo,  pp.  60.  Magagnos 
&  Co.,  New  York. 

HAINES,  B.  and  C.  S.  Catalogue  of  Pure  Red  Shorthorns,  owned  by ; — Elizabethtown,  New 
Jersey. 

HILLS,  JOHN  S.  The  Necessity,  Effects,  Practice,  and  Profits  of  Land  Drainage.  Circular. 
Wilmington,  Delaware. 

*  This  list  does  not  include  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Proceedings  of  Societies. 


LIST  OF  BOOKS,   PAMPHLETS,  ETC.  383 

Horses  and  Mules.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

Journal  of  the  United  States  Agricultural  Society.   By  WILLIAM  S.  KINO,  Secretary.    Boston, 

Massachusetts. 
KERN,  G.  M.     Practical  Landscape  Gardening,  with  reference  to  the  Improvement  of  Rural 

Residences.     Cincinnati :  Moore,  Wilstach,  Keys  &  Co. 

LIEBIG,  JUSTUS.     The  Relations  of  Chemistry  to  Agriculture,  and  the  Agricultural  Experi- 
ments of  J.  B.  Lawes.      Translated  by  S.  W.  JOHNSOX,  Albany,   New  York.      Luther 

Tucker  &  Co.     Price,  25  cents. 

LOCKE,  JOHN,  DR.     An  Address  on  Agricultural  Chemistry.     Warren  County  (Ohio)  Agri- 
cultural Society. 

Manures :  how  to  Make,  Preserve,  and  Use.     G.  A.  Tuttle  &  Co.,  Rutland,  Vermont. 
Minutes  of  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  from  its  institution  in 

February,  1785,  to  March,  1810. 

MUNN,  B.     The  Practical  Land-Drainer.     12mo.     C.  M.  Saxton,  New  York. 
NASH,  J.  A.     Progressive  Farmer:    a  Scientific  Treatise  on  Agricultural  Chemistry,   the 

Geology  of  Agriculture,  on  Plants  and  Animals,  Manures  and  Soils  applied  to  Practical 

Agriculture ;  with  a  Catechism  of  Scientific  and  Practical  Agriculture.     Price,  60  cents. 

Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 

National  Pomological  Society :  Proceedings  of  the  Fifth  Meeting,  Boston. 
Ohio  Pomological  Society :  Transactions  of  the  Sixth  Session,  Columbus,  Ohio. 
PARDKE,  R.  C.     On  Strawberry  Culture.     Price,  76  cents.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 
Patent  Office  Report :  Agricultural  Department,  1854. 
REMEELIN,  CHARLES.     On  the  Vine.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 
RUFFIN,  EDMUND.     Essays  and  Notes  on  Agriculture.     12mo.     J.  W.  Randolph,  Richmond, 

Virginia. 

SAXTON'S  Rural  Hand-Books.     Third  Series.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 
SCHENCK'S  Gardener's  Text-Book.     J.  P.  Jewell  &  Co.,  New  York. 
THAER'S  Agriculture.     New  edition.     Price,  $2.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 
THOMAS,  JOHN.     Old  Farmer's  Almanac.     Hickling,  Swan  &  Co.,  Boston. 
THOMAS,  JOHN  J.     Farm  Implements,  and  the  Principles  of  their  Construction  and  Use :  an 

Elementary  and  Familiar  Treatise  on  Mechanics,  and  on  Natural  Philosophy  generally,  as 

applied  to  the  ordinary  practice  of  Agriculture.    With  two  hundred  engraved  Illustrations. 

Harper  &  Co.,  New  York. 

TROWBRIDGE,  F.     Cranberry  Culture.     New  Haven,  Connecticut. 
WAILES,  PROFESSOR  B.  C.  L.     Report  on  the  Agriculture  and  Geology  of  Mississippi. 
WARINO,  GEORGE  E.     Elements  of  Agriculture :    a  Book  for  Young  Farmers.      Appleton 

&  Co.,  New  York. 
WBEKS,  JOHN  M.      Manual  on  Bees ;   or  an  Easy  Method  of  Managing  Bees  in  the  most 

profitable  manner  to  their  owner ;  with  infallible  Rules  to  prevent  their  destruction  by  the 

Moth.     With  an  Appendix  by  WOOSTER  A.  FLANDERS.      Price,  60  cents.     Saxton  &  Co., 

New  York. 
WELLS,  DAVID  A.     Annual  of  Scientific  Discovery ;   or  Year-Book  of  Facts  in  Science  and 

Art,  for  1855.      Boston:  Gould  &  Lincoln;    Philadelphia:    David  A.Weils  &  Co.,  124 

Arch  Street. 
WELLS,  DAVID  A.     The  Year-Book  of  Agriculture ;  or  Annual  of  Agricultural  Progress  and 

Discovery,  for  1855^56.     Childs  &  Peterson,  Philadelphia.     Price,  $1.50,  Illustrated. 
WETHERILL,  C.  M.     Chemical  Examination  of  the  Bakers'  Bread  of  Philadelphia. 
WHEELER,  GERVASE.     Homes  for  the  People  in  Suburb  and  Country,  adapted  to  American 

Climates  and  Wants ;  with  Examples,  showing  how  to  Alter  and  Remodel  Old  Buildings. 

Scribner,  New  York. 
YOUATT  and  MARTIN,  on  the  Hog.     Edited  by  AMBROSE  STEVENS.     Illustrated.     Price,  60 

cents.     Saxton  &  Co.,  New  York. 


CaWe  oTJhnte, 


EECOMMENDED  BY  POMOLOGICAL  SOCIETIES  FOE  (CULTIVATION  IN  DIFFERENT  SEC- 
TIONS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

IN  the  following  valuable  table,  derived  from  the  Horticulturist,  the  Editor  has  catalogued 
the  most  popular  varieties  of  fruits  recommended  by  various  pomological  societies  of  the  United 
States,  for  general  cultivation.  To  each  variety  is  affixed  the  several  States  in  which  they 
have  been  recommended  by  fruit  committees,  those  only  being  enumerated  which  have  been 
recommended  by  at  least  three  States,  the  object  being  to  exhibit  a  list  of  such  as  have 
proved  successful  over  a  wide  area.  ,  As  a  table  of  reference,  the  Editor  of  the  Horticulturist 
remarks :  "It  will  be  found  valuable  to  all  engaged  in  fruit-culture,  or  who  are  collecting  infor- 
mation on  the  subject." 

APPLES. 

Baldwin — New  York,  Del.,  N.  J.,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  Ohio,  Missouri,  HI. 

Roxbury  Russet — New  York,  N.  J.,  Vermont,  Maine,  Mich.,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Indiana,  HI. 

Northern  Spy — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Vermont,  Maine. 

Rhode  Island  Greening— $.  Y.,  Penn.,  N.  J.,  Vt.,  Maine,  Mich.,  Iowa,  Ohio,  Ind.,  111. 

S-waar — New  York,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Illinois. 

Esopus  Spitzenburg — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Vermont,  N.  H.,  Mich.,  Ohio,  Mo.,  HI. 

Early  Harvest — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Virginia, 
Ohio,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Delaware,  Michigan,  Iowa. 

Sweet  Bough — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Vermont,  ,Maine,  Illinois,  Delaware,  New  Jersey, 
Virginia,  Missouri,  Indiana,  New  Hampshire,  Ohio. 

Summer  Rose — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Hlinois. 

Fall  Pippin— New  York,  Penn.,  Del.,  New  Jersey,  Mich.,  Virginia,  Ohio,  Missouri,  111. 

Belmont — New  York,  Michigan,  Ohio. 

Hubbardson  Nonsuch — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Maine. 

Golden  Sweet — New  York,  Maine,  Missouri. 

Red  Astracan — New  York,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  Iowa,  Ohio,  Missouri,  HI. 

Jonathan — New  York,  Ohio,  Missouri. 

Early  Strawberry — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio. 

Danger's  Winter  Sweet — New  York,  Delaware,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  Ohio. 

William's  Favorite — New  York,  New  Hampshire,  Maine. 

American  Summer  Pearmain — New  York,  Delaware,  Illinois. 

Summer  Queen — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Hlinois. 

Maiden's  Blush — New  York,  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Hlinois. 

Porter — New  York,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  Ohio,  Missouri. 

Gravenstein — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Maine,  Ohio 

Vandervere — New  York,  Maine,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Illinois. 

Yellow  Bellftower—New  York,  Penn.,  Del.,  N.  J.,  Vt.,  Mich.,  Iowa,  Va.,  Ohio,  Mo.,  la.,  HI. 

Fameuse — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  Hlinois. 

Newtown  Pippin — New  York,  Delaware,  N.  J.,  Mich.,  Iowa,  Va.,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Ind.,  ni. 

Rambo — New  York,  Penn.,  Delaware,  Mich.,  Iowa,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Illinois. 

Smokehouse — Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Virginia,  Indiana. 

Fallenwalden — Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Ohio. 

Golden  Russet — Pennsylvania,  New  Hampshire,  Ohio,  Hlinois. 

Winesap — Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  Ohio,  Illinois. 

White  Belt/lower — Pennsylvania,  Missouri,  Illinois. 

Holland  Pippin — Michigan,  Missouri,  Indiana. 

Rawle's  Janet — Iowa,  Virginia,  Hlinois. 

Lady  Apple — Delaware,  Ohio,  Missouri. 


TABLE  OF  FRUITS.  385 

PEARS. 

Bloodgood — Conn.,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Penn.,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Mississippi. 
Doyenne  d'Ete — Conn.,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Maine,  Mass.,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Mississippi. 
Tyson — Conn.,  New  Jersey,  Penn.,  New  York,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Ohio,  Mississippi. 
Dearborn's  Seedling — Conn.,  Vermont,  N.  J.,  Delaware,  Penn.,  N.  Y.,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Julienne — Conn.,  Delaware,  Penn.,  South  Carolina,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Mississippi. 
Bartktt—  Conn.,  Vermont,  N.  J.,  Del.,  Penn.,  N.  Y.,  Maine,  Georgia,  Iowa,  Ohio,  Mo.,Ind. 
Beurre  Base — Conn.,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Maine,  Indiana,  .Mississippi. 
Beurre  Diel — Conn.,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Mississippi. 
Golden  Beurre  of  Bilboa — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Georgia,  Mississippi. 
Flemish  Beauty — Conn.,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Miss. 
Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey — Conn.,  Vt.,  N.  J.,  Del.,  Pa.,  N.  Y.,  Me.,  Mass.,  Geo.,  0.,  la.,  Miss. 
Fondante  d'Automne — Conn.,  New  Jersey,  Penn.,  New  York,  Mass.,  Georgia,  Indiana,  Miss. 
Seckel— Conn.,  Vermont,  N.  J.,  Del.,  Penn.,  N.  Y.,  S.  C.,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Mo.,  Indiana,  Miss. 
Van  Mons  Leon  It  Clerc — Connecticut,  New  York,  Georgia. 

Duchesse  d'AngouUme — Conn.,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  New  York,  Maine,  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Mississippi. 

Beurre  d'Aremberg — Conn.,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  New  York,  Maine,  Ohio. 
Vicar  of  Wakefield — Conn.,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Mass.,  Maine,  Indiana. 
Winter  Nelis — Conn.,  Vermont,  N.  J.,  Del.,  Penn.,  N.  Y.,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Ind.,  Miss. 
Madeleine — Conn.,  N.  J.,  Delaware,  Penn.,  N.  Y.,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Indiana,  Miss. 
Andrews — Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Massachusetts,  Georgia. 
Beurre'  Brown — Connecticut,  New  York,  Georgia,  Indiana. 
Elizabeth — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts. 
Heathcot — Connecticut,  Vermont,  Maine,  Ohio. 
Beurre  Goubault — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Mississippi. 
Beurre  d'Amalis — Connecticut,  Delaware,  Maine,  Georgia,  Mississippi. 
Onondaga — Connecticut,  New  York,  Ohio. 

Marie  Louise — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Mississippi. 
Duchesse  d1 Orleans — Connecticut,  Delaware,  Massachusetts. 
Napoleon — Connecticut,  New  York,  Maine,  Ohio,  Missouri. 
St.  Ghislain — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Frederick  of  Wirtemburg — Connecticut,  New  York,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Urbaniste — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Missouri. 
Easter  Beurre — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  New  York,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Indiana. 
Beurre  Giffard — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maine,  Indiana,  Mississippi. 
Doyenne  Boussock — Connecticut,  Delaware,  Massachusetts. 
Dix — Connecticut,  New  York,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Mississippi. 
Paradise  d'Automne — Connecticut,  New  York,  Massachusetts. 

White  Doyenne— Conn.,  Vermont,  N.  Y.,  Maine,  S.  C.,  Geo.,  Ohio,  Mo.,  Miss.,  Penn.,  HI. 
Glout  Morceau — Conn.,  Vermont,  N.  J.,  Del.,  N.  Y.,  Maine,  Georgia,  Indiana,  Mississippi. 
Passe  Colmar — Conn.,  New  York,  Maine,  Georgia,  Mississippi. 

Rostiezer — Vermont,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Indiana,  Mississippi. 
Beurre  tfAnjou — New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Massachusetts,  Mississippi. 
Laurence — New  Jersey,  Massachusetts,  Ohio. 
Washington — New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio. 
Brandywine — Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  Massachusetts,  Mississippi. 
Doyenne  Gris — Pennsylvania,  Georgia,  Mississippi. 
Steven's  Genesee — New  York,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Fulton— New  York,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  South  Carolina. 
Buffum—Sm  York,  Maine,  Massachusetts. 

PEACHES,  RECOMMENDED   BY  AT   LEAST   TWO   STATES. 
Yellow  Albergc—Ohio,  New  York. 
Early  TUlotson — Ohio,  Georgia,  New  York,  New  Jersey. 


86  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

Morris's  Rare  Red  Ripe — Ohio,  Missouri. 

Early  York — Ohio,  Missouri,  Georgia,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 

Malta — Ohio,  Georgia. 

Early  Ann-~Ohio,  New  York.  -i 

Red  Rare  Ripe — Ohio,  Georgia,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 

Yellow  Rare  Ripe — Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey. 

George  IV. — Ohio,  Georgia,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 

Grosse  Mignonne — Ohio,  Missouri,  Georgia,  New  York. 

Late  Heath  Cling — Ohio,  New  Jersey,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  Georgia. 

Coolidae's  Favorite — Ohio,  New  York,  Massachusetts. 

Late  Admirable — Ohio,  Georgia,  Missouri. 

Crawford's  Early — Ohio,  Missouri,  Georgia,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 

Crawford's  Late — Ohio,  Georgia,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 

Morris's  White — Ohio,  Missouri,  Georgia,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 

New  York  Rare  Ripe — Ohio,  New  Jersey. 

Troth's  Early — Missouri,  New  Jersey. 

Early  Newington — Missouri,  New  Jersey. 

Lemon  Cling — Missouri,  Georgia,  New  York. 

Old  Mixon  Free — Georgia,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Ohfo. 

Royal  George — Georgia,  New  York. 

Tippecanoe — Georgia,  New  Jersey. 

Large  Early  York — New  Jersey,  New  York. 

Red  Cheek  Melocoton — New  Jersey,  New  York. 

PLUMS,  RECOMMENDED   BY   AT   LEAST   TWO   STATES. 

Green  Gage — New  York,  Conn.,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Penn.,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Jefferson — New  York,  Connecticut,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Lawrence's  Favorite — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maine,  Georgia. 
Purple  Gage — New  York,  Maine. 

Bleecker's  Gage — New  York,  Connecticut,  Maine,  Ohio. 
Coe's  Golden  Drop — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Columbia — New  York,  Maine. 
Drop  d'Or — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Ohio. 
Huling's  Superb — New  York,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Imperial  Gage — New  York,  Connecticut,  Maine,  Georgia. 

Smith's  Orleans — New  York,  Conn.,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Washington — New  York,  Conn.,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Georgia,  Ohio. 
Frost  Gage — New  York,  Connecticut,  Maine,  Georgia, 
Emerald  Drop — New  York,  Connecticut. 
Reine  Claude  de  Bavay — New  York,  Maine. 

Yellow  Magnum  Bonum—TS&vr  York,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  Maine. 
Yellow  Gage — New  York,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Ohio. 
Lombard — Connecticut,  New  Hampshire,  Maine. 
Bingham — New  Hampshire,  Georgia. 
Duane's  Purple— New  York,  Ohio. 

CHERRIES,  RECOMMENDED   BY  AT   LEAST   THREE   STATES. 

Belle  de  Choisy — New  York,  Conn.,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Massachusetts. 
Black  Eagle — New  York,  Conn.,  New  Hampshire,  Penn.,  Maine,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Missouri. 
Black  Tartarian— New  York,  Conn.,  N.  J.,  Delaware,  C.  W.,  Mich.,  Ohio,  Mo.,  Ind.,  Miss. 
Bigarreau  (Yellow  Spanish}—  N.  Y.,  N.  J.,  Del.,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Ind.,  N.  H.,  Mich.,  Miss. 
Downer's  Late — New  York,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Ohio,  Mississippi. 
Elton — New  York,  Conn.,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Penn.,  Maine,  C.  W.,  Mich.,  Ohio,  Mo. 
Knight's  Early  Black — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Ohio. 

Napoleon  Bigarreau — New  York,  Connecticut,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Missouri,  Mississippi. 
Belle  Magnifique — New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Canada  West. 


TABLE  OF  FRUITS.  387 

May  Duke—New  York,  Conn.,  N.  H.,  N.  J.,  Del.,  Maine,  Mich,  Georgia,  Ohio,  Ind.,  Miss. 

White  Bigarreau — New  York,  Conn.,  New  Hampshire,  Delaware,  Mich.,  Ohio,  Mississippi. 

Black  Heart — New  York,  Delaware,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Missouri. 

Early  Purple  Guigne — New  York,  Mississippi,  New  Jersey,  Canada  West. 

English  Morello — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Georgia,  Missouri. 

Kentish  Morello — Connecticut,  Maine,  New  Jersey,  Georgia,  Indiana. 

Honey  Heart — Connecticut,  Maine,  Massachusetts. 

Coe's  Transparent — Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts. 

Gov.  Wood — Massachusetts,  Qhio>  New  York. 

American  Amber — Michigan,  Ohio,  Missouri. 

APRICOTS. 

Peach — Ohio,  Mississippi,  Georgia,  New  Jersey. 
Moorpark — Ohio,  Mississippi,  Georgia,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 
Breda — Ohio,  Mississippi,  Georgia,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 
Large  Early — Ohio,  Mississippi,  New  York. 

NECTARINES. 

Elruge — Ohio,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts,  New  York. 
Early  Violet — Ohio,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts,  New  York. 

QUINCES. 

Orange  Apple — Ohio,  New  Jersey,  New  York. 
Portugal — Ohio,  New  Jersey. 

HARDY  GRAPES,  FOR  OUT-DOOR  CULTURE. 

Catawba — Ohio,  Missouri,  Iowa,  Georgia,  C.  W.,  Mass.,  Delaware,  New  Jersey,  Conn. 
Isabella — Ohio,  Mo.,  Iowa,  Georgia,  Michigan,  C.  W.,  Mass.,  Del.,  N.  J.,  Vermont,  Conn. 
Clinton — Michigan,  Canada  West. 
Elsinboro* — Delaware,  New  Jersey. 

CURRANTS. 

Red  Dutch — New  York,  Delaware,  Massachusetts,  Canada  West,  Missouri,  Ohio. 
Knighfs  Sweet  J?ed— New  York,  New  Jersey. 

White  Dutch — New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Mass.,  Canada  West,  Missouri,  Ohio. 
White  Grape — New  York,  Canada  West. 
Black  Naples — New  Jersey,  Massachusetts,  Canada  West. 
May'*  Victoria — Massachusetts,  New  York,  Canada  West. 

RASPBERRIES. 

Red  Antwerp — New  York,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Canada  West,  Mississippi,  Ohio. 
White  (or  Yellow)  Antwerp — New  York,  Canada  West,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts. 
Fastolff — New  York,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Mississippi,  Ohio. 
Franconia — New  York,  Connecticut,  Vermont,  New  Jersey,  Maine,  Massachusetts. 
Knevetfs  Giant — New  York,  Connecticut,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Ohio. 

STRAWBERRIES. 

Hovey's  Seedling— Ohio,  Miss.,  Ind.,  Mo.,  C.  W.,  Mass.,  Maine,  Del.,  N.  J.,  Conn.,  N.  Y. 
Iowa — Ohio,  Missouri. 
McAvoy's  Superior — Ohio,  Indiana. 
Hudson — Ohio,  Canada  West,  New  York. 
Jenney's  Seedling — Ohio,  Maine,  Connecticut,  New  York. 
Burr's  New  Pine — Ohio,  Missouri,  Canada  West,  New  York. 
Black  Prince — Mississippi,  Canada  West,  New  York. 

Large  Early  Scarlet — Mississippi,  Missouri,  C.  W.,  N.  Y.,  Mass.,  Maine,  Delaware. 
Boston  Pine — Indiana,  Maine,  Connecticut,  New  York. 


Jatottti 


PATENTS,  DESIGNS,  RE-ISSUES,  AND  ADDITIONAL  IMPROVEMENTS,  ISSUED  BY 
THE  PATENT-OFFICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES,  FROM  JULY  IST,  1854,  TO  JULY 
IST,  1855,  INCLUSIVE. 

PATENTS 1934 

DESIGNS 52 

RE-ISSUES 44 

ADDITIONAL  IMPROVEMENTS 13 

TOTAL....  ..  2043 


TABLE 

SHOWING  THE  WHOLE  NUMBER  OF  PATENTED  INVENTIONS  RELATING  TO  AG- 
RICULTURE, FROM  JULY  IST,  1854,  TO  JULY  IST,  1855,  INCLUSIVE;  NATURE  OF 
THE  INVENTIONS,  WITH  NAMES  AND  RESIDENCES  OF  THE  PATENTEES. 

WHOLE  NUMBER  OF  AGRICULTURAL  PATENTS ,, 2,98 

RE-ISSUES,  DESIGNS,  AND  ADDITIONAL  IMPROVEMENTS 4 

TOTAL 302 

PLOWS. 

T.  F.  Chapin Walpole,  N.  H Patent  issued  July  25,  1854. 

John  Lyon,  (Ditching  Plow) Harrisburg,  Iowa "  "     "  " 

J.  S.  Hall Manchester,  Pa "          August  1,  " 

Joshua  Gibbs..... Canton,  Ohio "  "    15,  " 

D.&  S.  Swartz,  (Fastenings  of  Plows) Tonis  Brook,  Va "  «    22,  " 

O.G.Ewings Heart  Prairie,  Wis....          «  "    29,  " 

W.  Price,  (Plow  for  planting  potatoes) Goldsborough,  N.  C..          "  "      "  " 

H.  F.  Baker t Centreville,  Ind "  Oct.  24,  " 

J.Hibbs Tullytown,  Pa "  Nov.  14,  " 

C.  A.  Robbins,  (Ditching  Plow) Iowa  City,  Iowa "  "     "  " 

Arnton  Smith Scottville,  Ind "  Jan.  16,  1855. 

Alfred  Doe Concord,  N.  H "  "     30,  " 

George  Esterly Heart  Prairie,  Wis...          "  Feb.  13,  " 

J.  W.  Haggard  &  G.  Bull,  (Rotary  Plow) Bloomington,  HI "  "      "  " 

J.Reynolds Republic,  Ohio "  "      "  " 

D.  Russell,  (Spade  Plow) Drewersburg,  Ind "  "     28,  " 

T.J.  Hall Tawakana  Hills,Tex.          "  April    4,  " 

N.  Warlich La  Fayette,  Ala "  "      "  " 

T.  J.  Hall,  (Gang  Plow) Tawakana  Hills,Tex.          "  May    1,  " 

E.  C.  Travenner  A  0.  Nesmith Hamilton,  Va "  "        8,  « 

L.G.Evans Springhill,  Ala "  June  19,  « 

C.H.Dana West  Lebanon,  N.  H.          "  July  25,  « 

G.  Lichtenthaler Limestoneville,  Pa...          "  "       "  " 

388 


PATENTS. 


389 


CULTIVATORS. 

C.  K.  Farr '..Auburn,  Miss Patent  issued  Aug.    1,  1854. 

D.  W.  Shares Hamden,  Conn "  "      "  " 

W.  T.Bazemore Bibb  Co.  Ga,... "  "      29,  " 

W.Bancroft Whiteford,  Ohio.......  «  Nov.  14,  « 

Job  Brown Lawn  Ridge,  111 "  "       "  « 

Johnlmel Liberty,  Ind "  Jan.    2,  1855- 

J.  Stockdale,  (Cultivator  Teeth) .....Ypsilanti,  Mich "  "30,  " 

J.  A.  Robinson,  (Hand  Cultivator) Poplin,  N.  H "  Feb.  20,  " 

N.B.  Chase  AC.  W.  Saunders,  (Hand  Cultivator).. ..Wilkinsonville,Mass.  "  March    7,  " 

S.  A.  Knox Worcester,  Mass «  "      14,  " 

G.  W.N.Yost Port  Gibson,  Miss....  "  "     21,  « 

H.  D.  Gange Freehold,N.J "  «     28,  " 

R.  P.  Vanhorn. Jackson  Town,  Ohio.  "  "      "  " 

W.  P.  Zane,  (Cultivators  for  sweet  potatoes) Woolwich,  N.  J "  "      "  " 

F.  L.  Smithson,  (Cultivators  for  tobacco) Mecklenburg  Co.  Va.  "  April    4,  " 

A.H.  Morrel Marlon,  Texas "  "     11,  « 

J.  Stryker Six-Mile  Run,  N.  J..  "  "     18,  « 


Jan. 


SEED  PLANTERS. 

Samuel  Ide East  Shelby,  N.  Y.... Patent  issued  July    4, 

C.  A.  Wakefield Plainfield,  Mass «  "    25, 

C.  Randall,  (Re-issue) Palmyra,  Ga "  «     " 

W.  Bullock Red  Falls,  N.  Y "  Aug.    1, 

J.  T.  A  L.  P.  Wait Waterloo,  S.  C "  "    15, 

S.  M.Hockman Tonis  Brook,  Va. "  "    29, 

J.  H.King,  Jr Georgetown,  D.  C "  "     " 

Win.  Rcdick Uniontown,  Pa <*  "     " 

C.H.Dana West  Lebanon,  N.  H.  "  Sept.    5, 

Louis  Daser Washington,  D.  C....  "  "     " 

A.  B.  Earle Franklin,  N.  Y "  Oct.  24, 

G.  W.  Lee Ercildown,  Pa «  Nov.  21, 

M.  Waterbury Cuba,  N.  Y..... "  «      " 

D.  W.  Shares,  (Seed  Planters  and  Cultivators) Hamden,  Conn "  Dec.  12, 

J.^ndrews Winchester,  Mass "  «      " 

A.  Anderson Markham,  Canada.... 

Jarvis  Case Springfield,  Ohio 

E.  Morgan Morgan  town,  Va 

S.  L.  Stockstill  A  P.  H.  Humes Brandt,  Ohio 

J.Williams  A  J.W.  Bausman,  (Cotton-seed  Planters) Alleghany  Co.  Pa.... 

John  Blackwood Franklin  Co.  Ohio.... 

Job  Brown Lawn  Ridge,  111 

R.  Romaine. Montreal,  Canada.... 

A.  J.  Barnhart Schoolcraft,  Mich 

H.  Ludington  A  S.  R.  Lupton Addison,  Pa. 

E\  Morse Walpole,N.  H 

D.H.Phillips Greenville,  HI "  "•      " 

B.  M.  Snell Hancock,  Md "  "     " 

Hiram  Moore Climax,  Mich "  "     28, 

M.Ward Owego,N.Y «  "     « 

C.  B.  A  B.  S.  Borden  A  A.  R.  McLean West  Dresden,  N.  Y.  «  April    4, 

J.  W.  McGaffey Syracuse,  N.  Y "  "     " 

J.W.Corey Crawfordeville,  Ind...  "  "     11, 

P.  Raines,  (Corn  Planters) London,  Ohio "  May    1, 

G.W.  Brown Galesburg,  HI "  "       8, 

A.  H.  Morrel,  (Cotton-seed  Planters) Marlin,  Texas "  "     10, 

L.W.  Colver Louisville,  Ky "  "    17, 


1854. 


it    • 
1855. 


«    23, 
"    30, 

((         t( 

Feb.  28, 

K          K 

March  14, 
«    21, 


390 


THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


«     24, 
June    5, 


Stevens,  Crosby  &  Pearson Boston,  Mass Patent  issued  May  17,1855. 

T.  S.  Minuiss Meadville,  Pa. " 

L.  A.  Butts Cuba,  N.  Y " 

C.  H.  Dana West  Lebanon,  N.  H.  " 

TJ.  Beebe,  (Corn  Planters) Oakland/Mich " 

J.  Selby Lancaster,  Ohio " 

M.  D.Weils Morgantown,  Va « 

0.  Stoddard,  (Hand  Corn  Planter) Blisti,  N.  Y « 


19, 
ft 

26, 


GRAIN  AND  GRASS  HARVESTERS. 

A.  Gale,  (Mowing  Machine) Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y..Patent  issued  July  25,  1854. 


A.Whitely,  (Track  Clearers  to) Springfield,  Ohio 

G.  A.  Bruce,  (Maize  Harvesters) Mechanicsburg,  111... 

J.  S.  Burnham West  Jefferson,  Ohio. 

A.Whiteley Springfield,  Ohio 

J.J.  Weeks Oyster  Bay,  N.  Y 

J.  H.  Manny Rockford,  111. 

J.  Swartz , Buffalo,  N,Y 

C.  Wheeler,  Jr Poplar  Ridge,  N.  Y.. 

J.  S.  Gage,  (Clover  Harvesters) Dowagiac,  Mich 

W.F.  Ketchum Buffalo,  N.  Y 

J.  E.  Brown  &  S.  S.  Bartlett Woonsocket,  R.I 

M.Burnett  &  C.  Vander  Woerd Boston,  Mass 

John  E.  Newcomb Whitehall,  N.Y 

0.  B.  Judd Little  Falls,  N.  Y 

A.  Palmer,  (Frame  of  Grass  Harvester) Brockport,  N.Y 

D.  Russell,  (Harvester  Cutters) Drewersburgh,  Ind... 

E.A.  Morrison,  (Delivering  apparatus  of  Harvesters).Lawrenceville,  Va... 

J.  H.  Maydole  &  A.W.Morse Eaton,  N.  Y 

F.  Russell,  (Mowing  Machine) Boston,  Mass 

C.  Wheeler Venice,  N.  Y 

R.  J.  Morrison ;. Richmond,  Va 

J.  H.  Manny Rockford,  111 

F.  Russell,  (Mowing  Machine) Boston,  Mass 

W.  A.  Wood i , Hoosic  Falls,  N.  Y.... 

A.  Diets  &  J.  G.  Dunham Raritan,  N.  J 

Jarvis  Case....'. Springfield,  Ohio 

E.  B.  Forbush Buffalo,  N.Y 

Philo  Sylla Elgin,  111 

R.  L.  Hawes,  (Machine  for  dressing  Lawns) Worcester,  Mass 

J.  Atkins,  (Platforms  of  Grain  Harvesters).... Chicago,  111 

A.  Whitely,  (Attaching  wheels  to  Harvesters) Springfield,  Ohio 

«        <(  «  <t 

T.  N.  Lupton Winchester,  Va 

J.  H.  Manny Rockford,  HI 

B.  N.  Nicholson Davidsonville,  Md.... 

J.  Haines Pekin,  111 

F.  Peabody Salem,  Mass 

C.  Wilson  &  W.  Moore,  Jr.  (Mowing  Machine) Yardleyville,  Pa....... 

M.  G.  Hubbard New  York  City 

A.  Diets  &  J.  G.  Dunham Raritan,  N.  J 

J.  Richardson,  (Modification  of  motion  of) Buckeystown,  Md.... 

C.  Taylor McKeesport,  Pa. 

S.  Hull,  (Attaching  seat  to) , Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.. 

J.  H.  Manny,  (Cutters  of ) Rockford,  HI 

"   "       "        (Guard-fingers  of ) «         « 


Aug.  22,  « 

"     29,  " 

Sept  19,  " 

<(          H  it 

"  26,  " 

Oct.  17,  " 

Nov.  14,  " 

Dec.  5,  " 

"   .19*  " 

<t         (t  it 

Jan.   2,1855. 

n     ((  « 

"      9,  " 

"    16,  " 

"    30,  " 


Feb.    6, 

"  28, 
"  6, 
"  13, 
March  7, 
"  21, 
n  (( 

"      28, 
April  18, 


April  25,  1855. 


May    8, 

tt      (( 

"  10, 

"  17, 

"  24, 

tt  « 

June    5, 
«      M 

"     19, 
«     26, 


PATENTS.  391 
BAKES  AND  HARROWS. 

C.  Brown,  (Harvester  Rakes) Upper  Alton,  HI .Patent  issued  July  11,  1854. 

\V.  Anderson,  (Harrows) Ulysseg,  N.  Y «  Aug.    1,  " 

D.  M.  Cuinmings,  (Rakes) Enfield,  N.  H "  «     15,  « 

J.  Myers,  (Harrows) Powhattan  Point,  0..  "  "      «  « 

M.  D.  Wells,  (Horse  Rakes) Morgantown,  Va "  "      "  « 

J.  G.  McCauley,  (Harrows) Stone  Bridge,  Va «  "     29,  " 

G.  A.  Brown,  (Hay-making  Machine) Middletown,  R.  I "  Jan.  23, 1855. 

S.  N.  A  W.  F.  Stillman,  (Garden  Rakes) Leonardville,  N.  Y...  "  Feb.  13,  " 

D.  Haldeman,  (Harrows).. Morgantown,  Va "  "     20,  " 

A.  H.  Gaston  A  J.  Smith,  (Rakes  and  Elevators)... Sunbury,  Ohio "  March  21,  " 

W.  J.  Keeney  &  J.  R.  Tarbox,  ("             "        ) Switzerland,  Ind......  "  April    4,  " 

C.  Clareni,  (Harrows) New  York  City "  "      "  " 

L.  Brainard  A  L.  Newton,  (Rotary  Harrow) Attica,  N.  Y "  "     11,  " 

H.  Chatfield,  (Rakes) Waterbury,  Conn "  "     18,  " 

F.  Peabody,  (    "        "               "       ) Salem,  Mass "  April  18,  " 

STRAW-CUTTERS,  ETC. 

A.  B.  Earle Franklin,  N.  Y Patentissued  Aug.  22,  1854. 

W.Gale Troy,N.Y "  Sept.  12,  " 

J.  B.  Stockton,  (Springs  to  knives  of) Warren  Co.  Ky «  "     26,  " 

J.A.Pitts Buffalo,  N.Y "  Jan.  16,  1855. 

G.  L.  Squier Chicopee,  Mass "  "     30,  " 

J.H.Bennett Bennington,  Vt "  Feb.  20,  " 

W.  Lackey Worcester,  Mass "  April  11,  « 

IraRose Akron,  Ohio... "  "      "  « 

D.Russell Drewersburgh,  Ind'...  "  "      "  " 

S.T.  Sharp Danville,  Mo "  "      "  " 

T.  C.  Simonton  A  L.  J.  Wicks Patterson,  N.  J "  "      "  " 

F.  Fitzpatrick Cincinnati,  Ohio "  May  24,  " 

H.  Peckham King's  Ferry,  N.  Y...  "  June  26,  " 

W.  H.  Fullerton,  (Hackling  Corn-husks) Louisville,  Ky "  July  11,  1854. 

J.  Straub,  (Corn-cob  Cutter) Cincinnati,  Ohio "  "     25,  '< 

L.  Woods,  (Hedge  Trimmer) Quincy,ni "  "      "  " 

J.  S.  Griffith,  (Corn  and  Cob  Crusher) Huntington,  Pa. "  Feb.    6,  1855. 

W.D.  Wilson,  (Corn  Grinder  and  Crusher) Richmond,  Ind "  May  24,  " 

A.  A  C.  N.  Clow,  (Corn  Shellers) Port  Byron,  N.  Y "  June  26,  " 

HORSES,  CARRIAGES,  ETC. 

W.  McCord,  (Horse  Power) Sing  Sing,  N.Y Patent  issued  July  11, 1854. 

W.  R.  Palmer,  («        «      improvement)..'. Elizabeth  City,  N.  C.  "  "     18,  « 

S.  Tomlinson,  (Holding-docks  of  Horses) Pleasant  Valley,N.Y.  "  "      "  " 

A.  J.  Gibson,  (Vehicles) Clinton,Mass "  "     25,  « 

N.  B.  Livingston,  (Coupling  for  Carriages)... Portland,  Ind "  "      "  " 

W.H.  Towers,  (Horse-shoes) Philadelphia,  Pa «  "      «  " 

A.  J.  Gibson,  (Improved  attachment  of  Thills) Clinton,  Mass "  Aug.    1,  " 

"  "        "       (Whiffletrees         "         ") "          "   "  "      "  " 

Geo.  Souther,  (Tires  for  Carriage-wheels) Boston,      "   "  "      "  " 

S.  Stone,  (Dumping  Cart) Kirkersville,  Ohio....  "  "       "  " 

T.  Mardock  A  W.  C.  Kellar,  (Saddle  Trees) Cincinnati,        "  ....  "  "      "  " 

W.  S.  Rabcock,  (Dumping  Wagon) Stonington,  Conn "  "      8,  " 

J.  S.  McClelland,  (Buggies) Jefferson,  Ind "  "       "  " 

A.  Moffit,  (Spring-body  Carriages) Brownsville,  Pa "  "      "  " 

E.  Turner,  (Hame  Fastenings) Baltimore,  Md "      "  " 

C.  Darling,  (Securing  Hubs  to  Axles) Utica,  N.  Y "  "     15,  " 

R.  Spencer,  (Saddle  Trees) Southport,  Conn "  "     22,  " 

(Harness  Saddles) New  York,  N.  Y «  "      "  " 


392  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

N.  Warlick,  (Horse-shoeing  Apparatus) Lafayette,  Ala. Patent  issued  Aug.  29,  1854. 

A.  J.  Gibson,  (Coupling  for  Carriages) Clinton,  Mass "  Sept  12,     " 

S.  Briggs  &  J.  G.  Talbot,  (Neck-yoke) Sloansville,  N.  Y "  «     26,     « 

T.  Hardman  &  A.  Vose,  (Whiffletrees) Pittsfield,  Vt "  "      «      « 

C.  Jarnagin,  (Seats  for  Wagons) Clinton,  TeHn "  Oct  31,    " 

L.  Dederick,  (Ox-yokes) Albany,  N.  Y "  Jan.    2,1855. 

Z.  Butt,  (Self-loading  Cart) Lincolnton,  N.  C "  *Mar.  14,     " 

J.  Wilkinson,  ("  and  Unloading  Carts) Hopewell  Cot.  Wks.  P.  0.  Pa.          May    1,     " 

J.  A.  Sprague,  A  B.  O'Connor  ("    "        ) Dayton,  Ohio «  "     21,     " 

J.  Tucker,  (Ox-yokes) Norway,  Me «  May  17,     " 

R.  R.  Gray,  (Blocks  for  Horse-collars) Crawfordsville,  Ind..  "  June  19,     u 

E.  H.  Penfield,  (Dock.holders  for  Horses)..;.... Middletown,  Conn...  "  Dec.  12,  1854. 

AGRICULTURAL  INVENTIONS  RELATING  TO  COTTON,  WOOL, 

FLAX,  ETC. 

N.  Chapman,  (Cotton-press) Mystic  River,  Conn..Patent  issued  Aug.    8,1854. 

D.  Warner,  Jr.,  (Dressing  Flax) South  Hadley,  Mass.  "  Sept    5,     " 

W.  Watt,  (Hemp-rotting  Process) Glasgow,  N.  Britain..  "  Nov.  21,    " 

Maj.  B.  Clarke,  (Feeding  and  Cleaning  Seed-cotton)Newman,  Geo "  Dec.  19,     " 

A.  P.  Keith,  (Cotton-gins) Bridge  water,  Mass...  "  Jan.    2,1855. 

H.  Clark,       (     "        «    ) Newport,  Fla. "  Feb.  13,     " 

D.  W.  Hughes,  (Hemp  Brakes) New  London,  Mo "  "     28,     " 

G.  D.  Allen,  (Cleaning  Sisal  Hemp) Key  West,  Fla, «  Mar.    7,     « 

"   "       "      (Stripping  Seed  from  Broom-corn)......  "         "       " "  "      "      " 

J.  Walker,  (Hulling  Cotton-seeds) Dover,  England "  "     28,     « 

J.  B.  Mell,  (Cotton-gins) Riceboro',  Ga «  April    4,    « 

P.  Lancaster,  (Implement  for  Shearing  Sheep) Burr  Oak,  Mich "  "     25,     " 

J.  How,  (Machine  for  Bundling  Wool) Deer  Creek,  "  "  May    1,    " 

J.  Grout,  (Self-acting  Cotton-press)... Hocking  City,  Ohio..  "  June  12,     " 

R.  A.  L.  McCurdy,  (Cotton-gins) Sabino  Parish,  La...,  "  "    26,     " 

A.  Adams,  (Cotton  and  Hay  Presses)..... Jerseyville,  111 "  Nov.  28,     " 

DAIRY  IMPLEMENTS,  ETC. 

J.  Gleason,  (Milk  Strainer) Geneva,  N.  Y Patent  issued  July    4,1854. 

S.  W.  Ruggles,  (Self-acting  Cheese-press) .Fitchburg,  Mass "  "      "      " 

E.  Gore,  (Butter-workers) Bennington,  Vt "  "25,     " 

E.  King,  (     «  "      ) Macklenburgh,  N.  Y.  "  "      "      " 

P.  Wilbor,  (Cheese-presses) Milan,  Ohio "  Aug.  22,     " 

E.  Webber,  (Churns) , Gardiner,  Me "  Dec.    5,     " 

H.A.  Roe,  (Cheese  Vats) West  Andover,  Ohio.  "  "     12,     " 

E.  Gore,  (Churns) Bennington,  Vt "  Jan.    2,1855. 

J.  M.  Williams,  (Butter-workers) Blanchester,  Ohio "  Feb.    6,     " 

H.  Webster,  (Churns) Ogdensburg,  N.  Y....  «  "      "      " 

E.  B.  Clement,  ("    ) Barnet,  Vt. «  «     13,    « 

J.  M.Wade,      ("    ) Clinton,  Mich "  June  26,     « 

WINNOWERS,  CORN  SHELLERS,  THRASHERS,  ETC. 

W.  M.  Palmer,  (Thrasher) .....Palmyra,  Me Patent  issued  Aug.    1,1854. 

H.  N.  Black,  (Cleaning  and  Drying  Grain) Philadelphia,  Pa "  "      "      " 

M.  H.  Mansfield,  (Grain  and  Clover-seed  Screens)...Ashland,  Ohio "  "      «      « 

C.  Reif,  (Clover  Separator) Hartleton,  Pa "  "       8,     " 

S.  W.  Ruggles,  (Fan  Blower) Fitchburg,  Mass «  «      "      " 

H.  H.  Beach,  (Winnowers) Chicago,  111 "  "     15,     « 

A.  J.  Smith,  (Corn  Shellers) Piqua,  Ohio "  "     29,     " 

G.Maynard,  ("          «       ) Greenfield,  Mass "  Sept  12,     " 


PATENTS.  393 

S.  Moore,  (Feeding-grain  Separators  &  Thrashers). Central  Bridge,  N.Y.. Patent  issued  Oct.    3,  1854. 

T.  B.  Woodward,  (Smut  Machine) Kensington,  Pa "  "      10,  " 

J.  Hollingsworth,  (   "           "     re-issue) Zanesville,  Ohio "  "     17,  " 

A.  Bowen,  (Straw  and  Grain  Separator) Wadesville,  Va. "  "     24,  " 

S.  Gumaer,  (Corn  Shellers) Aurora,Hl "  Nov.    7,  " 

J.  P.  Smith,  ("         "        ) Hummelstown,  Pa..  «  «      «  " 

W.  Moore,  (Grain  Winnowers) Belleville,  Ohio "  "     14,  " 

G.  Daniels,  (Thrasher  and  Grain  Cleaner) Philadelphia,  Pa "  Feb.  13,  1855. 

J.  P.  Smith,  (Corn  Sheller) Hummelstown,  Pa....  «  "     28,  " 

C.  LeavitJ,  (Portable  Grain  Mill) Quincy,  HI "  «      "  " 

G.  Leach,  (Grain  Cleaner) Owego,  N.  Y «  Mar.  14,  " 

B.  J.  Trimmer,  (   "      "    ) Parma,  N.  Y "  April    4,  " 

C.Campbell,  (Cleaning Wheat) California. «  May    1,  « 

C.  B.  Horton,  (Hullers  of  Buckwheat) Elmira,  N,  Y «  «     17,  " 

Rowland,  Stephens  A  Mason,  (Drying  Grain) Brooklyn,  N.Y "  "      "  « 

C.  Street,  (Grain  Drills) Barre  Centre,  N.  Y...  "  "     24,  " 

H.  D.  Reynolds,  (Grain  Cleaners) Pendleton,  Ind "  June  19,  " 

B.  Bridendolph,  (Hominy  Mills) Clear  Spring,  Md "  Aug.  22,  1854. 

H.  Mellish,  (Grain                 "    ) Walpole,  N.  H «  «      «  « 

J.  Barker,  (      "            Winnowers) Honesdale,  Pa «  Oct.  31,  " 

A.  B.  Crawford,  (Clover  Hullers) Wooster,  Ohio "  Nov.  28,  " 

J.Hibbs,             (     "            "     ) Tullytown,  Pa. "  Jan.  30,  1855. 

J.Allen,              (     "            "     ) Trease's  Store,  Ohio,.  "  Feb.  13,  " 

M.  H.  Mansfield,(     «            "     ) Ashland,  Ohio "  "     28,  « 

E.  Fahrney,  (Hominy  Machine) Mount  Morris,  HI "  May  10,  « 

D.  A  J.  R.  Pollock,  (Fan  Blower) Lancaster,  Pa "  June  19,  " 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

,  .    i 

G.  J.  Bundy,  (Potato  Diggers) Lyndon,  Vt Patent  issued  July    4, 1854. 

J.  Taggart,  (Excavating  Earth) Roxbury,  Mass "  «      "  « 

M.  Walker,  Sr.,  (Iron  Picket  Fence) Philadelphia,  Pa. "  «     11,  « 

II.  N.  A  J.  C.  Bill,  (Securing  Axe  Helves) Willimantic,  Conn....  "  "     25,  " 

D.  Strouder,  (Ditching  Spade) New  Burlington,Ind.  "  "      "  « 

D.  Zeigler,  (Cider  Mills) Lewistown,  Pa "  "      "  " 

W.  B.  Walker,  (Manufacture  of  Brooms) Bennington,  N.  H....  "  Aug.    1,  " 

J.  L.  Lord,  (Grindstone  Frame) Chester,  Conn "  "      15  " 

E.  Marshall,  (Manure  Spreaders) Clinton,  N.J "  "      «  « 

R.  M.  Abbe,  (Hog  Pens) Thompsonville,  Con..  "  "     29,  " 

J.  W.  Fawkes,  (Manure  and  Lime  Spreader) Christiana,  Pa. "  "      «  « 

A.  R.  Hurst,  (Manure  Excavators) Harrisburg,  " "  "      «  « 

H.  Fry,  (Mole  Trap,  re-issue) Cincinnati,  Ohio "  Sept.  12,  " 

H.Eddy, '(Bee  Hives) N.  Bridgewater.Mass  "  "     19,  " 

J.  J.  Weeks,  (Sausage  Stufier) Buckram,  N.  Y "  "      «  " 

A.  Winter,  (Sawing  Fire-wood) Rondout,      "  "  "      "  « 

E.  Ford,  (Granaries) Spring  Cottage,  Miss.  "  Oct.  24,  " 

L.  W.  McGaflFey,  (Potato  Diggers) Philadelphia,  Pa "  Nov.  7,  « 

D.  Phillips,  (Farm  Gate) Shaftsbury,  Vt. "  "       «  " 

G.  D.  Stillson,  (Excavating  Machine) Rochester,  N.  Y "  "     14,  " 

T.  C.  Ball,  (Scythe  Fastening) Shelburne  Falls,Mas.  "  "     21,  " 

J.  L.  Rolland,  (Machine  for  Kneading  Dough) Paris,  France "  *  Jan.  9,  1855. 

W.  H.  Allen,  (Meat  Chopper) Lowell,  Mass "  "      "  « 

T.  D.  Aylsworth,  (Hop  Frames) Frankfort,  N.  Y "  "      "  « 

J.  Parker,  (Machine  for  Slaughtering  Hogs) Louisville,  Ky "  Feb.  30,  « 

W.  D.  Titus  A  R.  W.  Fenwick,  (Bridle  Bits) Brooklyn,  N.  Y, "  "      "  " 

J.  G.  Goshen  A  S.  M.  Eby,  (Maize  Leaf  as  a  substi- 
tute for  Tobacco) Shirleysburg,  Pa "  "     20,  " 

C.  Crum,  (Processes  for  Making  Bread) Hudson,  N.  Y... "  Mar.  7,  " 

R.  C.  Manck,  (Ditching  Machine) Harrisburg,  Va "  "     14,  " 


394  THE  YEAR-BOOK  OF  AGRICULTURE. 

S.  N.  Maxam,  (Apple  Parer) Shelburne,  Mass Patent  issued  April  11, 1855. 

P.  Manny,  (Hay  Press) Waddam's  Grove,  111.  "  "      18,  « 

E.  A  Tnbbs,  (Sawing  Fire-wood,  etc.) Hampton,  N.  H «  May    1,  " 

C.  L.  Harson  &  M.  R.  Brailey,  (Farm  Gates) Norwalk,  Ohio "  "      "  " 

S.  Ingersoll,  (Sawing  or  Felling  Trees) v Greenwich,  <5onn "  "       8,  " 

H.  B.  Lumm,  (Farm  Gates) Sandusky,  Ohio "  "     17,  " 

J.  B.  Reyman,  (Fences) Dubuque,  Iowa "  S'      "  " 

C.  Winegar,  (Closing  and  Opening  Gates) Union  Springs,  N.  Y.  "  "      "  " 

T.  J.  Kindleberger,  (Cider  Mills) bpringfield,  Ohio "  "     24,  " 

W.  P.  Greenleaf,  (Fastening  Scythes  to  Snaths) Washington,  N.  H...  "  June  12,  " 

G.  King,  (Pressing  Tobacco  in  Plugs) Farmville,  Va "  "      "  " 

C.  R.  Webb,  (Wind  Mill) Philadelphia,  Pa. "  "      "  " 

S.  Gorton  &  F.  Morris,  (Stump  Machine) Crawford  county,  Pa.  "  "     19,  " 

W.  D.  Parker,  (Ice  House) New  York,  N.  Y «  "      "  « 

W.  Thompson,  (Self-operating  Circular  Gate) Nashville,  Tenn "  "      "  " 

Statistics  of  Patents. 

MR.  J.  S.  BROWN,  of  Washington,  has  recently  published  a  catalogue  of  all  the  patents 
granted  by  the  United  States  Government  up  to  the  commencement  of  the  year  1855.  From 
this  we  learn  that  the  whole  number  of  patents  granted  for  Grain  and  Grass  Harvesters  has 
been  one  hundred  and  eleven;  for  Plows,  three  hundred  and  seventy-two;  for  Straw- Cutters, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-three;  for  Smut  machines,  one  hundred  and  forty;  for  Winnowing 
machines,  one  hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  for  Threshing  machines,  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight.  The  highest  numbers  in  classes  belong  to  the  agricultural  department,  with  the 
exception  of  Stoves,  on  which  the  enormous  number  of  682  patents  have  been  issued,  and 
478  for  designs,  making  a  total  of  1160  patents  on  Stoves. 

On  Air  Engines,  not  one  of  which  is  in  use,  no  less  than  twenty-one  patents  have  been 
granted.  No  less  than  148  patents  have  been  granted  on  Steam  Boilers;  and  yet,  for  all  this, 
there  are  but  few  engineers  who  do  not  entertain  the  opinion  that  many  improvements  have 
yet  to  be  made  on  them.  The  manufacture  of  India-rubber  goods  is  but  of  recent  date,  and 
yet  no  less  than  forty-two  patents  have  been  obtained  on  such  manufactures.  Sewing 
machines  are  of  still  more  recent  date,  the  first  patent  having  been  obtained  in  1846,  only 
nine  years  since ;  and  yet  no  less  than  sixty  patents  have  been  granted  on  such  machines. 
This  affords  evidence  of  their  popularity  and  usefulness.  The  number  of  Water-Wheel 
patents  is  somewhat  high,  being  327,  but  that  of  Washing  machines  comes  nearly  up  to  it, 
being  no  less  than  309. 


INDEX. 


ADRIANCE'S  improvement,  111. 
Abbe,  R.  M.,  improved  hogpens,  42. 
Agricultural  chemistry,  135. 

and  economic  botany,  231. 

education  in  U.  S.,  7. 

mechanics,  21. 

science,  new  theories  in,  177. 

statistics,  375. 

value  of  gypsum,  171. 

zoology,  341. 
Agriculture  connected  with  science,  21. 

in  Liberia,  281. 

its  progress  in  Great  Britain,  7. 

present  state  of,  21. 
Ailanthus-tree,  262. 

Alcohol  from  the  Asphodelua  ramosus,  207. 
Allen's  machine,  111. 
Allibone,  S.  Austin,  life  of  Downing,  5. 
Alpaca  sheep  recently  introduced  into  U.  S.,  16. 

or  Peruvian  sheep,  354. 
American  grapes,  varieties  of,  307. 
Ammabroma,  or  sand-food  of  Sonora,  327. 
Ammonia,  supply  of,  in  ordinary  soils,  161. 
Amounts  of  ammonia  and  nitric  acid  in  rain 

water,  177. 

Amount  of  manure  applied  per  acre,  161. 
Analysis  of  the  ashes  of  oak  and  pine-leaves,  165. 
Anderson,  Alexander,  potatoe-planter,  101. 
Andrews's  broadcast  seed-sower,  99. 
Angora  goat,  its  introduction  into  England,  357. 
Animals,  judging  the  value  of,  364. 
Apple-borer,  373. 

Arnold,  .Francis,  his  improvement,  48. 
Aroma  of  American  wines,  207. 
Artesian  wells,  boring  for,  53. 
Ashes  of  oak  and  pine-leaves  compared  with  cot- 
ton, Ac.,  165. 

Atkins's  reaper,  trial  of,  110. 
Axle-box,  Goodman's  improved,  41. 

BARK,  removal  from  apple-trees,  326. 

Barnhart's  hand  corn-planter,  98. 

Basket  willow,  culture  of,  Ac.,  249. 

Beach  grasses,  279. 

Bean  A  Wright,  patent  of,  120. 

Bearing  rein,  uselessness  of,  38. 

Bedstead,  alarm,  51. 

Bee-culture,  success  of,  367. 

Beech's  improved  grain  and  seed  fan,  119. 

Beech-oil,  251. 

Bee-hives,  drone-trap  for,  46. 

Beets  vt.  turnips  for  feeding  stock,  336. 

Benefit  of  droughts,  182. 

Bennet,  J.  H.,  improved  straw-cutter,  107. 

Bethel,  John,  his  patent,  79. 

Bill,  H.  A.  A  J.,  their  improvement,  49. 

Bit  for  refractory  horses,  37. 

Blatchford's  solidified  milk,  62. 

Bocage,  J.  W.,  illustration  of  his  invention,  24. 

Bolting,  improvements  in,  34. 

Bones,  new  method  of  using  and  dissolving,  183. 

Book-farming,  22. 

Booth,  W.  S.,  his  experiment,  55. 


Bouquets,  directions  for  making,  297. 

green-house  plants  for  winter,  295. 
Bowen,  A.,  thrasher  and  grain  separator,  118. 
Bowerman,  of  Detroit,  his  invention,  22. 
Boydell's  steam  horse,  80. 
Bran  of  wheat,  proximate  principles  of,  196. 
Bread,  improved  manufacture  of,  199. 
Brick,  patent,  53. 

Brooks,  John,  experiments  in  feeding,  206. 
Brown,  A.  D.,  his  improvement,  22. 

A.  P.,  his  self-regulating  windmill,  36. 
Bruce,  G.  A.,  patent  of,  110. 
Buchanan,  Mr.,  74. 
Buckwheat  straw,  new  use  of,  208. 
Bulbous  roots,  new  fact  respecting,  304. 
Burke,  Hon.  Francis,  his  invention,  26. 
Burgess's  improved  reaper,  110. 
Burnham,  J.  S.,  patent  of,  110. 
Butter  making,  60. 

in  milk,  estimation  of,  60. 

method  of  testing,  59. 

mould,  59. 

CALADIUM  ESCULENTUM,  326. 
California,  agriculture  in,  15. 

great  tree  of,  263. 
Calve-suckler,  45. 

Camels,  introduction  of.  into  the  U.  States,  343. 
Camphor  vs.  pea  bags,  372. 
Canadian  hemp,  246. 
Capillary  attraction  of  the  soil,  181. 
Cart,  self-loading,  44. 
Caryl's  flax-dressing  machine,  25. 
Cashmere  goat  in  the  United  States,  161,  343. 
Catawissa  raspberry,  323. 
Cattle,  fattening  of,  361. 

for  the  dairy,  358. 

interest  of  the  Western  States,  16. 

in  Kentucky,  16. 
Cellar  floors,  51. 
Celery,  335. 

Charcoal,  deodorizing  properties  of,  212. 
Cheese,  preservation  of,  200. 

vat,  Roe's  improved,  61. 
Chemical  investigations  of  the  phenomena  of 

vegetation,  168. 
Cherry,  ground,  324. 

China,  vegetable  textile  fibres  produced  in,  246. 
Chinese  economy  of  manure,  140. 

potato,  286. 
Churns,  improved,  61. 
Cider  and  wine  mill,  patent,  71. 

manufacture  of,  68. 
Clay -ball  draining,  164. 
Cleaning  of  Sea-island  cotton,  22. 
Cleveland,  Charles,  his  patent,  49. 
Clinton,  L.,  improved  straw-cutter,  107. 
Clod-crusher,  compound-action,  57. 
Cloth  made  from  plantain  fibre,  26. 
Clover,  crimson,  277. 
Clovers  and  grapes  at  the  South,  275. 
Coffee,  use  of,  among  the  natives  of  Sumatra,  204. 
Cold  and  warm  seasons,  226. 


396 


INDEX. 


Cold  grapery,  312. 
Collette,  C.  Hastings,  his  patent,  76 
Composition  of  salt  for  dairy  purposes,  188. 
Corn  and  cob  mill,  123. 

and  cob  meal,  365. 

grinder  and  "crusher,  121. 

planter,  104. 

planters,  improvement  in,  99. 

sheller  and  winnower,  120. 

shellers,  thrashers,  Ac.,  patents  for  1855,  392. 

stalks,  machine  for  cutting,  22. 

stalks,  manner  of  removing,  22. 
Cotton-cleaner,  25. 

cleansing  of  Sea-island,  22. 

consumption  and  manufacture  of,  236. 

fibre,  its  length,  233. 

plant,  diseases  of,  235. 
its  enemies,  234. 
and  its  varieties  in  the  U.  S.,  231. 

rafting  of,  23. 

rope  becomes  smooth  by  use,  23. 

rope  stronger  than  manilla,  23. 

saw-gins,  improvement  in,  22. 

seed-cake  as  food  for  cattle,  197. 

stalks,  machine  for  cutting  standing,  24. 
Cows,  blanketing  of,  365. 
Cranberry,  cultivation  of,  324. 
Cream,  proportions  of,  in  milk,  60. 
Crops,  those  benefited  by  plaster,  172. 
Cultivator,  improved,  90.  » 

improved  rotary,  88. 

rotary,  91. 

two-horse,  91. 

Cultivators,  patents  for  1855,  389. 
Currants,  new  varieties  of,  327. 
Cutting  pot,  materials  for,  304. 

DAIRY  implements,  patents  for  1855,  392. 

salt  best  adapted  for,  188. 

stock,  management  of,  359. 
Dana's  hand  corn-planter,  98. 
Dederick's  improved  hay-presses,  66. 
Deodorizing  properties  of  charcoal,  212. 
Dickey's  patent  butter-mould,  59. 
Dietz  &  Dunham's  reaper  and  mower,  109. 
Digging  machine,  Gibson's,  81. 
Dioscorea  batatus,  or  new  Chinese  potato,  286. 
Domestic  fowl,  and  other  hybrid  species,  352. 
Downing,  biographical  notice  of,  5. 
Drainage,  land,  experience  in,  163. 
Draining  of  Lake  Fucino,  143. 
Droughts,  benefit  of,  182. 
Duplex  safety  rein,  37. 

EDISTO  ISLAND,  cotton  gin  in  use  there,  22. 

Education,  agricultural,  7. 

Egan,  T.,  improvement  in  dressing  flour,  33. 

Egg-hatching,  artificial,  47. 

Eggs,  arrangement  for  holding,  48. 

of  fishes,  transportation  of,  351. 
Elastic  horse-shoes,  36. 
Ellis  <fe  Gordon,  excavating  machine,  94. 
Ellsworth,  H.  L.,  experiments  of,  87. 
Excavating  machine,  94. 

Exhibition  of  the  natural  productions  of  Illinois, 
12. 

of  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  12,  13. 
Experiments  with  manures,  162. 

FACT  in  manuring,  157. 

Farinaceous  aliment  obtained  from  straw,  198. 

Farmers  should  give  heed  to  science,  21. 

Faucet,  improved,  49. 

Feeding,  experiments  in,  216. 

Felton,  A.,  improved  mill,  120. 


Fence,  cost  of,  to  fence  the  country,  126. 
Fences,  wire,  127. 
Fenwick's  corn-planter,  101. 
Fibres,  two  new  ones  from  Brazil,  247. 
Fibrous  vegetable  substances,  243. 
Field  fence,  128. 
Fields,  G.  B.,  patent  of,  91. 
Fish,  artificial  propagation  of,  in  Ohio,  347. 
breeding  in  France,  350. 

growth  of,  350. 

propagation  in  Ohio,  16. 

Fisheries,  legislative  enactments  re-creating,  351. 
Fiskie's  steam  plow,  79. 
Flax -breaking  and  scutching  machine,  25. 

dressing  machine,  Caryl's,  25. 

gases  evolved  in  steeping,  210. 

industry  in  Russia,  240. 

recent  improvements  in  its  preparation,  25. 
Floral  fete  at  the  London  Crystal  Palace,  13. 
Flour  barrel,  ventilating,  32. 

bolts,  feeding,  34. 
Flour,  machines  for  dressing,  33. 
Flouring  and  bolting,  improvements  in,  34. 

mills,  124. 
Flowers,  odors  of,  207. 

their  effect  on  the  air  of  rooms,  226. 
Food,  new  articles  of,  20. 

new,  for  sheep,  365. 
Forbush's  machine,  111. 
Ford's  improved  granary,  29. 
France,  amount  of  wine  consumed  there,  72. 
French  industrial  exhibition,  13. 

agricultural  department,  13. 
Fresh  meat,  experiments  on  the  preservation  of, 

203. 
Fruit,  cultivation  of,  in  New  York,  13. 

drying  of,  133. 

preservatory,  46. 

the  ripening  of,  338. 
Fruit-trees,  cultivation  of,  336. 

improvements  in  raising,  337. 

influence  of  locality  on,  229. 

manuring  of,  146. 

protection  of,  230. 

rotation  of,  262. 
Fruits,  the  gathering  and  preservation  of,  337. 

GAGE,  J.  S.,  clover-gatherer,  108. 
Gale,  W.,  improved  straw-cutter,  106. 
Gang  plow,  87. 
Garden  pot,  new,  305. 
Gas  lime,  value  of,  147. 

and  water  pipes,  improved  joints  for,  50. 
Gate,  self-acting,  129. 
Germination,  effect  of  colored  light  on,  208. 

of  seeds,  280. 

Gibbs'  &  Mapes's  rotary  spade,  81. 
Gibbs,  Griffith  &  Co.,  grain  warehouse  of,  28. 

L.  H.,  invention  of,  81. 
Gibson's  digging  machine,  81. 
Goodman's  improved  axle-box,  41. 
Gore,  Ezekiel,  patents  and  improvements,  58,  61. 
Grafted  chestnut-trees,  265. 

plants,  314. 

Grafting,  interesting  facts  in,  220. 
Grain  and  grass  harvesters  patents,  1855,  390. 

and  grass-seed  headers  and  harvesters,  108. 
Grain,  method  of  feeding,  to  millstones,  122. 

mills,  portable,  122. 

should  be  cut,  when,  195. 

and  seed-cleaners  and  winnowers,  119. 

and  smut  machines,  120. 

transported  in  barrels,  economical,  27. 

transportation  of,  26. 
Granaries,  improvements  in,  27. 


INDEX. 


397 


Granary,  Ford's  improved,  29. 
Granger's  magic  corn  and  cob  mill,  123. 
Grapery,  cold,  312. 
Grape-mildew,  195. 

vines,  improvement  in  the  frames  of,  305. 
Grapes  ripening  earlier  than  usual,  229. 

and  grass  cultivation,  277. 

varieties  of  American,  307. 
Grass-land,  preparation  of,  275. 
Grasses  for  lawns,  274. 

notes  on,  271. 

Greeley,  Horace,  his  correspondence,  77. 
Green-house  plants  for  winter  bouquets,  295. 
Griffith,  G.  R.,  his  cotton-raft,  23. 
Grinding-mills,  120. 
Grittiness  of  pears,  209. 
Ground  cherry,  324. 
Guano  deposits  of  the  Atlantic,  158. 

and  nitrate  of  soda  on  a  peat-bog,  163. 

how  to  use,  158. 

mixing  common  salt  with,  160. 
Gum,  new  American,  254. 
Gutta  percha,  production  of,  279. 
Gypsum,  agricultural  value  of,  171. 

analyzed,  173. 

duration  of  its  effect,  173. 

effect  of,  on  the  quality  of  plants,  172. 

quantity  of,  and  time  of  application,  173. 

HAIL,  protection  against,  225. 

Hallenbeck's  machine,  111. 

Halliday,  Danl.,  improvement  in  windmills,  35. 

Hall's  side-hill  plow,  83. 

Hammon,  Heman  B.,  invention  of,  40. 

Hand  thrashing-machine,  105. 

seed-planters,  97. 
Hanford,  W.  B.,  harrow,  95. 
Harness-buckle,  improved,  39. 
Harrow,  flexible,  96. 

roller  and  seed-planter  96. 
Harrows,  improvements  in,  95. 
Hats,  papier-mache",  53. 

Hayes,  Dr.,  on  the  composition  of  guanos,  158. 
Hay-caps,  65. 

knife,  improved,  104. 

making,  191. 

presses,  improved,  66. 
Helve  fastener,  improved,  49. 
Hemp,  Canadian,  246. 

and  flax-breaker,  Hughes's,  25. 

flax  and  wool,  patents  for  1855,  392. 

recent  improvements  in  its  preparation,  25. 

Sugett's  improvement  in  treating,  25. 
Hildreth,  G.  W.,  invention  of,  87. 
Hill's  combined  harrow,  roller,  and  seed-planter, 

96. 

Hoe,  Knox's  horse,  89. 
Hog  killing  in  Cincinnati,  43. 

pens,  improvement  in,  42. 
Holwell,  W.  A.,  invention  of  curbing  bit,  38. 

invention  of  safety  rein,  37. 
Hops,  new  plan  of  raising,  328. 
Home,  J.  V.,  patent  of,  120. 
Horses,  carriages,  Ac.,  patents  for  1855,  391 
Horse-chestnut  for  food,  20. 

flesh  for  food,  367. 

muzzles,  39. 

neck-yoke,  41. 

Horse-radish,  culture  of,  334. 
Horse-shoe,  improved  by  W.  H.  Towers,  37. 

shoeing  apparatus,  36. 

shoes,  improvements  in,  36. 

without  nails,  36. 
Horticulture,  291. 
Houses,  building-stone,  132. 


Hot-beds,  construction  of,  63. 

cotton  waste  in,  65. 
Hughes's  hemp  and  flax-breaker,  25. 
Human  life,  period  of,  366. 
Hyde,  W.  S.,  invention  of,  84. 

ICE-CREAM  freezer,  61. 

Importation  of  cattle  in  the  United  States,  16. 

Indian-meal  sizing,  120. 

Indications  of  weather  as  shown  by  animals,  &c., 

Influence  of  soil  on  the  action  of  plaster,  173. 
Insects,  use  of  red  camomile  destroys  them,  205. 
Irwin,  John  L.,  new  invention  of,  41. 

JAPAN  PEA,  328. 

Jennings's  process  for  improving  the  quality  of 

flax  fibres,  25. 
Johnson,  H.  M.,  invention  of,  88. 

S.  W.,  on  the  value  of  gypsum,  171. 
Jones,  J.  0.,  his  new  patent  horse-shoe,  37. 

KEECH'S  AND  STILLWELI/S  combination  fanning 

mill,  119. 

Ketchum's  machine,  110. 
Kind,  Mr.,  improvements  in  machinery,  53. 
King,  Mr.,  invention  of,  49. 
Kirtland  on  the  pear,  321. 
Knox's  horse-hoe,  89. 
Kroger,  A.  E.,  improved  harvester,  109. 

LABELS,  necessity  of  correct,  50. 

Lake  Fucino,  draining  of,  143. 

Lancaster,  P.,  his  patent,  45. 

Land  drainage,  experience  in,  163. 

Lapham's  cultivator,  91. 

Lapham,  Wm.,  patent  of,  110. 

Leach's  grain-cleaner,  119. 

Leaf  venation,  and  ramification  of  the  plant,  248. 

Leavitt,  Charles,  patent  of,  122. 

Leavitt's,  D.,  barn,  30, 

Leary,  A.,  his  experiments,  76. 

Liberia,  agriculture  in,  281. 

Liebig,  his  teachings,  21. 

on  phosphates  in  turnips,  176i 

on  the  improved  manufacture  of  bread,  199. 
Liebig's  fifty  propositions,  183. 
Lightning,  statistics  of,  225. 
Ligneous  fibre,  and  twist  of  trunks  of  trees,  247. 
Lime,  refuse,  of  the  gas-works,  148. 
List  of  agricultural  works,  382. 
Logs,  way  to  transport,  55. 
Longworth,  Mr.,  of  Cincinnati,  73. 
Lupton,  T.  W.,  improvement  in  harvesters,  109. 
Lyon,  John,  invention  of,  85. 

MACHINE  for  cutting  corn-stalks,  22. 
Madder,  its  cultivation,  uses,  <fec.,  255. 
Maize  harvesters,  improvements  in,  110. 
Manning's  reaper  and  mower,  109. 

reaper,  trial  of,  110. 
Manure,  amount  of,  applied  per  acre,  161. 

Chinese  economy  of,  140. 

excavators,  125. 

experiments  with,  162. 

liquid,  collection  and  preservation  of,  145. 

preparation  of  muck  for,  152. 

sewage,  157. 

subterranean  application  of  liquid,  139. 
Manures,  covered  and  uncovered,  146. 

nascent,  150. 
Manuring,  a  fact  in,  157. 

fruit-trees,  146. 

Mapes's  lifting  subsoil  plow,  84. 
Mapes,  Prof.,  on  soil  analyses,  175. 


INDEX. 


Marchand's  suggestion,  60. 

Maury,  Lieut.,  meteorological  observations,  20. 

McFarland's  corn-planter,  104. 

Meat  for  food,  relative  value  of  different  kinds, 

199. 

Mechi,  Mr.,  and  Tiptree  Hall,  140. 
Mell,  J.  B.,  bis  invention,  25. 
Meteorology  for  farmers,  221. 
Mexican  frijoles,  328. 
Mildew,  grape,  195. 
Milk,  solidified,  62.  » 

Milker's  protector,  44. 
Mills,  flouring,  124. 

Mixing  of  common  salt  with  guano,  160. 
Mosquito  window  screen,  55. 
Mowing  and  reaping  machines,  scale  for  estimat- 
ing the  value  of,  114. 

trials  of,  110. 

machines  vs.  scythes,  108. 
Muck,  preparation  of,  for  manure,  152. 
Mules,  357. 

NATURAL  supply  of  ammonia  in  ordinary  soils, 

161. 

Nesmyth,  John,  patent  of,  127. 
New  method  of  determining  nitrogen,  175. 

theories  in  agricultural  science,  177. 
Nitrogen,  absorption  by  plants,  166. 

new  method  of  determining,  175. 
Nitrate  of  soda  and  guano  on  a  peat-bog,  163. 

on  a  peat-bog,  163. 

Nixon's  potato-planter  and  seed-drill,  103. 
Nordyke  &  Hunt,  patent  for  dressing  flour,  35. 
Nutmeg  of  California,  300. 

ODOBS  of  flowers,  207. 

Oidium  Tuckeri,  or  grape  malady,  340. 

Oils,  new  sources  of  vegetable,  250. 

Oil-plant,  new,  252. 

Olive,  propagation  of,  in  the  U.  States,  334. 

Orange  insects,  369. 

Oregon,  fruit  crop  for  1854,  15. 

Ox-yokes,  40. 

Ogster,  C.  &  L.  B.,  their  improvements,  39. 

PARKER'S  flax-breaking  and  scutching  machine, 

25. 

Parker,  Wm.  D.,  his  patent,  46. 
Parmentier,  Mr.,  of  Long  Island,  73. 
Pasturage,  qualities  of,  189. 
Patents,  agricultural,  for  1855,  388. 
Patent  office  reports,  character  of,  20. 
Peach,  culture  of,  316. 

the  yellows  of,  316. 
Pear,  Kirtland  on,  321. 

new  varieties  from  seed,  318. 
Pears,  grittiness  of,  209. 

time  for  gathering,  322. 
Pearsal,  Thomas,  his  improvements,  32. 
Peat-bog,  nitrate  of  soda  and  guano  on,  163. 
Peckham's  cultivator,  91. 
Phosphate  of  lime — a  new  test,  175. 
Phosphates  in  turnips,  176. 
Pierce,  John  B.,  his  improvement,  41. 
Plantain  fibre,  cloth  made  from,  26. 

new  mode  of  preparing,  26. 
Planting  plow,  85. 
Plants  for  hanging  vases,  294. 

influence  of  situation  on  diseases  of,  230. 

new,  300. 

under  different  conditions,  208. 
Plaster,  crops  benefited  by,  172. 

does  not  exhaust  the  soil,  174. 

effect  of  climate  and  weather  on,  173. 

influence  of  soil  on  the  action  of,  173. 


Plow  cultivator,  84. 

improved  ditching,  85. 

improvement  wanted  in,  82. 

Mapes's  lifting  subsoil,  84. 

subsoil^and  trench,  86. 
Plows,  improvements  in  their  construction,  86. 

patents  of,  for  1855,  388. 

trial  of,  at  Paris  Exhibition,  89. 

without  plowmen,  87. 
Plowing,  amount  of  travel,  83. 
Poetry,  its  influence  on  cultivation  of  flowers,  292. 
Potato,  on  the  culture  of,  287. 

planter  and  seed-drill,  103. 

seed,  289. 

substitutes  for,  19. 
Potatoes,  machine  for  planting,  101. 

method  of  storing,  339. 

Powell,  T.  M.,  improved  ice-cream  freezer,  61. 
Present  state  of  agriculture,  21. 
Prindle,  D.  R.,  patent  of,  128. 
Pumpkins  and  squashes,  329. 

QUALITIES  of  pasturage,  189. 
Quina,  cultivation  of,  in  Java,  255. 

RAFTING  cotton,  23. 

Rain  water,  ammonia  and  nitric  acid  in,  177. 
Rakes  and  harrows,  patents  for  1855,  391. 
Ramsay's  flexible  harrow,  96. 
Rapeseed-oil,  251. 
Raspberry,  Catawissa,  323. 

Reapers  and  mowers,  trial  of,  at  the  French  Ex- 
hibition, 113. 

mowers,  and  harvesters,  108. 
Records,  uncertainty  of  preserving,  49. 
Redick,  Wm.,  corn-planter,  99. 
Review  of  prospects   and   progress  of   agricul- 
ture, 7. 

Rhynchospermum.jasminoides,  304. 
Ricepaper-plant  of  China,  259. 
Riddle,  Gen.,  experiments  of,  1"83. 
Robinson,  J.  A.,  cultivator,  90. 
Rollers,  wooden,  of  the  Sea-Island  cotton-gin,  23. 
Root  crops,  cultivation  of,  335. 

superphosphate  of  lime  for,  160. 
Roots  and  plants,  their  health  essential  to  their 
growth,  260. 

preservation  of  tender  flower,  314. 
Roses,  new,  292. 

propagated  by  cuttings  of  the  roots,  303. 

propagation  and  winter  forcing  of,  303. 
Rugg's  mower  and  reaper,  110. 
Rural  economy,  21. 

pursuits  should  be  directed  by  science,  21. 
Russia  flax  and  hemp  exportations,  242. 
Russel,  F.,  mowing  machine,  108. 
Russel's  machine,  110. 

SALISBURY,  S.  M.,  M.D.,  experiments  of,  182. 
Salt,  composition  of,  for  dairy  purposes,  188. 

use  of,  in  boiling  vegetables,  204. 
Saw-gins,  improvement  in  cotton,  22. 
Saws  for  cutting  cotton-stalks,  25. 
Scale  for  combined  reapers  and  mowers,  118. 
of  points  in  trials  of  mowers,  117. 

of  reapers,  115. 

Science  is  connected  with  agriculture,  21. 
Seabrook,  Gov.,  his  experiments,  23. 
Sea-Island  cotton,  232. 

from  Algeria,  239. 

for  spinning,  239. 

in  Texas,  239. 

Sea  water,  does  it  kill  seeds,  213. 
Seed-planters,  patents  for  1855,  389. 
sower,  98. 


INDEX. 


Seeds,  germination  of,  280. 

vitality  of,  315. 

Sesquoia  gigantea,  or  great  tree  of  California,  263. 
Sewage  manure,  157. 

Sewerage  products  for  agricultural  purposes,  135. 
Shearman,  S.,  patent  of,  122. 
Sheep,  best  for  New  England,  356. 

machine  for  shearing,  45. 

Tartar  or  Shanghai,  344. 
Ship  timber,  season  for  cutting,  265. 
Side-hill  plow,  Hall's,  83. 
Silk  in  California,  368. 
Silk-worm,  new  species,  367. 
Sizing,  Indian  meal,  120. 
Snell,  B.  M.,  patent  plow  of,  85. 
Soda,  nitrate  of,  as  a  fertilizer,  162. 
Soil  analyses,  value  of,  175. 

capillary  attraction  of,  181. 

deterioration  of,  215. 

its  influence  on  the  action  of  plaster,  173. 
Solidified  milk,  62. 
Sorgho,  or  new  sugar-plant,  328. 
Sowing,  modes  of,  on  the  production  of  wheat,  282. 
Spades  and  diggers,  improvements  in,  81. 
Shade-trees,  too  many  injurious,  268. 
Sprouted  wheat  good  for  seed,  335. 
Squire,  G.  L.,  straw  cutter,  107. 
Stable  ventilation,  227. 
Statistics  of  barley  crop  for  1855,  378. 

of  cotton  in  the  United  States  for  1855,  379. 

of  hay  and  grass  for  1855,  379. 

of  hemp  and  flax  for  1855,  379. 

of  Indian  corn  crop  for  1855,  378. 

of  oat  crop  for  1855,  378. 

of  patents,  388. 

of  peas  and  beans  crop  for  1855,  375. 

of  potato  crop  for  1855,  378. 

of  rice  crop  for  1855,  378. 

of  rye  crop  for  1855,  378. 

of  wheat  crop  for  1855,  375. 

of  wine  production  in  the  United  States,  for 

1855,  379. 

Steadman,  T.  S.,  clover-seed  header,  108. 
Steam  for  agricultural  purposes,  78. 
Steam-engine,  farm,  12,  81. 

Steam-engines,  portable,  for  farming  purposes,  11. 
Steam  machinery  for  cultivating  land,  79. 

plow,  Fisker's,  79. 

sawing  machine,  58. 
Stewart,  Dr.,  David,  on  manure,  150. 
Stock,  improving,  364. 

Stouffer,  Brough,and  Barr, their  improvements,  34. 
Strawberries  of  1855,  317. 
Strawberry  culture,  317. 
Straw-cutters,  106. 

patents  for  1855,  391. 

Straw,  farinaceous  aliment  obtained  from,  198. 
Stump-extractor,  improved,  56. 
Sugar,  improvements  in  manufacture,  76. 

maple,  tapping  of  them,  270. 
Sugett's  improvement  in  treating  hemp,  25. 
Sumach,  its  cultivation,  Ac.,  258. 
Superphosphate  of  lime  for  root  crops,  160. 
Swamps,  experiments  in  reclaiming,  218. 
Sweet-potato  vines,  new  use  for,  335. 

TABLE  of  fruits  recommended,  382. 
Taggart,  Samuel,  his  patent,  34. 
Tallow  from  the  tallow-tree,  62. 
Tamarind-tree  in  Virginia,  270. 
Tea,  Chinese  method  of  scenting,  204. 
Teddy  ing  machines,  107. 
Tennessee  cotton,  232. 
Terra  cotta,  manufacture  of,  50. 
Thompson,  W.,  patent,  129. 

THE 


Thrasher  and  grain-separator,  118. 
Tile-laying  machine,  77. 
|  Till,  Levi,  improved  brick,  52. 
Timber,  preserving,  202. 
Tires  on  wheels,  new  mode  of  securing,  41. 
Titus's  and  Fenwick's  patent  bit,  37. 
Top  dressings,  154. 
Towers's  improved  horse-shoe,  37. 
Traction  engine,  80. 
Transportation  of  grain,  26. 
Trees,  adaptation  of,  to  economic  purposes,  134. 

new  mode  of  transplanting,  282. 

planting  of,  271. 

Trifolium  incarnatum,  or  crimson  clover,  277. 
Tropical  scenery  of  the  Amazon,  261. 
Turnip  and  root-cutter,  106. 
Turnips,  machine  for  thinning,  77. 

phosphates  in,  176. 
Turpentine,  product  of  the  South,  252. 

UPLAND  cotton,  232. 

Use  of  nitrate  of  soda  as  a  fertilizer,  162. 

VALUE  of  soil  analyses,  175. 

Vegetation,  chemical  investigation  of,  168. 

Vegetable  fibrous  substances,  243. 

oils  in  the  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro  districts. 
250. 

new  sources  of,  250. 

textile  fibres  in  China,  246. 
Vegetables,  preservation  of,  202. 

use  of  salt  in  boiling,  204. 
Ventilating  flour  barrel,  32. 
Vermin,  to  clean  animals  and  plants  from,  363. 
Vice.  T.  C.,  invention  of,  35. 
Vine,  limits  of  its  cultivation,  72. 
Vitality  of  seeds,  315. 

WAKEFIELD'S  seed-planter,  97. 

Walks,  weeds  in,  188. 

Ware,  J.  M.,  his  patent,  44. 

Warlick,  Noah,  his  horse-shoeing  apparatus,  36. 

Washing  machine,  frictionless,  49. 

Watering  transplanted  trees,  269. 

Weather,  indicated  by  animals,  Ac.,  223. 

prognostications  of,  227. 
Webster,  B.  B.,  improvement  in  window  screens, 

Weeds  in  walks,  188. 

Weevil,  prevention  of,  374. 

Weigle,  J.,  patent  of,  121. 

Wells's  patent  grass  seed-sower,  98. 

Whalen,  Seth,  improved  hay-knife,  104. 

Wheat,  corn,  <fec.,  cost  of  raising,  284. 

methods  of  sowing,  and  their  effects,  282. 

plant,  its  origin,  285. 

new  mode  of  increasing  its  produce,  285. 
Wheeler,  Clark,  improved  drone-trap,  46. 
Wheeler's  machine,  111. 
Wick's  and  Simonton's  straw-cutter,  107. 
Williams's  lever  plow,  86. 
Willis,  W.  W.,  his  stump-extractor,  56. 
Wilkinson,  Prof.,  30. 
Wilson,  W.  D.,  patent  of,  121. 

Rev.  Mr.,  thrashing  machine,  105. 
Wind,  the  cheapest  power  for  a  farmer,  36. 
Windmills,  self-regulating,  35. 
Wine,  manufacture  of,  71. 

in  Georgia,  76. 

Wines,  aroma  of  American,  207. 
Wire  fences,  127. 

Wool-growing  interest  in  Tennessee,  15. 
Wright's  reaper,  110. 

YAK,  introduction  of,  into  Europe,  343. 
END. 


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